Norris's Response To Ricciardo Stealing Fastest Lap And Helping Verstappen

Monday, 23 September 2024 at 16:30

Lando Norris reacted after RB driver Daniel Ricciardo snatched the fastest lap from him at the end of the race, helping Max Verstappen in the Drivers' Championship.

The 2024 Singapore Grand Prix was a very dominant weekend for the McLaren Racing F1 team, and Lando Norris might have achieved his first Grand Slam (pole position, leading every lap, putting in the fastest lap, and winning the Grand Prix).

However, Daniel Ricciardo stole his fastest lap on the final lap of the race, which helped Max Verstappen in the Championship because otherwise, Norris would get an additional point for it.

This has been a bit controversial, considering the Honey Badger had nothing to gain by putting in the fastest lap, as he would get a point for it only if he finished inside the top 10 (he finished 18th).

Moreover, Ricciardo is driving for a team owned by Red Bull, and McLaren's CEO Zak Brown has already previously raised concerns about these two F1 teams collaborating and gaining an unfair advantage.

Of course, both Red Bull and RB denied any sort of collaboration and suggested Ricciardo wanted himself to score at least the fastest lap in what might have been his last F1 Grand Prix race.

Daniel Ricciardo in his special livery F1 car with soft tires riding the curb on a flying lap at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo on a flying lap on soft compound tires at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix

Asked what he thought when he found out that Daniel Ricciardo snatched the fastest lap away from him on the final lap of the race, Lando Norris told the media at the FIA post-race press conference:

"Well done, Daniel. I don't know. Nothing I can do is good on him. Yeah, I did my best at trying to get a quicker slap when the tires were in a good condition in the middle."

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"But I can't have them all, you know. I've done my best at trying to get quicker slaps over the last few weekends and I've been able to get them more often than not."

"But I can't, on a hard tire in the middle of a stint, beat a guy on a new soft. So, yeah, that's just life."

The McLaren F1 driver appeared unfazed by how this impacted his standing in the Championship. When further prompted on whether he thought it was "unfair" that Red Bull's B team took away his point for the fastest lap for no clear reason, Norris replied:

"That's how it's been in Formula 1 for, I don't know, probably since before I was born, so... Nothing to complain about."

"There's been races in the past when other people have been racing. We try to take it away from others. So, yes, the logical thing to do. The smart play by them. Happy for Daniel. That's all."