Norris destroys F1 rivals in sensational Singapore GP victory

Lando Norris took his first F1 career grand chelem in the Singapore Grand Prix, to reduce the drivers' championship deficit to 52 points with a superb victory.

It is McLaren's first grand slam since the 2008 Chinese Grand Prix - the same year F1's inaugural trip to the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Max Verstappen came home in second place, over 20 seconds behind his title rival, with Oscar Piastri finishing in third place, after making easy work of the Mercedes' pair of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

Ferrari worked through the pack well, but the cost of their difficult qualifying in Singapore proved a heavy price to pay.

Further back, Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg completed their strong weekends, to score points in eighth and ninth, respectively. Sergio Perez held off an impressive Franco Colapinto for the final point.

Build-up and race start

With the two drivers' title protagonists occupying the front row of the Marina Bay Street Circuit grid, tensions were high ahead of lights out.

Would they come together, or would they manage to navigate the opening corners without incident?

Andrea Stella said before the race he hoped to avoid a repeat of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost's infamous Suzuka crashes, but perhaps the more pertinent hope for the McLaren team principal would be for Norris to complete the first lap in the lead.

In the seven prior times the 24-year-old had led the field away, he had so far failed to retain first place by the end of the opening lap - a damning statistic he hoped to vanquish in Singapore.

And vanquish it he would. A strong launch by the McLaren driver left him to comfortably settle into the grand prix, extending his lead to over a second - and breaking DRS - by the end of the second lap.

Hamilton, the only off-set runner in the top 10, on used softs, could not keep the pressure on Verstappen in the early running as the top seven drivers eventually re-found the positions they started the race in.

A poor start for Alex Albon saw him drop to P15, whilst team-mate Colapinto moved forward and into the top 10.

However, the more experienced Williams driver was less than impressed by the Argentine's exploits, complaining on team radio of Colapinto's dive-bomb into Turn 1 and asking: "What is he doing?!"

Early running

Norris and Verstappen would begin trading fastest laps by lap six, with those further back accusing the pair of a lack of race and tyre management as they opted for their own, more measured pace.

On lap nine, Will Joseph would radio-in to Norris to request he extend his advantage over the Red Bull from three seconds to five by the time the race reached the mid-teens. By lap 10 of 62, the gap was already up to four seconds.

Meanwhile, McLaren moved Piastri onto "Plan B". Would he run long to play interference for his team-mate?

Embattled RB driver Daniel Ricciardo was first to pit on lap 11, coming out in last place on medium Pirellis. Albon would shortly follow suit to avoid the undercut. 

Up top, Norris had taken his team's request one step further, enjoying an eight-second advantage by lap 14.

On lap 17, Albon would file into the pit lane to head into retirement from the Singapore Grand Prix after being told his FW46 was overheating. Williams would promptly inform media including RacingNews365 it was due to a suspected power unit/cooling issue.

Things were looking more promising for his team-mate, in ninth, with Perez telling Red Bull that the 21-year-old was "very good" and "difficult to pass".

The first of the lead runners to replace their rubber was Hamilton, casting aside his red-walled Pirellis on lap 18, opting for hard tyres to see him through to the chequered flag. He would re-emerge in P13.

As the 39-year-old moved back through the field, he radioed in to Mercedes to say he clipped the wall during his pit stop and to check his rear left. 

Norris, with a healthy 16-second lead on lap 22, had McLaren confirming he was in a game of chicken with Verstappen. The Woking team not wanting to be the first to pit.

Mid-point

As the race approached the half-way point, Hamilton was the unhappiest of the pack.

The seven-time drivers' champion would complain about his early stop and his dissatisfaction with the hardest compound of the Pirelli range in Singapore, with a close call with the wall sandwiched between - an ambitious pass on Yuki Tsunoda seeing him have to use the run-off area.

On lap 30, the race suddenly sprung into life. As Norris was asking McLaren to check his front wing for suspected damage incurred at Turn 14, Verstappen blinked first, coming in to pit.

The 26-year-old emerged behind the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc in fourth.

The race leader would indeed cover off the Dutchman, but no front wing change for his McLaren. He was back out at the head of the field and ahead of his team-mate.

He would, however, be informed of a small front wing issue, but McLaren was quick to assure him it was "nothing serious" to worry about - but replies showed it was a close call for Norris.

Whilst Russell asked Mercedes for "encouragement", the stewards would look at, and promptly decide against, investigating Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly for forcing another driver off the track.

Piastri's strategy came into frame on lap 35 with the Australian running in second and under under-cut threat from Hamilton. McLaren leaning towards leaving him out - in hope of a race-defining safety car - in order to enjoy a significant tyre advantage late on.

The 23-year-old's lap 39 stop would indeed see him re-emerge behind the Mercedes pair and in fifth. Further back, Colapinto would avoid an investigation into leaving the track and gaining an advantage at Turn 16.

Closing stages

With Piastri's severe tyre advantage, he would soon pass Hamilton, claiming fourth position on lap 40 on his much fresher hard tyres.

It would be another five laps before he would dispatch of Russell, leaving the Australian 17 laps to track down and challenge Verstappen in second.

Meanwhile, his team-mate would tap the wall at Turn 10, his second near-miss of the evening. All appeared fine for Norris' McLaren, however, with a fastest lap attempt on lap 49 underlining the strength of the MCL38.

With Ferrari enjoying stronger race pace than Mercedes, Leclerc would make his way past Hamilton and into fifth, but would he have time to take Russell and fourth?

Further back, a mistake by Kevin Magnussen punctured his rear left on the exit of Turn 5 - a long way back to the pits for the ailing Haas. 

After circuiting for a number of laps, the American team would eventually put the Dane into retirement on lap 57.

Ricciardo was deployed on soft tyres on the penultimate lap, with one aim, on what could be his final F1 race: take the fastest lap from Norris.

He would succeed in his task, aiding Red Bull and Verstappen in Singapore.