The rankings in F1 after Singapore: Norris gains ground, McLaren widens the gap

After his climb from the back of the grid to fifth place in Baku, Lando Norris approached the Singapore GP race in better conditions. Imperious from free practice 2 to qualifying, the Briton then did the job by keeping the advantage of his pole position in the first laps of the race. With a pace superior to all his opponents, the papaya driver never left the lead and took the 25 points for victory after 62 laps.

Read also: Singapore GP: Norris imperial in the city-state, Verstappen reassures himself

Number 4 is only seven points behind the three-time reigning world champion, Max Verstappen. The Dutchman has found his form at the Marina Bay circuit, greatly helped by starting from the front row in qualifying. Although he hasn’t won in nine races, Verstappen is back on the podium, a place he had only reached once in the five races before Singapore. He maintains a 52-point lead over his closest rival in the standings ahead of the final six races of the championship.

Ricciardo, a point that could be costly

Lando Norris could have gained an extra point on Max Verstappen in the city-state. Setting the fastest lap several times on the track, the McLaren driver was ultimately beaten in the last lap by Daniel Ricciardo. The Racing Bulls driver set a time half a second faster than Norris after putting on soft tires on the 58th lap.

“Thank you, Daniel” #F1 #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/rdQTDk1NBH

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 22, 2024

This point lost by the British could be important when tallying up at the end of the season. Especially, the fact that the Racing Bulls team helps Red Bull – both owned by the same shareholder – has raised eyebrows among some followers. This is the case of Jacques Villeneuve, 1997 world champion, speaking on Canal +: « I didn’t like it at all. It’s collusion of work between two teams ». Max Verstappen simply said « Thank you Daniel. »

Sainz loses big for the 3rd place

This championship in 2024 is undecided in many ways. The title is not yet secured for Verstappen and the battle for 3rd place is still fierce. Once again on the podium in Singapore, Oscar Piastri (4th) is now only eight points behind Charles Leclerc (3rd) overall. The Monegasque driver, who limited the damage with his comeback to 5th place in Sunday’s race, sees Lando Norris extend his lead to 34 points over him. Given the form of the Woking team, it seems difficult for the Ferrari driver to catch up with the British driver.

If there is no change in the drivers’ standings after Singapore, some drivers have lost ground. This is the case for Carlos Sainz (5th), who finds himself 47 points behind Oscar Piastri. Sergio Perez remains stuck in 8th place, still behind the two Mercedes drivers. On the French side, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon have not scored any points and are stagnant in 15th and 18th positions with just 8 and 5 points respectively.

McLaren strengthens its position as the leader

On the constructor’s side, the good deal of the weekend goes to McLaren. With its two drivers on the podium, the British team is now 41 points ahead of Red Bull in the standings. The Milton Keynes team was notably penalized by Sergio Perez’s 10th place in the race. Ferrari is not far behind, trailing the Austrians by 34 points. Alpine remains second to last in this ranking with 13 points, still two points behind Williams (8th).

The drivers’ standings after Singapore

		Driver	Points	Gaps
1		Max Verstappen#33 Oracle Red Bull Racing	331
2		Lando Norris#4 McLaren F1 Team	279	-52
3		Charles Leclerc#16 Scuderia Ferrari	245	-34
4		Oscar Piastri#81 McLaren F1 Team	237	-8
5		Carlos Sainz#55 Scuderia Ferrari	190	-47
6		Lewis Hamilton#44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport	174	-16
7		George Russell#63 Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport	155	-19
8		Sergio Perez#11 Oracle Red Bull Racing	144	-11
9		Fernando Alonso#14 Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team	62	-82
10		Lance Stroll#18 Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team	24	-38
11		Nico Hülkenberg#27 MoneyGram Haas F1 Team	24	0
12		Yuki Tsunoda#38 Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team	22	-2
13		Daniel Ricciardo#3 Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team	13	-9
14		Alexander Albon#23 Williams Racing	11	-2
15		Pierre Gasly#10 BWT Alpine F1 Team	8	-3
16		Oliver Bearman#50 Scuderia Ferrari	7	-1
17		Kevin Magnussen#20 MoneyGram Haas F1 Team	7	0
18		Esteban Ocon#31 BWT Alpine F1 Team	5	-2
19		Franco Colapinto#43 Williams Racing	4	-1
20		Logan Sargeant#2 Williams Racing	0	-4
21		Valtteri Bottas#77 Stake F1 Team	0	0
22		Zhou Guanyu#3 Stake F1 Team	0	0

The constructors’ ranking after Singapore.

		Team	Points	Gaps
1		McLaren F1 Team Mercedes	516
2		Oracle Red Bull Racing Honda RBTP	475	-41
3		Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari	441	-34
4		Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport Mercedes	329	-112
5		Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team Mercedes	86	-243
6		Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team Honda RBTP	35	-51
7		MoneyGram Haas F1 Team Ferrari	32	-3
8		Williams Racing Mercedes	15	-17
9		BWT Alpine F1 Team Renault	13	-2
10		Stake F1 Team Ferrari	0	-13