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Lando Norris clinched his third career victory in a rather weird but unique Singapore race, during which he hit the wall twice while comfortably leading. Despite the lack of early excitement, the race had its moments of drama.
At the start, the leading drivers had a solid launch, maintaining their positions until Oscar Piastri dropped to P6 behind Nico Hulkenberg. However, the pace difference between McLaren and Haas was significant, allowing Piastri to regain his position a few corners later. Meanwhile, Norris finally did what was expected of him, holding onto the top spot.
In the opening laps, Verstappen's Red Bull seemed capable of keeping up with Norris's McLaren. However, when McLaren instructed Norris to push, he responded by improving his pace by a full second in just one lap, setting the stage for his pit stop.
Daniel Ricciardo was the first to pit on lap 11, switching to soft tires but returning to the back of the pack, far behind Valtteri Bottas. Alexander Albon followed suit a lap later, despite starting on medium tires. The pit strategies began to grow, with Carlos Sainz making his tire change on lap 14, switching from medium to hard. Albon showcased the undercut's effectiveness but couldn't maintain his position as Sainz pulled ahead shortly after.
The first major incident occurred on lap 16 when Albon’s Williams rolled slowly due to overheating. Fortunately, he managed to make it to the pits without prompting a safety car. Lewis Hamilton changed his soft tires on lap 18 and returned to P13, while his teammate made a similar switch ten laps later as Piastri began to pressure him for P3.
The first overtaking maneuver among the top drivers happened on lap 29, with Charles Leclerc passing Nico Hulkenberg for P4. In that same lap, Sergio Perez came in for fresh hard tires, showing the varying strategies at play.
Red Bull called Verstappen to the pits on lap 30, where he also switched to hard tires, aiming for the race's final stint. Norris pitted a lap later but narrowly avoided disaster after brushing the wall without damage. Piastri and Leclerc were the only two drivers in the top ten to extend their stints on mediums. Ferrari eventually called Leclerc in on lap 37, allowing him to rejoin in P8. Piastri, two laps later, switched to hard tires and quickly passed Hamilton, taking P5 with relative ease thanks to a significant tire age difference.
Next, we saw Leclerc pressuring Fernando Alonso for P7, taking advantage of his fresher tires. Sainz, meanwhile, was just a few seconds ahead, and their battle was interrupted when Sainz received a team message to swap positions.
On lap 45, Piastri and Russell engaged in a thrilling duel. Piastri’s hard tires were only five laps old, while Russell struggled with tires that were 16 laps old. Piastri made a decisive move in the same spot where he had overtaken Hamilton earlier, securing his spot on the podium.
Continuation
In lap 47, Norris had another moment of carelessness, lightly hitting the barrier with his rear tire but escaping without damage. At this point, he held a commanding 25-second lead over Verstappen.
By lap 50, Kevin Magnussen suffered a puncture after brushing the wall, allowing Leclerc to confidently pass Hamilton and chase after Russell for P4. Magnussen managed to reach the pits without causing a safety car incident.
As the race approached its final laps, focus began to wane, and Russell brushed the wall, also avoiding huge damage. The concluding laps were marked by a fierce battle between Leclerc and Russell, who maintained a tight gap but could not find a way to overtake, leaving Leclerc in P5.
In the end, points were awarded to Hamilton (P6), Sainz, Alonso, Hulkenberg, and Perez, while Franco Colapinto just missed the points by 1.8 seconds.
Lando Norris must be feeling quite happy with this victory, especially as he’s closing the gap on Max Verstappen. On the other hand, the Dutch driver has reason to be concerned, knowing Norris is right behind him. If this momentum continues, a lot could happen in the upcoming races.
It’s hard to say whether Max is feeling frustrated or not, especially since he’s been anticipating some changes, but progress seems stalled. Norris is seizing the opportunity presented to him, and few expected this kind of outcome. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season grows, as this is shaping up to be one of the most exciting seasons for F1 fans.
Max Verstappen has to change something. His statements after this race could attract a lot of attention.
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