With Max catching up to Lando in quali, could he hold his pole position up against the provisional champion? Here is how the F1 2024 Singapore GP went down.
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Lando Norris displayed some blistering pace in yesterdays qualifying session and naturally took pole position. Interestingly, Max Verstappen was able to put his car on the second row after a streak of poor performance. Norris had a mammoth task ahead of him in order to keep Verstappen behind. Just over ten minutes before lights out, Aston Martin mechanics urgently performed a major brake change on Lance Stroll and impressively repaired the car before the race start. The pressure was on at the F1 2024 Singapore GP for McLaren and Red Bull’s ongoing battle.
Lights Out In Singapore:
Norris got a excellent start from Verstappen and was able to retain his lead, getting away perfectly. Piastri was unfortunately dive-bombed by George Russell but continued to fight for track position. Franco Colapinto made up three places on the first lap, putting in a fantastic drive for Williams. The Argentinian driver found himself fighting for position with Charles Leclerc ahead. Norris had broken the DRS gap to Verstappen by lap three. George Russell came on the radio to complain about Hamilton’s pace ahead of him, telling him to “pick up the pace”. Russell was out-driving Hamilton at about 0.4 seconds per lap. Alex Albon sounded rather displeased over the radio concerning his teammates ambitious first lap move.
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Lando Norris appeared to be the favourite for the win in Singapore due to this eye watering pace. He consistently set the fastest time lap after lap and broke away from Verstappen behind with ease, building a steady gap. Hamilton’s battle with his own car this weekend continued as he was setting considerably slower times to his teammate while on the faster tyre. Daniel Ricciardo took an early pit stop to bolt on a fresh set of mediums; this placed him last but gave him the clear air necessary to build track position. By lap 11, Norris had already build a seven second gap to Verstappen. Meanwhile, Franco Colapinto continues to impress as Red Bull driver Sergio Perez was unable to pass him
Albon Called To Retire:
Ferrari made a clever call to bring Carlos Sainz in for hard tyres. This put him back out in P18 however this is optimal to build his way back to the top. Alex Albon suddenly broke away from the pack and appeared to be limping around the track. He took his car into the pits and was boxed to retire on lap 17 of the race due to his power unit overheating.
Lewis Hamilton challenged the team’s strategy call to pit early, claiming that his stint on the hard tyre will make him suffer later in the race. Fernando Alonso displayed his impressive defence skills against Charles Leclerc behind who was unable to pass him. Leclerc complained over the radio that the lack of pace was “so frustrating”. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri in P4 was steadily gaining and benefiting from the Mercedes struggle after Russell was called to box. After an exhausting battle for track position, Charles Leclerc was finally able to pass Nico Hulkenberg and move up into P4. Norris ahead suffered a minor lockup at turn 14 and clipped the wall. Red bull jumped on this opportunity and attempted an undercut which was unsuccessful. Lando did box after Max but his front wing was not changed as the damage was deemed not detrimental.
The whole 62 laps of the Singapore GP was an uphill battle for Leclerc as he believed he was on the back foot with pace. Meanwhile, McLaren pulled off an impressive pit stop for Piastri and put on a fresh set of hards for him. He now had the challenge of working his way back up to P2 or even possibly P1. RB pulled off a tactical switch and ordered Daniel Ricciardo to let Yuki Tsunoda pass to maximise points potential. Ferrari made the same team order for Carlos Sainz to let Charles Leclerc ahead. Kevin Magnussen’s pace dropped at the back of the field after suffering from a puncture and had to struggle his way back to the pits for a change. This came after brushing the wall on the exit of T5.
Surprisingly, this years race was the first ever Singapore GP without a safety car. This proved to be relentless for the drivers with no break from the unforgiving conditions.With a staggering 42 seconds between the top three drivers, Lando Norris took the chequered flag after an extremely dominant performance all weekend. Max Verstappen was able to hang onto P2 however his teammate Sergio Perez placed far behind in P10. Daniel Ricciardo pinched the last lap point from Norris on the last lap of the race, spoiling a potential grandslam for the F1 2024 Singapore GP.
Feature Image Credit: McLaren Media Centre