Ex-Formula 1 driver David Coulthard has claimed that Lando Norris was operating on a level comparable to previous all-time greats with his Singapore Grand Prix win.
Norris produced a masterclass under the lights at the Marina Bay Circuit to head all 62 laps from pole position, crossing the line 22 seconds clear of Max Verstappen.
At one stage the Briton had extended his gap out to 28s and had managed to set the quickest lap until RB’s Daniel Ricciardo denied him the bonus point on new tyres.
Norris’ third win this term marked his second with such an emphatic gap over the rest as he also capitalised on McLaren’s competitiveness to dominate at Zandvoort.
Coulthard, who took 12 victories with McLaren, believes his compatriot is now delivering outings that are reminiscent of the sport’s two seven-time World Champions.
“What a performance. Human and machine in perfect harmony” Coulthard told Channel 4.
“Lando is so humble and so approachable, he doesn’t realise how great and significant his performances are right now.
“I want to put him in the sort of [Ayrton] Senna, [Michael] Schumacher, [Lewis] Hamilton at his best, type performances.
“We can all win a Grand Prix by getting a bit lucky, but this was exceptional.”
Norris satisfied with McLaren advantage
Norris expressed that his commanding advantage over championship rival Verstappen did provide an added shine as he eradicated the Dutchman’s lead to 52 points.
“Just a win is a win,” he reviewed. “So yeah, maybe it puts a slightly bigger smile on your face but the main job is just getting the win. So, it’s satisfying no matter what.
“Of course the bigger the gap you can have the happier you’re going to be but I’m just happy we finished on top and we got maximum points and got another win.
“It’s always going to be a tough race here, but I felt good all weekend, so all I had to do was go out there and perform like I’ve been performing and all things were going to go well.”
However, Norris has admitted that the MCL38 was not as elegant to handle on the Hard compound in the second stint as he endured two close shaves with the wall.
“The car was not easy to drive, especially on the Hard tyres,” he explained. “I struggled a lot more than what I did on the Medium.
“And especially just with the traffic and things, it was a bit harder to manage the second half of the stint compared to the first, but I was pushing.
“Let me tell you, I was definitely pushing. Probably too much, hence the mistakes I was making, or the two mistakes I made with the wall, but otherwise things were going well.”
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