On race day, it soon became clear that Norris and McLaren had the upper hand, with the Briton winning by some 20 seconds and reducing Verstappen’s title advantage from 59 points to 52 ahead of the final six rounds.
Asked to reflect on his lonely night at the wheel, and the pace displayed by Norris, the reigning world champion said: “I think that’s pretty much my race, by myself. I tried to do the best I could, tried to manage my own pace to the end.
AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from the Singapore GP as Norris beats Verstappen
“I think the first stint was a bit difficult for us, quite a bit of tyre degradation. The second stint was a bit better, I was a bit more comfortable as well.
“I think on a weekend where we knew that we were going to struggle, to be P2 is a good achievement. Of course, we are not happy with second. Now we just have to try and improve more and more, and that’s what we’ll try to do.”
