McLaren sealed the constructors’ championship at the Singapore Grand Prix with Lando Norris overcoming illness to finish third, one place ahead of Formula 1 title rival Oscar Piastri
Lando Norris admitted he wanted to throw up as he waited on the grid before the start of the Singapore Grand Prix. But the waves of nausea hitting him were not because McLaren were so close to winning the constructors’ title again.
Illness meant he had barely eaten or drank – far from ideal at possibly the most physically demanding race of the year. But he was still sharp when the lights went out, rising from fifth on the grid to third after the first few corners. Bashing wheels with team-mate Oscar Piastri in the process was far from ideal, but it was either that or run into the back of Max Verstappen ahead.
They stayed third and fourth for the rest of the Grand Prix, more than enough for McLaren to secure their 10th constructors’ title and second in as many years.
Norris said: “When I was on the grid, I really wanted to throw up a little bit and get it out of my system and go and focus. But as soon as you put the helmet on and you’re in the car, adrenaline really starts to kick in and your mind starts to go elsewhere. I could distract myself a bit.”
He spent much of the race looking at the gearbox on Verstappen’s Red Bull, but was unable to overtake. Had he managed it, Norris reckoned he may have had a shot at stopping George Russell: “I thought that if I could get past I would have been able to quite easily catch George, the pace was that strong. A shame the overtaking was so difficult, but the pace was good – just not good enough.”
He will not mind too much – McLaren’s wild title celebrations in the pit lane were not dampened by the fact they did not win on the day. It is all about the drivers’ title race now and, for the third Grand Prix in a row, Norris took a small bite out of Piastri’s championship lead which is now down to 22 points.
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Pole-sitter Russell led throughout to secure a first Mercedes win in Singapore since 2018 and was as surprised as anyone by the pace he found. He said: “This track has not been my best friend over the years, mainly from my own doing. Friday was not a good day, I was not feeling good. But from Q3 I felt really on it and the race, really in control.”
Lewis Hamilton and Oliver Bearman made it a quartet of Brits in the points, but the seven-time champ was demoted one place from seventh with a post-race penalty. His brakes failed with two laps to go and he was forced to cut several corners, frustrating Fernando Alonso behind him who swore six times in an expletive-laden radio rant about Hamilton’s driving.
The Ferrari star said: “I was feeling really positive, attacking to close the 22-second gap to Kimi [Antonelli]… I saw my brakes were getting hot. Sparks came off and my pedal went long. I was grateful I still made the corner.”
Hamilton claimed he “wasn’t getting a lasting advantage” by cutting corners, but the stewards disagreed and punished him for “leaving the track without a justifiable reason, multiple times”. He and team-mate Charles Leclerc finished behind both Mercedes drivers as Ferrari slipped to 27 points behind the Silver Arrows in the battle for second in the championship.
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