The title wasn’t decided in Singapore, says Lando Norris
Lando Norris lost a point with Daniel Ricciardo's best lap of the race. But for the Briton, even if he were to lose the championship by a single point, it wouldn't be because of this race.
This caused a lot of talk at the end of the Singapore Grand Prix: Daniel Ricciardo made a final pit stop to set the fastest lap in the race, which was therefore taken away from Lando Norris, whereas the current dynamic could lead to the Drivers’ Championship being decided by just one point.
When he was asked about the subject, Lando Norris estimated in Austin that he did not think it would be a decisive element for the championship and especially that he does not hold a grudge against his former teammate: « No. No, I wouldn’t consider that to be the reason. I think I would hold onto other things this season that we could have done better rather than Daniel setting the fastest lap for his last race. It could come down to that. If that’s the case, that’s life.” And to conclude after a long digression: « The answer is no; I wouldn’t hold it against him for that. It would be related to other reasons.”
Obviously, we can only think back to the grotesque management of the Hungarian Grand Prix, where McLaren finally forced Lando Norris to give up the first place to his teammate Oscar Piastri even though it was the team’s strategic decision that had put the British driver in the lead.
If he is now only 52 points behind Max Verstappen, it is worth remembering that the gap after the Miami race (Lando Norris’ first victory) was… 53 points. This means that in twelve races where his car was generally more competitive than the Red Bull, he has only managed to close the gap by one point. In this context, the point taken away by Daniel Ricciardo weighs very little compared to the other missed opportunities.
However, he arrives in Austin with full confidence and intends to continue to get closer: « I will probably say more. If you look at our level from last year, with the car we had at the time compared to where we were in Singapore; I think it was a better weekend for us. We led the first part of the race. I know the ranking had been disrupted by different scenarios but it was a good weekend.
From our special correspondent in Austin
