Lando Norris keeps closing on three-time and reigning Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen at the top of the standings.
Following Norris’ win in Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix, the gap between the McLaren driver and Verstappen shrank to 52 points.
Norris, who tallied his second win in the last four races, led Verstappen at the checkered flag by more than 20 seconds. He also dominated the Dutch Grand Prix in late August with an over 22-second advantage over Verstappen.
Is there a chink in the Oracle Red Bull Racing’s once impenetrable armor? Perhaps, as it’s been eight races since Verstappen reached the top step of the podium.
Sunday’s runner-up result was also Verstappen’s first podium result in three races.
While concerns may be raised as to whether or not Verstappen can close the deal on a fourth-straight championship, the 26-year-old saw plenty of positives from his race.
“Coming in second today was a good result for us,” Verstappen said. “I think my start was quite decent but there wasn’t a lot of grip on that side so (it) was difficult to have a go into turn one. The degradation was also quite high for me in the first stint. During the race, we didn’t have the pace to fight for first unfortunately, so I managed the tires and drove my own race.”
Despite not having the ideal pace to contend with Norris, Verstappen felt he and his team maximized their efforts.
“We know that this of course is not our strongest track, but there is still a bit of work to do as we didn’t have the pace that we would have liked, but I think the damage limitation was done,” Verstappen said.
“Of course we always want more so we will go back and analyze what we can do better; we have a few weeks to try and find more performance and better balance in the car when we restart in Austin, so we can fight for a win again and not lose points.
“Ultimately, today we made a step forward. If you had told me last week that we would be P2 I would be happy with this, so I feel like this has been very positive for us.”
Six races remain in the F-1 season, including the series’ annual trip to Texas’ Circuit of The Americas on Oct. 16-18 and Las Vegas Grand Prix on Nov. 21-23.