McLaren driver Lando Norris finally laid his starting grid demons to rest by taking control of the Singapore Grand Prix into the first corner and then dominating the race for his most emphatic F1 career win to date.
Max Verstappen drove a solid race to claim P2 for Red Bull while Oscar Piastri was simply too fast for George Russell for third, although the Mercedes did fend off Charles Leclerc to the line after the Ferrari picked off Lewis Hamilton.
There were no full cautions during the race, although Alex Albon retired on lap 17 with an overheating power unit on the Williams and Kevin Magnussen called it a day on lap 57 in the Haas.
The floodlights were on full beam and it seemed like the whole of Singapore was out and about in Marina Bay for the start of heGrand Prix. Lando Norris had claimed pole for McLaren, but Max Verstappen was at his shoulder on the front row and the Red Bull was ready to pounce into turn 1 the minute the race got underway - as had already happened time and again this season.
Not this time though. In stead it was Verstappen who fluffed his lines and stuttered from the grid allowing Norris to take the lead, while Lewis Hamilton - the only car in the top ten to start on soft tyres rather than mediums - tried in vain in wrest second from the Red Bull. George Russell ran Oscar Piastri wide info the first corner forcing Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz to take avoiding action, the Ferrari proving the biggest loser
Further back there had been good gains for Franco Colapinto and Sergio Perez, both into the top ten at the expense of Yuki Tsunoda and Sainz. However Alex Albon almost stalling as he was passed by his Williams team mate dropping him to 15th ahead of RB's Daniel Ricciardo.
As Norris swiftly exited DRS range of Verstappen by gaining almost a second a lap, Hamilton hadn't been able to pass the Red Bull for P2. His team mate George Russell politely stuck the knife in asking the Mercedes pit wall to tell the seven-time world champion to pick up the pace, please, to protect him from attack from Piastri.
Having started on the softs, Ricciardo was first to pit on lap 11 with Albon covering off the undercut next time by. That triggered Sainz to pit in turn on lap 14. The Williams lasted only another three laps before limping back to pit lane to retire with to an overheating power unit.
Hamilton managed to held on to his soft tyres for 18 laps before pitting for a hard exchange, complaining that this was too early to come in. "You're killing me with this offset," he told the pit wall. He was out in 13th behind Kevin Magnussen who was quickly dispatched, as was Esteban Ocon in turn, but Hamilton nearly came a cropper trying to pass Tsunoda on lap 27.
In Hamilton's absence, Russell and Piastri were freed to go at it over third place. Russell blinked first and pitted on lap 28, coming back out just ahead of Hamilton for a net gain. That meant it was hammer time for Piastri who tore chunks out of Verstappen's time before the Red Bull pitted on lap 30. Alonso had also stopped, freeing up Leclerc to force his way past Hulkenberg to move up to fourth ahead of Russell although the Ferrari was still to put.
Up to now it had been an extraordinary performance from Norris, who had built up a 25s lead at the front. However just prior to his pit stop on lap 31 he radioed in to report front wing damage after running deep in the fourth DRS zone two laps earlier. To his relief, the team didn't see the need for any major repairs. Back out he came, still ahead of Piastri who was now his buffer from Verstappen who has already got back around Leclerc.
With Piastri's tyres wearing thin and amid talk of "Plan C' for the Australian, his advantage was starting to fall away. Behind them, Leclerc was still surviving on his old tyres and able to rebuff serious pressure from Russell on lap 36. Leclerc finally pitted next time by, putting him back out just ahead of Hulkenberg. Piastri likewise reached the end-of-the-line on lap 39, but despite a quick stop he was still unable to come out ahead of the two Mercedes. However his tyres were much fresher.
Norris was back in complete charge over Verstappen by 24 seconds with Russell provisionally on the podium. However the way Piastri swept past Hamilton for P4 was ominous for Russell. Behind Hamilton, Sainz, Leclerc and Alonso followed with Hulkenberg and Perez rounding out the top ten. On fresher tyres, Tsunoda was getting heated by the delay in team order to put him ahead Ricciardo for 12th. Piastri continued his charge to catch Russell and squeeze him to one side on lap 46 to put himself on the podium.
Norris had another scare on lap 48, pushing too hard despite his thumping lead over Verstappen. Not only did he get away with glancing the wall a second time, he added another two seconds in the process. Magnussen also clipped the wall at turn 5 on lap 50 and his luck was all bad, limping back with a puncture and eventually retiring. Russell likewise kissed the wall on lap 54 as exhaustion tugged at tired bodies and degraded tyres.
Norris had been hoping to pull out a 30 second gap to allow him to pit for soft tyres and take the bonus point for fastest lap, but it was too big a risk. He didn't press the point and duly cruised to victory ahead of Verstappen and Piastri. Russell thwarted Leclerc's repeated strikes to keep P4. Behind Hamilton the top ten was rounded out by Sainz, Alonso, Hulkenberg and Perez with Colapinto just missing out.
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