SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX 2024
Norris wins for the third time this season reducing the gap to Max Verstappen in the Driver's World Championship, with it only being 52 points now!!
The race was quite eventful with Norris starting on pole beside his championship rival Max Verstappen and a Mercedes row 2. After a good start by Lando Norris, retaining his lead from pole, he was no where to be seen, miles ahead of the whole pack for the full race distance. An utter supreme and dominant drive by him to finish 21 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen and a whole 42 seconds in front of his teammate who is exactly in the same car as him. Today he made a statement out there showing he is as deserving of the championship as anyone other driver.
Although, his race was dominant, it was not without any difficulties, touching the wall on two occasions. But luck was by his side, saving him from ending his race due to careless errors. Max Verstappen after long time looked like his car was a bit faster than the Ferrari's and Mercedes but this is all speculation as Ferrari had a disastrous qualifying starting in 9th and 10th. Charles Leclerc drove a brilliant race today finishing 5th, barely missing out on 4th position after starting 9th even after having issues at the start, not being able to overtake Alonso and Hulkenberg.
Mercedes did not carry forward the qualifying pace from yesterday, finishing 4th and 6th after starting 3rd and 4th. They would have wanted to score more points but just did not have the speed and mechanical grip. Still a good haul of points for them, but will go home a bit disappointed.
It was a difficult race for the drivers and the cars, which could be seen when Albon retired his car due to his car's power unit overheating. The drivers also were drenched in sweat and supposedly lost about 5 kg after the race!
Hulkenberg had a good drive, holding off Perez till the end to finish in P9, another points haul for the Haas team. Perez did not have a good race after a horrid qualifying yesterday, finishing in P10 and scoring a single point, which is much less than what Red Bull need as McLaren even today went home with 40 points compared to Red Bull's 19, extending their lead in the Constructor's title to 41 points.
Franco Colapinto drove a superb race, finishing just at the cusp of points in P11, showing Williams and the whole world the great driver he is. Subsequently showing that replacing him for Logan Sargeant was the right choice. Daniel Riccardo took the fastest lap at the penultimate lap, stealing away Norris's first grand slam win ever, helping the Red Bull team in what might be his last race for the season or in his career, which is not what all the fans want.
With the end of the stellar race under the lights, we head to Austin next time around with a much needed 3 week gap for the drivers but a bit disheartening one for the fans due to the long wait. We will look to see if Norris can continue with his dominant form and reduce Max championship lead or will other factors hinder him. Another thing to look out for is the decision by the Red Bull group and the VCarb team if they will continue with Daniel Riccardo, the honey badger for the next race and onwards.
norris is overrated he deserved not to win the wcc
ReplyDelete