Lando Norris cruises to victory at Singapore Grand Prix to cut Max Verstappen's F1 lead

Lando Norris survived a couple of brushes with barriers as he won the Singapore Grand Prix with ease and cut into Max Verstappen’s Formula 1 standings lead

Lando Norris survived a couple of brushes with barriers as he won the Singapore Grand Prix with ease and cut into Max Verstappen's Formula 1 standings lead on Sunday (September 22, 2024).

Norris started on pole position ahead of Verstappen and steadily built a large lead for his third career win. All have come this year.

There were two brief moments of jeopardy when the McLaren driver first locked his brakes and touched the barriers, prompting concern he'd damaged the front wing, and later when a rear tire brushed another but Norris seemed largely unaffected as he cruised to the win.

"It was an amazing race. A few too many close calls," Norris said.

"It's not that you're necessarily over-pushing. Sometimes it can be that you're just chilling too much. Maybe it's a bit of both. I don't know what it is, but it's tricky." With such a big lead, staying focused was one of Norris' challenges. Races in Singapore have a habit of turning on strategy calls, or if a crash brings out the safety car and brings the cars back together. Norris had to stay alert but there was no safety car — a first in Singapore.

Verstappen came in second for Red Bull after a race that was largely uneventful after he held off Lewis Hamilton into the first corner at the start.

Oscar Piastri, the winner for McLaren in Azerbaijan last week, moved up from fifth on the grid to finish third after passing Mercedes' Hamilton and later George Russell for the final podium place.