Race recap: Dominant drive from Norris in Singapore as Verstappen clings onto second and Ricciardo nears the end of the road

Another race to remember for McLaren as frontman Lando Norris' dominant drive saw him land his third win in Singapore, while teammate Oscar Piastri rounded off the podium in third. Between them was reigning champion Max Verstappen who battled to hold onto second place, while RB's Daniel Ricciardo stole the fastest lap from Norris in the final moments as the Australian nears the end of the road in F1. Here's what we learned and all the highlights from the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix.

Dominant drive for victorious Norris, podium for Piastri

McLaren's standing and reputation as a front-runner has improved immeasurably since the start of the season and Singapore only served to further this.
With a dominant drive from Lando Norris, who led every lap from start to finish the Brit excitedly claimed his car "was mega," moments after finishing the race. "I could push, we were flying the whole race and at the end could just chill, so it was a nice race. Still tough, I'm a bit out of breath. A very fun one," added Norris.

Blasting off the line with a strong launch, he held the lead into Turn 1. From there, Norris managed to maintain his lead without any serious threats from Verstappen, who finished second. Despite a few close calls, the Brit eventually crossed the line with a sizable 20-second margin to Verstappen in P2.

As for his teammate, Oscar Piastri, the Australian finished third, ensuring McLaren bagged 40 points between its two drivers in Singapore. "I feel like we had a really quick car underneath us and a good strategy to get past the Mercedes," said Piastri after the race. "So, yeah, big thank you to the team. Clearly, the car was exceptional this weekend and some great points for the whole team."

Norris' dominant drive sees him take another chunk out of Verstappen's lead in the drivers' championship, with the Dutchman's advantage cut to 52 points. But had it not been for Daniel Ricciardo setting the fastest lap of the race on the final lap, the gap could have been 51.

With that, Verstappen can finish second to Norris in all the remaining Grand Prix and Sprint races, regardless of the fastest lap bonus points and still win the drivers' championship. It's all to play for.

As for the team, McLaren extends its lead in the constructors' championship to 41 points ahead of main rivals Red Bull.
 

Verstappen clings on to second as Red Bull continue to slip

Despite more grumbles and from Red Bull's frontman, Max Verstappen managed to cling onto P2, finishing the race in Singapore where he started it, albeit 20 seconds behind Norris.

Braced for a challenging weekend, Verstappen did the best he could with the car in qualifying, while his teammate Sergio Perez was eliminated in Q2 before going on to finish the race 10th the following day.

"I think on a weekend where we knew that we were going to struggle, to be P2 is a good achievement," admitted Verstappen, searching for positives after the race. "Of course, we are not happy with second. Now we just have to try and improve more and more, and that's what we'll try to do."

With his championship title lead reduced from 59 points to 52 ahead of the final six rounds, the reigning champion is still optimistic he can hold onto his title in 2024. "[the points] can change very quickly again, so we just need to keep on trying, try to at one point overturn it a bit, not always finishing behind, but we'll see how that goes."

Emotional Ricciardo fires out fastest lap as he looks to bid farewell to Formula 1

For one of Formula 1's biggest characters, Singapore could mark the end of the road. Emotional, to the point of tears, Daniel Ricciardo rounded off a disappointing weekend by admitting that it might be his last outing in the sport, as questions loom over his future.

After falling out of Q1, Ricciardo started the race from P16 on the soft tyre, but failed to make any progress, ending the race in P18. With only the fastest lap left to gain in the final moments of the race, the team pulled him into the garage for fresh soft tyres, on which he went out to set the fastest lap around the Marina Bay Circuit, taking the point away from eventual winner Lando Norris in a bid to help Max Verstappen's title bid.

"Any time you're out in Q1, you know you've got potentially a long day," admitted Ricciardo. "At the end we were there, not really in any position, so we tried to go for fastest lap and I guess it helped maybe Max out by Abu Dhabi. Maybe there's a Christmas present coming if he wins by a point!"

In the build-up to the race, rumours swirled about Ricciardo being replaced at RB by Liam Lawson for the rest of the season, with Ricciardo all but admitting it was the case in post-race interviews. "It's been a little bit of a race-by-race situation and I would have obviously loved the weekend to have gone better. It didn't, so I have to prepare for this maybe being it," said the eight-time race winner. "I do feel, let's say, at peace with it," he added.

Arriving back into F1 with RB midway through 2023, after he was dropped by McLaren, Ricciardo had been trying to prove his worth at the Red Bull sister team. "At some point, it'll come for all of us… I think also, I tried to get back into Red Bull, it didn't work out, so then I also have to say, 'Okay, what else am I ultimately doing here and trying to achieve?'... Let's say maybe the fairytale ending didn't happen, but I also have to look back on what it's been. Fourteen or so years and I'm proud."
 

As we head into the final six races of 2024, there's still plenty to play for at the top of the championship and into next year's final run with current regulations. Don't miss out on your chance to catch all the action in-person at next July's British Grand Prix. General tickets are on sale this Thursday! Click here to find your perfect spot.