Christian Horner called Lando Norris a “lucky bastard” for hitting the barrier twice and still winning the Singapore Grand Prix. Despite these incidents, Norris dominated the race and cut Max Verstappen‘s lead in the World Championship to 52 points with six races left.
Norris seemed to have an easy win at Marina Bay Street Circuit, leading by almost half a minute at one point and finishing nearly 21 seconds ahead. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for him.
Norris had two scary moments on the streets of Singapore. First, he locked up and brushed his front wing against the barrier, fearing damage. His race engineer, Will Joseph, reassured him it was fine. Later, he hit the barrier again with the right side of his car but avoided damage both times. Kevin Magnussen wasn’t as lucky; he brushed the barrier too and got a puncture, leading to his retirement.
“That was just to tell him [Norris] that he was a lucky bastard. Hitting the wall once is usually a wake-up call. To hit it twice, somebody’s smiling on you,” Horner said after the race.
Did Norris pick up damage in Singapore?
“I don’t think so,” Norris said about potential damage from his first brush with the barrier. “The team said there might be something with the front wing being a little bit off. I hit it against the barrier, so it might have tweaked it a touch, but probably not much.”
In the final part of the race, Norris’ lead over Verstappen shrank. He explained why: “I was pushing but also catching up to dirty air from cars ahead. You get less grip and downforce; tires wear out a bit. It caught me by surprise.”
Fans might think Norris got really lucky this time!
Norris concluded by saying, “It wasn’t lack of concentration or anything; just a bit of a surprise. The car was all good and has been mega all weekend.”
What do you think about Norris’ luck?
