Singapore GP: Lando Norris excited by Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton challenge as he seeks crucial F1 win | F1 News

Lando Norris is relishing the “pretty awesome” challenge of battling Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton for Singapore GP victory.

He also expects the world champion pair to each “probably try to play more tricks” attempting to win a race pivotal to the McLaren’s driver’s own first-time title hopes.

Norris will head a blockbuster grid for Sunday’s race at the Marina Bay street circuit, which starts at 1pm live on Sky Sports F1.

For the first time since the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August, the Briton shares the front row with defending three-time champion and 59-point title leader Verstappen, who returned to qualifying form after a series of disappointing races that has allowed Norris and McLaren to put the Dutchman and Red Bull under serious championship pressure.

Norris then has Hamilton, the sport’s most decorated driver, behind the Red Bull in third after the seven-time champion put his season-long Saturday struggles aside to surge to the head of an all-Mercedes second row.

For Norris, though, a fifth pole position of the season undoubtedly places him in the boxseat to try and control a race on a street track where overtaking is infamously difficult.

But the Briton is also aware that starting immediately ahead of drivers who occupy two of the top-three positions on the all-time F1 table for race wins poses a unique challenge to that quest.

“It’s pretty cool that I’m here and there’s 150 wins between them,” said Norris after beating Verstappen to pole by 0.203s and Hamilton by 0.316s.

“I’ve got nothing on them and nothing comparing to them. So I find it cool that I’m here and amongst them, and trying to fight against them is pretty awesome in my regard.

“I respect them a lot. I’ve looked up to both of them for a long time, both literally and mentally. It doesn’t change what I do and how I go out and drive. I probably know what to expect a bit more from them because I’ve seen them drive and I think they both drive with respect and they both want to drive as clean racing drivers.

“So I think that’s something I always look forward to. However it ended [with Verstappen] in Austria, I think we’ve had a great battle there and good battles at other tracks too.

“It doesn’t change anything, I just know that they’ll probably try to play more tricks. They’re smarter than probably the other drivers and know how to play the longer game or the shorter game more than probably other drivers too. So probably just respect it more and enjoy being here with two greats of the sport.”

Will Norris shed unwanted first-lap record from pole?

While he cannot yet match the career achievements of the drivers he will race head-to-head with on Sunday, one statistic Norris will be desperate to immediately improve upon is his own record when starting from pole position in F1.

Incredibly, on the five previous occasions he has started from the front of the field, the 24-year-old has failed to lead the race at the end of the opening lap.

Most recently, he dropped to third behind team-mate Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at Monza three weeks ago in opening exchanges that cost him the race win.

Indeed, Norris’ only victory from a race he started first in came at Zandvoort the week before that.

But after a stellar weekend so far in his impressive McLaren, an optimistic Norris said: “Confident that the car’s good in both qualy and race.

“We showed that already on Friday. So confident if I can just get ahead, then I get my head down and can go away.”

Verstappen: I want to win – I want to go for that

While Norris had given notice of his strong Singapore pace all through practice, a challenge from Verstappen had appeared less likely to materialise with Red Bull having again proved off the pace on Friday on a bogey track they toiled at in their otherwise-unbeaten season last year.

But major changes to the RB20 overnight brought Verstappen back into play and, with Ferrari’s qualifying challenge falling flat in Q3, the Dutchman pounced to join Norris at the head of the grid.

A relieved Verstappen is naturally now setting his sights on a first victory in Singapore, although he also spoke about the need to play the percentage game on a circuit McLaren clearly are superior around.

“I want to win. I want to go for that,” declared Verstappen, who is on a seven-race drought since triumphing at June’s Spanish GP.

“If I see the opportunity, I’m going for it. But of course, in general, it’s about collecting points at every single race. The whole weekend here we were lacking massively and McLaren and especially Lando, they were flying, so it could have easily been P1 against P10 or something.

“So to be on the front row with Lando is very good. When I see opportunities, we’ll try to take them. But at the end of the day, it’s still a long season, a lot of races where we have to perform.”

Will Hamilton be a factor in the fight for victory too? ‘Anything can happen’

Hamilton will start as the highest-placed Mercedes on the grid for just the fifth time in 18 races this year and expressed relief at enjoying a rare strong Saturday in 2024.

“On my side, qualifying has been a nightmare for a year or so, or at least most of this year, and it’s been something I’ve really been working on,” he told Sky Sports F1.

“There’s definitely been a lot of work I’ve had to do mentally to try to just hold on to it and to continue to believe. Then the races have been strong, generally through the year I race well. But it makes it so much harder when you don’t qualify well.”

Like Red Bull, Mercedes made wholesale changes to their car for Saturday after an uncompetitive start and Hamilton therefore admits “it’s difficult to know where we will be balance-wise for the race”, although is confident “the car is in a better place”.

Referencing both the controversy over McLaren’s front and rear wings that has rumbled through the sport in recent races, and the Austrian GP collision between Verstappen and Norris back in June, Hamilton said of the challenge ahead of him: “If we can hold on to these guys, anything can happen at this track, so tyre degradation’s going to be key.

“I think the McLaren is too fast with their front-wing moving, rear-wing moving, they’re lightning at the moment and that’s going to be hard to beat. But I’ll stay hopeful and give it everything.

“We have seen these two at the start of the race, and in races, anything can happen. So I will try just to try and make sure I’m there to capitalise on whatever it is.”

Sky Sports F1’s live Singapore GP schedule

Sunday September 22
8.30am: F1 Academy Race Two
11:30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Singapore GP build-up
1pm: The SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX
3pm: Chequered Flag: Singapore GP reaction
4pm: Ted’s Notebook

Formula 1’s thrilling 2024 season continues live on Sky Sports F1 under the lights at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday at 2pm. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime