Lando Norris won the Singapore Grand Prix with a dominant drive from pole position to the chequered flag for McLaren at the Marina Bay Circuit. Norris was all but untouchable at the front in what was a somewhat processional race under floodlights, although the 24-year-old was fortunate to escape without damage to his car despite hitting a wall twice.

Norris comfortably relegated Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to second place, with Oscar Piastri’s McLaren third. Mercedes’ George Russell was fourth, his teammate Lewis Hamilton sixth and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc fifth.

Victory for Norris means he has closed the gap to championship rival Verstappen to 52 points with six meetings remaining. It was another demonstration of dominance from Norris and McLaren, with the British driver crossing the line a full 21 seconds ahead, albeit in a rather mediocre affair on the streets of Singapore, the first meeting at Marina Bay not interrupted by a safety car.

Verstappen was beaten by a wide margin but will still see this as a positive result. Red Bull had expected to struggle in the high downforce corners and on the bumps and kerbs. With a car that struggled with balance and which Verstappen described as almost undriveable at times, it was much more than he and the team expected to take a second place and minimise the points he lost to Norris. They will take some optimism into the next round in Austin where they will hope to return to better form with new developments for the car.

Still, the win was exactly what Norris needed. With his first win in Singapore, his third of the season and, after crossing the line at Zandvoort, his second in four races, he has kept the pressure on the world champion.

Having struggled with poor starts this season that have cost them dearly, a failing that Norris and the team have addressed with much attention, they have done it this time with control and composure, especially given the short approach to the first corner in Singapore. It is McLaren’s first win in Singapore since Hamilton’s victory in 2009.

Norris made a strong start and was able to hold on to his lead, while Verstappen and Hamilton took second and third places. On the third lap, Norris was able to open up a small lead, one and a half seconds ahead of Verstappen. He had a clear run and was able to conserve his tyres in the early stages.

With a one-stop race expected, the field worked through the initial high fuel consumption without putting excessive strain on the tires on the extremely hot track, with the top four drivers separated by seven seconds.

Norris remained comfortable at the front and opened up a lead of over two seconds by lap eight. He showed impressive pace with a series of fastest laps, although he told the team he wasn’t going to push and, as it turned out, had more up his sleeve.

Hamilton started from third place on the grid and was the only driver in the lead group to start on soft tyres. He switched to hard tyres on lap 18 and rejoined the track in 13th place. He quickly overtook Kevin Magnussen to take 12th place, but then found himself stuck in traffic from cars pursuing a different strategy.

Russell pitted on lap 28 and emerged fourth, ahead of Hamilton and Piastri. He was instructed to open the throttle and did so when the air was clear in the hope of overtaking Russell. Things were not all plain sailing for Norris, however, who reported that he sustained front wing damage when he clipped the wall at Turn 14 on lap 30, just before Red Bull pitted Verstappen.

McLaren pitted Norris a lap later, but decided not to change his front wing, believing it was only a minor issue, and he returned to the track in the lead.

Piastri stayed out as McLaren hoped for a safety car that would allow him a free stop. But the Australian ultimately had to pit on lap 39. After the missed stops, Norris was leading Verstappen by 23 seconds. Russell and Hamilton were in third and fourth place, with Piastri in fifth place. With fresher tires, however, he overtook Hamilton in no time and took fourth place.

Russell fell behind the Australian on lap 45 of 62 as he chased Verstappen, who was 18 seconds ahead. Norris led by 24 seconds but was not letting up, as was shown when he again clipped the wall and the team advised him to have a drink and concentrate.

Norris refocused and worked tirelessly again, while Verstappen also responded to Piastri’s attack and defended his second place before the British driver completed the final laps with precision to secure a well-deserved victory.

Carlos Sainz finished seventh for Ferrari, Fernando Alonso eighth for Aston Martin, Nico Hülkenberg ninth for Haas and Sergio Pérez tenth for Red Bull.