“It’s not always going to be that easy in the next few races but it’s very promising and it is also promising that Oscar [Piastri] found a way to beat the two Mercedes today, got back on the podium, many points for the championship and definitely the drivers’ championship is still on, the mission is on,” Stella said in the aftermath of Singapore, while the fireworks were still lighting up the night sky.
“Hopefully we’ll have a few more [wins] in the next six races. Yeah, fully deserved by Lando. In fairness he’s been very quick throughout the weekend. I think yesterday, he was very conscious in his Q3 lap, we thought that by pushing 100% we could have gone even faster, so just everything came together this weekend.”
Norris was quick from the word go in Singapore, more than putting to bed his poor luck in qualifying in Baku that yielded a disappointing starting slot.
But with Verstappen finishing second despite Red Bull struggling at times in the weekend, it is clear that McLaren do have a difficult task on their hands to outscore the Dutchman by enough points to win the drivers’ as well as the constructors’.