The Singapore Grand Prix didn’t offer much drama as it was the only one in history without a safety car. Still, the streets of Marina Bay challenged someone a bit more than the other. Let’s take a look who is heading into the month-long break happy and who disappointed.
Winner: Lando Norris
Let’s start with the obvious one - the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix winner - Lando Norris.
After an amazing pole-position-scoring lap during Saturday’s qualifying, The British driver managed to pull off an even better performance on Sunday, when he beat his championship rival Max Verstappen by almost 21 seconds!
For Norris, it was a third victory this season and in his career, once again proving McLaren’s potential. Thanks to the Brit and his teammate Oscar Piastri, McLaren now comfortably sits in the lead of 41 points ahead of Red Bull in the Constructor’s Championship.
Norris' Singapore Grand Prix victory has cut Verstappen's lead in the championship to 52 points, with six races and three sprints still to go in 2024.
Sizzling pace under the Singapore lights 🔥@LandoNorris cruises to a third career win 👏#F1 #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/X9xeaYcQTT
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 22, 2024
Loser: Ferrari
On paper, Ferrari was supposed to be the strongest one in Singapore as the team has secured a pole position here every time since 2019.
Despite the good-looking start to the weekend with strong pace during Friday’s practice sessions, everything went downhill for the Italian team. They were putting lots of hopes into Saturday’s qualifying, but meanwhile finished the session P9 and P10 after Sainz’s crash in the last corner and Leclerc getting his time deleted due to track limits.
The race was a bit better for Scuderia as Leclerc managed to finish fifth and Sainz seventh overall, securing 16 points for the team and maximizing the result after the nightmare qualifying session. However, from a weekend they were expected to dominate, it is not a good outcome.
Winner: Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen had a rough Friday, struggling to find comfort in his RB20, which has had problems for a couple of races at the moment and wasn’t really ready for the tricky Singapore's Marina Bay Street Circuit.
However, by Saturday, both the Dutchman and the team managed a remarkable turnaround. Surprising even himself, Verstappen secured a front-row start and turned that into a second-place finish, minimizing his losses in the title battle, which he still leads by 52 points ahead of Norris.
The reigning champion also could be classified as a loser of the weekend because of his “obligation to do a work of public interest”, which he received as a punishment from FIA for swearing during Thursday’s press conference.
"Thank you, Daniel" #F1 #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/rdQTDk1NBH
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 22, 2024
Loser: Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton showcased one of his best qualifying efforts of the season by securing third place, keeping his remarkable record of qualifying in the top five at every one of the 15 Singapore Grands Prix intact.
Opting for a used set of soft tires at the start of the race, Hamilton's strategy required an early pit stop, which ultimately dropped him behind his Mercedes teammate George Russell, even though Hamilton had outqualified him for just the fifth time this season.
The seven-time world champion struggled to keep up with Piastri, Leclerc and already mentioned Russell and had to settle down for sixth place on Sunday.
The Singapore GP marked his 350th Grand Prix, which places him second in the all-time race start list, with only Fernando Alonso ahead, boasting 395 starts.
Winner: Haas
For the first time this season, Haas has secured points in three consecutive races, with Nico Hulkenberg turning his impressive sixth-place qualifying into a ninth-place finish in the Grand Prix as he was overtaken by both Ferrari drivers, as well as Alonso, who gained a significant advantage with an undercut by pitting four laps earlier.
This marks Hulkenberg's first points finish since the British GP in July and his sixth of the season, elevating him into the last place of the top 10 in the driver's standings with 24 points.
The team is now seventh in the constructor’s standings with 31 points losing only 3 points to RB in sixth. What a great achievement for the team that was desperately last with 0 points two years ago.
Loser: Sergio Perez
After a good weekend from the performance side in Baku, which ended early for Sergio Perez as he collided with Carlos Sainz in the penultimate lap of the race, Perez suffered another disastrous race.
After starting from P13, he know that the Marina Bay race is going to be pain full of overtaking for him. He gained 3 places right after the start and moved up to the last point-scoring position. However, he wasn’t able to get more out of his RB20 and finished the race in tenth, securing at least one point for Red Bull.
The Milton Keynes-based team is now losing 41 points to McLaren in the championship and if Perez won’t improve the title is at serious risk, same as his 2025 Red Bull seat.
“He’s very good”
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 22, 2024
Checo was impressed by Franco's defence 💪#F1 #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/PHnOUy15hE
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