Max Verstappen thanks Daniel Ricciardo for stealing fastest lap from Lando Norris on team radio at Singapore GP
Daniel Ricciardo bolted on a set of softs at the end of the race which aided Max Verstappen in his championship battle with Lando Norris.
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Max Verstappen and Lando Norris with Daniel Ricciardo (Via: IMAGO)
The 2024 F1 season has been full of rollercoasters. Lando Norris and Max Verstappen are enveloped in a high-stakes battle for the driver’s championship. Though the Dutchman currently leads the Brit by 52 points after the Singapore GP, this lead could have been shorter if not for the efforts of Daniel Ricciardo. This urged Verstappen to thank his former teammate for helping him in his championship bid.
In the seven-plus decade history of F1, five times the driver’s championship has been decided by a solitary point. This describes the importance of a single point in the championship as it could be the difference between a driver winning or losing the elusive title. Subsequently, at the Singapore GP, Lando Norris exhibited his mammoth pace in the MCL38 and was on course to secure a win and the bonus point for the fastest lap.
However, this would have reduced Max Verstappen‘s lead in the championship to 51 points and made his challenge for his fourth title even harder going into the last six rounds. Witnessing this Daniel Ricciardo and RB decided to pit in the Aussie in a few laps away from the chequered flag to take away the bonus point away from the McLaren driver.
Christian Horner: Your old pal Daniel picked up fastest lap. Max Verstappen: Thank you Daniel[Ricciardo].Max Verstappen said over the radio
Moreover, he was successful in snubbing the point away from the 24-year-old. This urged Christian Horner to reveal to the reigning champion on how his former teammate had helped him. Subsequently, the 26-year-old expressed his gratitude towards Ricciardo as he knows the importance of every point in a championship battle.
Max Verstappen shared his take on his Singapore GP weekend
While Verstappen finished runners-up behind Norris, he had been dominated by his British friend throughout the weekend. The latter bolted disappeared into the distance and took the chequered flag with a 20-second lead over his Dutch rival.
The RB20 paled in comparison to the MCL38 and led Verstappen to admit that P2 was the best that he could have achieved.
I think that is pretty much my race, on myself. Do the best I could, manage my own race. On a weekend we knew we were going to struggle, P2 is a good achievement. But now we need to improve, and that's what we'll do.Max Verstappen said in a post-race interview
The 26-year-old elaborated that he was in a different race in comparison to Norris and managed his pace ever since the start of the race. However, he was content with the result as he predicted Red Bull to struggle around the Singapore circuit and confessed he could not have asked more from his weekend.
On the other hand, Ricciardo’s fastest lap on the last lap might come down to being his last-ever fastest lap in F1. So the Aussie’s lap could be his farewell gift to Verstappen as his sacking becomes a real possibility after the Singapore GP weekend.
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Geetansh Pasricha
(772 Articles Published)