By Reuters
Singapore: McLaren’s Lando Norris dominated the Singapore Grand Prix from start to finish on Sunday to take another chunk out of Max Verstappen’s Formula One championship lead.
The 24-year-old Briton roared away from pole position at the floodlit Marina Bay circuit and led every lap to the chequered flag.
Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the McLaren MCL38 Mercedes.Credit: Getty Images
Verstappen finished second for Red Bull, a massive 20.9 seconds behind, and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was third.
Verstappen’s 59 point lead over Norris was cut to 52 points with six rounds, including three sprints, remaining, while McLaren stretched their lead over Red Bull in the constructors’ standings.
Norris could have also had a bonus point for fastest lap but RB’s Daniel Ricciardo pitted for a third time for soft tyres and snatched it at the end of what many suspect could be the Australian’s last race.
Extraordinarily for Singapore, there was no safety car deployment in a largely incident-free race with only two retirements.
Lando Norris, right, of Britain is congratulated a by a teammate after winning the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix.Credit: AP
George Russell took fourth place for Mercedes with Charles Leclerc fifth for Ferrari and seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton sixth for Mercedes.
Last year’s winner Carlos Sainz was seventh for Ferrari, ahead of fellow-Spaniard Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez taking the final point.
Ricciardo was 18th and gained no benefit from the fastest lap, with the point going only to those in the top 10, but could at least add another achievement to his record and help his former teammate and friend Verstappen.
“Thank you, Daniel,” the champion said over the team radio when he was told. (Writing by Alan Baldwin in London
More to come
Reuters
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