Lando Norris makes big Singapore GP claim, admits he got lucky

Lando Norris’ special Halo inspired helmet appears to have given the British driver the boost he needed to finally not finish seventh.



The McLaren driver finished in the top five for the first time since his podium finish at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, demonstrating just how challenging the season has been for the driver placed seventh in the Drivers’ Championship.



It was a super race at the Marina Bay Circuit for McLaren, as Daniel Ricciardo finished behind Norris to seal a four-five finish for the Woking-based team, which saw them leapfrog Alpine in the Constructors’ Championship.



The race was one of defence rather than attack for Norris, who was initially alone for the first part of the race before having Max Verstappen right on his gearbox.







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Despite Verstappen’s best effort, Norris kept the championship leader behind him throughout the Grand Prix, in what was a brilliant drive.



Verstappen ended up dropping behind Ricciardo after going off the circuit at Turn Seven, after suffering a huge lock-up whilst diving down the inside of Norris following the Safety Car restart for Yuki Tsunoda’s Turn 10 crash.



The race, which ended up being two-hours long, was the “hardest” of Norris’ career, due to the “level of concentration” needed around the 23 corners.



“This was by far the hardest race probably of my career…maybe not because I had to hold off too many people, but just the level of concentration you need from lap one to the very end is incredible,” Norris explained to Sky F1 after the race.



“Especially when you start to get a little bit tired, which everyone does. It was very wet out there as well. Great day for us.”



Norris and Ricciardo both benefited massively from Tsunoda’s crash, as when the Safety Car was released, they hadn’t yet pitted for slick tyres.



This gave the duo a cheap pit-stop and ultimately made the four-five finish possible, something Norris realises after admitting “we got lucky”.




‘Big thing’: Sergio #Perez accuses journalists of racism at #SingaporeGP https://t.co/i21ZEdrwEy — Formula1News.co.uk (@Formula1newsUK) October 3, 2022




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“We got lucky that we got to box under the VSC and not many people did, so that gave me the opportunity to get close to him at least,” said Norris.



“I was a bit quicker on the first few laps. I was quite surprised – he just couldn’t get the tyres in very quickly.



“So I had a few chances to get close but as you saw with Max [Verstappen], when he tried to overtake it didn’t end very well. So I didn’t really want to risk anything either.”
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