Lando Norris dominates Singapore Grand Prix to win after leading every single lap

Lando Norris won the 2024 Formula One Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix in dominant fashion, taking the chequered flag first by over 20 seconds after leading every single lap. 

The stage was set for a blockbuster Formula One Singapore Grand Prix, the fifteenth running of the original F1 night race in front of a sell-out crowd over 290,000 strong. Championship rivals Lando Norris and Max Verstappen lined up side-by-side on the front row of the grid, both eyeing a maximum points haul this weekend to either close down or increase the points gap in the driver’s championship.

Here’s how the 2024 edition of the Singapore Grand Prix unfolded. 

Before the race even got underway, it was stressful stuff for the Aston Martin team as they do a last-minute brake change after complaints from Lance Stroll during his reconnaissance laps to the grid. 

Pole-sitter Lando Norris retained the lead of the race on the opening lap for the first time in his career as the rest of the pack kept it clean behind him. Franco Colapinto and Sergio Perez were the biggest movers, jumping up to 9th and 10th respectively in the opening lap. 

Norris built a gap of just under two seconds between himself and second-placed Max Verstappen as the race settled into a tyre management phase. Most of the drivers started on the Medium compound tyre except Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo who started on the Soft, and Kevin Magnussen, Lance Stroll, Valterri Bottas, and Zhou Guanyu who started on the Hard.

Lando Norris leads the way into Turn 1.

In addition to tyre management, another important aspect of racing on the streets of Singapore is of course, heat management. With the air temperature at a balmy 31˚ Celsius and 76% humidity, keeping the car, tyres, and brakes cool are crucial to performance in the race. 

Throughout the first 10 laps of the race, Norris used his McLaren’s pace advantage to extend his lead to four seconds over Verstappen, setting multiple fastest laps along the way. 

Daniel Ricciardo was the first man into the pits on lap 11, swapping out the Soft tyres he started with for a new set of Mediums. Alex Albon would be next into the pits on lap 12, changing his Mediums out for a set of Hards. 

Carlos Sainz was the first of the big teams to come into the pits to cover off the Williams of Albon and put a set of Hard tyres on, a slower stop brought Sainz out just in front of Albon, giving the Ferrari the coveted clear air. 

The Williams of Albon then started limping around the track, dropping to last before coming into the pits on lap 17 to retire the car with an overheating engine. He would be the first driver to retire from the race, at a track known to be punishing on both car and driver. 

Norris continued to build his lead right from the start.

Hamilton would pit from 3rd place on lap 18 to be the first of the front-runners to stop for new tyres. Of course, Hamilton was the only one of the front-runners to be running that Soft compound tyre. 

Norris on the same lap continued to fly along at the front, his lead over Verstappen in 2nd now up to 13 seconds. 

After dropping to 18th after his early pit stop, Sainz gradually worked his way back up the field, passing both Saubers and the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll to put his Ferrari back into 15th place on lap 21.

Charles Leclerc would finally get past Fernando Alonso’s Aston when the Spaniard pits from 6th on lap 26. Leclerc was stuck behind Alonso since the start of the race and getting increasingly frustrated at his being there.

Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso fighting for position.

George Russell then pit from 3rd, with a quick stop and enough of a gap built up during his stint to come back onto the track in 8th and more crucially, ahead of his teammate Hamilton. 

Leclerc would continue to make his way up the grid after getting past the staunchly defensive Nico Hulkenberg who was running an excellent race in 5th. 

Drama on lap 30! Norris complains of possible front wing damage over the radio. Red Bull decided to take that as their cue to pit both Perez and Verstappen and replace their aging tyres. 

Norris stopped on the following lap but would not make a front wing change. His team would later tell him that though there is minor damage, it’s nothing serious. Norris picked up that damage after locking up his brakes and having a very close shave with the wall. 

Leclerc under attack by the Mercedes of George Russell.

Leclerc and Russell duked it out on the track as the Mercedes made several attempts to get past Leclerc who, on lap 35, was still running the same set of tyres he started the race with. 

On lap 37, Leclerc would finally come into the pits to swap his aging Mediums for a new set of Hard tyres and rejoin the race in 8th place ahead of Hulkenberg and ready to chase down 7th-place Alonso. 

Oscar Piastri made his first stop on lap 39 to put on a set of Hards and come out in 5th behind both Mercedes, Verstappen, and his teammate who was leading by 23 seconds. 

Piastri’s massive tyre offset to the Mercedes meant the Australian made light work of passing Hamilton on the following lap, putting himself into 4th and free to chase down the podium places. Leclerc on fresh rubber also got past Alonso for 7th and set off down the road after his teammate in 6th. 

Leclerc makes his one stop for new tyres after a long opening stint.

The Ferraris swapped positions as Sainz let Leclerc through on lap 43 to allow a resurgent Leclerc to hunt down the leaders. 

In no time at all, Piastri used his much fresher tyres and huge pace advantage to get past the Mercedes of Russell with a brilliant move around the outside of Turn 7. Piastri was now up into the podium places with 16 laps still to run. 

It’s edge-of-the-seat stuff as Norris clips the wall again! He grazes the wall on the entry into Turn 10 and gets told by his team over the radio to concentrate.

Magnussen smacks the wall on the exit of Turn 5 and gives himself a left rear puncture but manages to limp his Haas back to the pits without shredding his tyre carcass all over the track. Magnussen would use his new Soft tyres to briefly hold the fastest lap of the race before his lap time got deleted for a track limits infringement. 

With three laps to go, Leclerc finally caught up to the back of Russell in the fight for 4th. The battle between them would go all the way to the line with Leclerc eventually failing to get past the Mercedes and settling for 5th. This year’s Singapore Grand Prix was the first in its history to not feature a Safety Car and is also the ninth straight race without a Safety Car this season. 

Norris takes the chequered flag to win the 2024 Formula One Singapore Grand Prix.

Out front though, it’s Lando Norris who would win the Singapore Grand Prix by over 20 seconds after leading from start to finish. Verstappen finished 2nd with Piastri rounding out the podium in 3rd. 

Daniel Ricciardo would finish 18th and last but took a late-race pit stop for fresh Softs and claimed the fastest lap in what may be his final race in F1. The fastest lap for the former Red Bull driver also meant that Norris lost his extra point, reducing his point gain over Verstappen in the title fight.

Daniel Ricciardo set the fastest lap in what may be his last F1 race.

The championship battle between Verstappen and Norris rages on with the gap between the top two in the standings now down to 52 points. Charles Leclerc sits third in the drivers’ standings, 86 points behind Verstappen.

In the constructor’s championship, with their 1-3 finish tonight, McLaren extend their lead over Red Bull to 41 points. Ferrari’s 5-7 finish was good damage control after a poor qualifying, closing the gap to Red Bull to just 34 points in the fight for 2nd.

All photos courtesy of Singapore GP Pte Ltd.

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