Lando Norris reflects on F1 Singapore GP win amid barrier brushes, as he along with Andrea Stella and Red Bull pair react to fastest lap drama.
Once he had a good start, it was all about stretching out a big lead for McLaren’s Norris in F1 Singapore GP at Marina Bay Circuit. And he did that. At one point, he had a lead of about 28s over Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in a dominant show.
In the bid to push and create a gap for potential pit stop, Norris stretched his car a bit more than it wanted, for him to have some hairy moment against the barrier. He eventually got the fastest lap to take the extra point, but it wasn’t his eventually.
While Red Bull and Visa Cash App RB haven’t outrightly agreed on it, but it sounds like a plan for Daniel Ricciardo to pit late and take the fastest lap point away from Norris on the final lap, with nothing to lose for the Australian in doing so.
Christian Horner left it on Visa Cash App RB to say anything, while Ricciardo was more about having fun in potentially his last outing. He expects a Christmas present from Verstappen, which the Dutchman reciprocating the gesture.
The crucial fastest lap snatch has implications as the F1 social media feed suggested. “Daniel Ricciardo’s fastest lap means Max Verstappen can finish 2nd to Lando Norris in all remaining Grands Prix and Sprints, regardless of fastest lap bonus points, and STILL win the drivers’ championship,” it said.
Norris was not too fussed per se, even though he felt there was nothing he could have done in that scenario, no matter how unfair it was. Team boss Stella echoed the sentiments, and wanted to believe it was not done deliberately.
He didn’t wished to raise the sportsmanship chatter considering how McLaren chief Zak Brown has always raised the point about Red Bull owning two teams being an unfair scenario in F1, which has been allowed for so long.
Race –
Norris: “Just a win is a win. So yeah, maybe it puts a slightly bigger smile on your face but the main job is just getting the win. So, it’s satisfying no matter what. Of course the bigger the gap you can have the happier you’re going to be but I’m just happy we finished on top and we got maximum points and got another win. It’s always going to be a tough race here, but I felt good all weekend, so all I had to do was go out there and perform like I’ve been performing and all things were going to go well. I mean, very, I was flat out. I was probably pushing a bit too hard. Yeah, it was definitely not like I was cruising.
“I was pushing to open up a gap, and at one point I wanted to try and open up a pit window to give myself an opportunity to maybe box at the end of the race for quickest lap if I needed to try and achieve that. Daniel stole that away from me at the end of the race. So, yeah, a tough one, but it wasn’t easy. The car was not easy to drive, especially on the Hard tyres. I struggled a lot more than what I did on the Medium. And especially just with the traffic and things, it was a bit harder to manage the second half of the stint compared to the first, but I was pushing. Let me tell you, I was definitely pushing. Probably too much, hence the mistakes I was making, or the two mistakes I made with the wall, but otherwise things were going well.”
Barrier brushes –
Norris: “I don’t think so. I mean, the team said that there was something with the front wing, maybe being a little bit off. I hit the front wing against the barrier, so it might have tweaked it a touch, but I don’t think probably much to change it, but hard to know. On these cars, as soon as you tweak something a tiny bit, it can have quite a big impact, but nothing that I was probably feeling. But yes, as soon as I did that, and I think it was more… I mean, I was pushing, but also it was just as I was catching up to the dirty air from the cars ahead, whether they were three, four seconds ahead, as soon as… It changes from the past, you know, 20 laps that I had. You have a little bit less grip, a little bit less downforce. Tyres are going away a little bit. It just caught me out. So it wasn’t like a lack of concentration or anything. It was just a bit of a surprise to me. But, yeah, I think the car was all good and the car has been mega weekend. So a big thanks to the team.”
Fastest lap taken away –
Norris: “Well done, Daniel. I don’t know. Nothing I can do is good on him. Yeah, I did my best at trying to get a quicker slap when the tyres were in a good condition in the middle. But I can’t have them all, you know. I’ve done my best at trying to get quicker slaps over the last few weekends and I’ve been able to get them more often than not. But I can’t, on a hard tyre in the middle of a stint, beat a guy on a new soft. So, yeah, that’s just life. That’s how it’s been in Formula 1 for, I don’t know, probably since before I was born, so… Nothing to complain about. There’s been races in the past when other people have been racing. We try to take it away from others. So, yes, the logical thing to do. The smart play by them. Happy for Daniel. That’s all.”
Stella: “I did not see it coming. I was a little surprised that the highest priority of Racing Bulls of racing in Singapore was to go and score the fastest lap of the race. At the same time I have so much sympathy, support and friendship with Daniel that I’m just happy that he may add this fastest lap to his track record. I think we just have to work hard to make sure that this doesn’t come down to a point. In fairness in the second part of the second stint, our attention was drawn on the fact that…as soon as you got behind the backmarkers, the car started to feel tricky. So it was all about no issues, no mistake, no lock-ups. We had seen already in practice that as soon as you are behind a slow car, like the things look like there is something wrong with the car. It is just the effect that they have. So the focus was entirely bringing the car home, we suggested Lando to have an attempt the fastest lap, which he achieved. But after that, we didn’t wanted to talk about fastest lap anymore.”
Horner: “Well, Daniel obviously wanted to finish the race on a high. So, you have to ask to VCARB about that one.”
Ricciardo: “I had an idea but I also thought they were just letting me have some fun because we were a long way out of the points. At the end the fastest lap, I am hoping Max wins by a point now as I’ve guaranteed myself a very nice Christmas present. So, sorry Lando. But I think I am going to get a good Christmas present.”
Verstappen: “Today I have to thank him for the fastest lap. He’s a great guy, honestly, we have got a great relationship, very sporting rivalry in the team. He will be remembered as a great driver, as a great person also. I think he has a great character, I think it’s very rare if someone hates him. I think also in a few years’ time, when I won’t be here anymore, we’ll sit back and look at all those years together and have a beer together. He can ask for anything he wants.”
Sportsmanship matter –
Stella: “This is a big matter. You know, as soon as you invoke the sportsmanship, I think you need to approach this with a sense of responsibility, that I want to have. I don’t know the facts. I just saw that RB went for the fastest lap, and they achieved it. But for me, here, talk about sportsmanship and so on, I think… it would be out of place. So I think we have to take it at face value. They scored the fastest lap, and potentially as part of a longer-term conversation, we need to put the sport in a position in which, at any stage – being it trackside or being it factory-side – teams behave in a totally autonomous manner, because this is a constructors’ championship. It’s not a coalition championship. Therefore this needs to be definitely addressed. But at no point I have elements now to say RB went for the fastest lap to support the Red Bull. I just find it a little… how to say… peculiar.”
Here’s fastest lap: https://www.formula1.com/en/video/dhl-fastest-lap-award-2024-singapore-grand-prix.1810917149358553627
Here’s barrier brush: https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2024-singapore-grand-prix-scare-for-race-leader-norris-as-he-locks-up-and-brushes-the-barriers.1810902697110313776
Here’s race win: https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2024-singapore-grand-prix-norris-crosses-the-line-to-take-a-dominant-victory-under-the-lights.1810905421354781336
Here’s how F1 Singapore GP panned out
Here’s drama about McLaren rear wing
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