F1 News: Lando Norris Explains His Near Misses At Singapore Grand Prix

Alex Harrington | 7 Hours Ago

May 5, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; McLaren driver Lando Norris (4) poses with the race trophy after winning the Miami Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images / Peter Casey-Imagn Images

Lando Norris clinched victory at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, but not without driving into some tense moments during his heated campaign. Despite an "amazing" race, Norris admitted to having "a few too many close calls" after he collided with the walls of the circuit numerous times.

Reflecting on his performance, Norris was quick to praise his car's level of performance.

"A few too many close calls - I had a couple of little moments in the middle - but it was well controlled, I think, otherwise.

“The car was mega. I could push, we were flying the whole race, and at the end, I could just chill. So it was a nice race, still tough, I'm a bit out of breath, but a fun one,” he stated.

One of the major concerns throughout the race was the near-misses Norris had with the barriers. Discussing these incidents, he said:

"It's not that you are necessarily over-pushing, sometimes it can even be that you are just chilling too much.

"Maybe it was a bit of both, I don't know what it is.

"It's tricky. It's still tough out there and easy to lock the tires as I did. I still pushed, I didn't want to have a one-second lead, I wanted to have the biggest lead possible," said Norris.

The race, held at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, saw Norris cross the finish line ahead of championship leader Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, who took second and third places respectively. Norris's pole position start allowed him to maintain a consistent lead from start to finish, and from the onset, Norris set a blistering pace, extending his advantage over Verstappen by 1.1 seconds on the very first lap, and eventually ballooning this lead to over 22 seconds by Lap 28.

Throughout the race, Norris's lead prompted a variety of strategic responses from rival teams.

George Russell and Charles Leclerc rounded out the top five, while Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz, and Fernando Alonso finished in sixth, seventh, and eighth positions respectively. Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez completed the top ten, with Franco Colapinto narrowly missing a points finish but showing excellent performance from the onset of the race.

Daniel Ricciardo, although finishing eighteenth, set the fastest lap of what is expected to be his very last race. The circuit’s technical demands led to Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen not finishing the race.

2024 Singapore Grand Prix Results

1. Lando Norris
2. Max Verstappen
3. Oscar Piastri
4. George Russell
5. Charles Leclerc
6. Lewis Hamilton
7. Carlos Sainz
8. Fernando Alonso
9. Nico Hulkenberg
10. Sergio Perez
11. Franco Colapinto
12. Yuki Tsunoda
13. Esteban Ocon
14. Lance Stroll
15. Zhou Guanyu
16. Valtteri Bottas
17. Pierre Gasly
18. Daniel Ricciardo - Fastest Lap
19. Kevin Magnussen - DNF
20. Alex Albon - DNF