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

He also expects the world champion pair “will probably try to use more tricks” to win a race each, which is crucial to the McLaren driver’s hopes of his first title.

Norris will lead a blockbuster grid for Sunday’s race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, which It 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 three-time defending champion and 59-point leader Verstappen, who has returned to his qualifying form after a series of disappointing races in which Norris and McLaren put the Dutchman and Red Bull under serious pressure in the championship.

Norris then relegated Hamilton, the sport’s most successful driver, to third behind the Red Bull after the seven-time champion put aside his Saturday woes that had dogged him all season to move to the front of the all-Mercedes second row.

For Norris, on the other hand, the fifth pole position of the season is undoubtedly a good starting point to control a race on a street circuit where overtaking is notoriously difficult.

But the Briton is also aware that this goal will be particularly challenging, starting directly in front of drivers who occupy two of the top three places in the all-time F1 race win rankings.

“It’s pretty cool to be here and have 150 wins between them,” said Norris after beating Verstappen by 0.203 seconds and Hamilton by 0.316 seconds.

“I have nothing against them and I can’t compare myself to them. So I think it’s cool that I’m here and among them and trying to fight them is pretty awesome in my opinion.”

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

“I think that’s something I always look forward to. Whatever it was (with Verstappen) in Austria, I think we had a great battle there and good battles at other tracks as well.”

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

Will Norris break his unwanted record for the first lap from pole?

Although he cannot yet match the career successes of the drivers he will be racing against on Sunday, one statistic that Norris is keen to improve as quickly as possible is his own record for starting from pole position in F1.

It’s hard to believe, but on the five previous occasions where he started from the front of the field, the 24-year-old failed to lead the race at the end of the first lap.

Most recently, three weeks ago in Monza, he fell to third place behind his teammate Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari as a result of opening changes that cost him the race win.

Norris’ only Grand Prix win in which he started first came the week before at Zandvoort, where he lost out to Verstappen at the start but later overtook the world champion and dominated the race.

But after an outstanding weekend so far in his impressive McLaren, an optimistic Norris said: “I am confident that the car is good both in qualifying and in the race.”

“We showed that on Friday. I’m so confident that if I can just take the lead, I can put my head down and go.”

He added Sky Sports F1: “I’m sure Max will make my life difficult, and that’s exactly what he’s there for.

“But I concentrate on myself, keep going, and I’ll be fine.”

Verstappen: I want to win – that’s what I want to achieve

While Norris had hinted at his strong pace in Singapore throughout practice, a challenge from Verstappen seemed less likely as Red Bull failed to keep pace again on Friday on a bogey track that they struggled on during their otherwise unbeaten season last year.

But extensive changes to the RB20 overnight brought Verstappen back into the game. Ferrari’s attempts to qualify failed in Q3 and Piastri disappointed. The Dutchman pounced on Norris and took the lead of the field.

A relieved Verstappen is now of course aiming for his first victory in Singapore, although he also spoke of the need to rely on percentages on a race track where McLaren is clearly superior.

“I want to win. That’s what I want to aim for,” said Verstappen, who has endured a seven-race dry spell since his triumph at the Spanish GP in June.

“If I see the opportunity, I will take it. But of course, in general, it’s about scoring points in every single race. We were massively lacking something all weekend here and McLaren and especially Lando were flying, so it could easily have been P1 against P10 or something like that.”

“So being on the front row with Lando is very good. If I see opportunities, we will 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 also play a role in the fight for victory? “Anything can happen”

Hamilton will start as the best-placed Mercedes for only the fifth time in 18 races this year and was relieved to be able to experience a rare strong Saturday in 2024.

“For me, qualifying has been a nightmare for about a year, or at least most of this year, and I’ve really been working on that,” he said Sky Sports F1.

“I definitely had to work a lot mentally to just keep going and keep believing. The races were strong, in general I race well all year round. But if you don’t qualify well, it’s a lot harder.”

Like Red Bull, Mercedes made extensive changes to the car for Saturday after an uncompetitive start, so Hamilton admits it’s “difficult to predict where we’ll be in terms of balance for the race” but is confident “the car is in a better position.”

Referring to both the controversy over McLaren’s front and rear wings that has rocked the sport in recent races and the collision between Verstappen and Norris in June at the Austrian GP, ​​Hamilton said of the challenge ahead: “If we can keep up with these guys, anything can happen on this track, so tyre wear will be crucial.”

“I think the McLaren is too fast with its moving front wing and rear wing. At the moment they are lightning fast and that will be difficult to beat. But I remain confident and will give it my all.”

“We saw those two at the start of the race and anything can happen in races. So I’m just going to try to make sure I’m there to capitalize on it whatever happens.”

Sky Sports F1 live schedule for the Singapore GP

Sunday, September 22
8.30 a.m.: F1 Academy Race Two
11:30 a.m.: Grand Prix Sunday: Preparation for the Singapore GP
13:00: The SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX
3:00 p.m.: Checkered flag: Singapore GP reaction
4pm: Ted’s Notebook

The exciting 2024 Formula 1 season continues on Sunday at 2 p.m. live on Sky Sports F1 under floodlights at the Singapore Grand Prix. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month membership – No contract, cancel anytime