Pushing limits in Singapore, Lando Norris questions whether his dominance can lead to a championship crown.
As in Zandvoort, Lando Norris secured another commanding victory in Singapore, putting over 20 seconds between himself and Max Verstappen!
The McLaren F1 driver has never seemed to so thoroughly dominate a Grand Prix: is his third career win thus his most satisfying?
“A win is a win. It’s always satisfying, but it’s true that the bigger the margin, the bigger the smile. But I’m mainly happy to have finished first, taken the maximum points, and secured another victory. It’s always been a tough race here, but I felt good all weekend. All I had to do was go out and perform as I did, and everything was going to be alright.”
Lando Norris appeared to have plenty of pace in reserve, able to increase his lead when needed: as in the first stint, when his engineer asked him to push, he quickly extended his lead over Max Verstappen to more than five seconds…
“I was all in. Maybe even too much at times. It wasn’t like I was just managing. I was really pushing to build a gap, and at one point, I wanted to try to create a window for a pit stop to possibly go for the fastest lap at the end of the race if necessary. Daniel deprived me of that at the end of the race. So, yes, it was hard, but it wasn’t easy. The car was not simple to drive, especially with the hard tires. I struggled a lot more than with the mediums. And with the traffic and everything, it was a bit harder to manage the second half of the stint compared to the first.”
“But I was pushing. Believe me, I was really pushing. Maybe too much, hence the mistakes I made, or the two errors I had with the wall, but otherwise, everything was fine.”
Lando Norris indeed had a couple of close calls with the walls, giving them a little kiss… did he really have issues with the front wing, and could this have affected his balance?
“I don’t think so. The team mentioned there might have been an issue with the front wing. I hit it against the barrier, so that might have slightly altered it, but I don’t think it changed much. But it’s hard to say. With these cars, even a tiny modification can have a fairly significant impact, but nothing I probably felt. I was pushing, but I was also catching up to cars ahead, in their dirty air. And then, you have a bit less grip, a bit less downforce. The tires degrade a bit. It just took me by surprise. It wasn’t a lack of concentration or anything. It was just a bit of a surprise to me. But yes, I think the car was fine and it was exceptional all weekend. So a big thank you to the team.”
A more dominant McLaren F1… without a special DRS rear wing
Never perhaps had the McLaren F1 seemed so dominant: was this due to the specifics of the Singapore track, or does Lando Norris really have a ‘suspense killer’ in his hands?
“We haven’t changed anything on the car since this weekend or last weekend. We even had to make adjustments on some of our wings, and some people complained about it [referring to the controversies over the rear wing, editor’s note]. But we still had an excellent weekend and probably one of our most dominant weekends here.”
So, the ban on McLaren F1’s ‘DRS’ rear wing changed nothing, according to the Brit?
“I don’t think it made a difference, honestly. It’s just that the car has been excellent for a while now. I haven’t been able to finish first in several of these races where I felt I had the pace and the capability to do so. So, in part, it’s my fault for not executing things well. I paid the price for not doing a good enough job at certain times. But when I lead after the first corner and things are a bit simpler, we can have a day like today.”
The title, an unlikely but not impossible option?
Lando Norris can still win the title after Singapore: but he would need to win everything. And with the point taken by Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen can afford to finish 2nd in each Grand Prix or sprint…
Does the McLaren F1 driver still believe in the title?
“I’m sure Red Bull is pushing hard too. So, I mean, it’s obvious… I’m doing my best every weekend. I try to score as many points as possible every weekend. That includes the fastest laps and such. But if Max continues to finish second and if Red Bull continues to do what they did this weekend, then there’s nothing more I can do. So, I’m just focusing on myself and on us as a team. That’s all.”
Could the championship be decided in Abu Dhabi…?
“We don’t know. I don’t know. I can’t predict the future, so… I’m working as hard as possible, as I just said. I’m sure Red Bull and Max are too. I’m sure there will be a lot of competition until the end of the year, and as a team, the only thing we can do is try to score as many points as possible. That includes trying to win. Yes, it’s, again, a bit of a silly question. I mean, we’re doing our best, just like them. I still have a lot of points to catch up, and it won’t be easy.”
“It’s against Red Bull and it’s against Max, the most dominant duo Formula 1 has ever seen. And that hasn’t really changed… It’s the same team and it’s the same driver. So, I’m up against one of the toughest oppositions Formula 1 has ever seen. We’re doing a better job right now as a team because my car and our car are faster than theirs. But it’s simply thanks to the team doing an incredible job and being smarter in creating things like mini DRS flaps and other cool stuff, you know. It’s just that it’s the game, and it’s against these kinds of people we’re fighting, people who innovate too and create these things. So, I’m working hard, giving my all to make sure it happens. And he’s doing everything to make sure it doesn’t. So, we’ll have to wait and see.”
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Norris on Edge: Can Singapore’s Victor Triumph? Norris on Edge: Can Singapore’s Victor Triumph?. f1 2024 Norris on Edge: Can Singapore’s Victor Triumph?
