McLaren's Lando Norris dominates Singapore GP over Max Verstappen

SINGAPORE -- Lando Norris continued to chip away at Max Verstappen's championship lead after a dominant victory over the Red Bull driver at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Norris crossed the line with a 20.9-second margin over Verstappen after leading all 62 laps of the race.

The McLaren driver took another seven points out of Verstappen's lead, although it could have been eight points had Daniel Ricciardo's RB not deprived him of the point for fastest lap on the final lap.

Ricciardo, who drives for the Red Bull-owned RB team but could be replaced before the next round in the U.S.A., finished 18th of 18 runners, meaning he did not get the point, which is only on offer to a driver in the top ten with the fastest lap but still deprived Norris of the fastest lap.

"Thank you, Daniel," Verstappen said over team radio when informed Ricciardo had beaten Norris to fastest lap.

Verstappen's championship lead now stands at 52 points with six rounds remaining -- three of which have sprint races as part of the weekend.

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Asked about the closing gap after the race, Verstappen said: "Yeah it is. But this can also change very quickly again.

"We need to keep on trying and, of course, at one point try to overturn it again and not be always finishing behind. But we'll see how it goes."

Despite leading comfortably throughout, Norris twice clipped the wall, once on lap 29 at the exit of Turn 14 and again on lap 45 on the entry to Turn 10.

The first incident caused minor damage to his front wing -- although not to the extent that McLaren felt the need to replace it at his pit stop -- while his car appeared to escape the second one unscathed.

"It was an amazing race," Norris said. "A few too many close calls - I had a couple of little moments in the middle, but it was well controlled I think, otherwise.

"The car was mega, I could push and we were flying the whole race. It was a nice race. Still tough, I'm a bit out of breath, but very fun one."

Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri finished third after starting fifth on the grid, helping McLaren extend its lead in the constructors' championship to 41 points over Red Bull. Piastri completed overtakes on both Mercedes cars in the second half of the race to secure the podium finish.

George Russell took fourth place after holding off a late charge from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in fifth place, who started down in ninth.

Lewis Hamilton dropped from third on the grid to sixth at the finish, after Mercedes' decision to start the race on soft tyres over the more conventional choice of mediums saw him pit early and struggle for performance in the second of the race.

Carlos Sainz recovered from a tenth place start to finish seventh ahead of the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso in eighth and the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg in ninth.

Sergio Perez took the final point on offer in tenth place after qualifying 13th, depriving Williams' Franco Colapinto, who crossed the line 11th, of his second points finish in his first three Formula 1 races.

The next round of the championship will take place in Austin, Texas on October 20.

When asked if Verstappen's race was lonely, trailing 20 seconds behind Norris, he said: "Yeah that's pretty much my race. I tried to do the best I could to manage my own pace to the end. The first stint was difficult for us, I tried to manage the tyre degredation and the second stint was a bit better, I was a bit more comfortable as well.

"I think on a weekend where we knew we were going to struggle to be P2 is a good achievement, but of course we're not happy with second and now we have to prove more and more."

Norris said afterwards: "It was an amazing race, a few too many close calls. A couple of moments in the middle but it was well controlled I think and the car was mega so I could push and we were fine the whole race. It was tough, I'm a bit out of breath.

"It was good have maximum points and have Oscar here on the podium and a good day for the team."

Despite leading comfortably throughout, Norris twice clipped the wall, once on lap 29 at the exit of Turn 14 and again on lap 45 on the entry to Turn 10.

The first incident caused minor damage to his front wing -- although not to the extent that McLaren felt the need to replace it at his pit stop -- while his car appeared to escape the second one unscathed.

Norris' McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri finished third after starting fifth on the grid, completing overtakes on both Mercedes cars in the second half of the race to secure the podium finish.

Mercedes' George Russell took fourth place after holding off a late charge from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in fifth place.

Lewis Hamilton dropped from third on the grid to sixth at the finish after a decision to start the race on soft tyres over the more conventional choice of mediums, saw him pit early and struggle for performance in the second of the race.

Carlos Sainz recovered from a tenth place start to finish seventh ahead of the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso in eighth and the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg in ninth.

Sergio Perez took the final point on offer in tenth place after qualifying 13th, depriving Williams' Franco Colapinto, who crossed the line 11th, of his second points finish in his first three Formula 1 races.