By F1 correspondent Michael Butterworth

BEIJING, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- McLaren's Lando Norris took seven more points out of Max Verstappen's 2024 Formula 1 championship lead with a dominant pole-to-flag win in Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix.

Starting from pole position, Norris held off the threat from Red Bull's Verstappen at the first corner, and was never headed as he eased to a dominant win, shrugging off a couple of nervy moments when he brushed the barriers.

"It was an amazing race. A few too many close calls - I had a couple of little moments in the middle - but it was well controlled, I think, otherwise," said Norris, who crossed the finish line over 20 seconds ahead of Verstappen.

"The car was mega. I could push, we were flying the whole race, and at the end could just chill. So it was a nice race, still tough, I'm a bit out of breath, but a fun one."

Behind Norris, Verstappen took second in a good damage-limitation weekend for Red Bull, who had notably struggled in Singapore last year, with Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri rounding out the podium placings.

George Russell took fourth for Mercedes, holding off a late challenge from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, with the other Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc's teammate Carlos Sainz taking sixth and seventh respectively.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso finished eighth ahead of Nico Hulkenberg's Haas, and Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez rounded out the top ten.

Finishing 18th and last was RB's Daniel Ricciardo, who took the bonus point for fastest lap away from Norris on what may prove to be his final Grand Prix, with rumors that the Australian is set to be replaced by Liam Lawson for the rest of 2024 and beyond.

For the first time in Singapore Grand Prix history, there were no yellow flags or Safety Car deployments, as the drivers largely managed to avoid any major contact with the barriers, though Haas' Kevin Magnussen did suffer a puncture when he clouted the outside wall on lap 51.

In the Drivers' Championship, Verstappen still leads with 331 points, but Norris has closed in and now sits on 279, with Leclerc third on 245 points. With six Grands Prix and three Sprint races left in 2024, it remains to be seen whether Norris will be able to overhaul Verstappen's points total before the season finale in Abu Dhabi on December 8.

In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren have extended their lead and now have 516 points. Red Bull stay second with 475, and Ferrari are third on 441 points.

F1 now takes a four-week break before resuming with the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin on October 20. Enditem

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