McLaren's Lando Norris delivered a masterclass at the Singapore Grand Prix, leading every lap from the pole to take a significant bite out of Max Verstappen's Formula One championship lead.
The 24-year-old Brit powered through the floodlit Marina Bay Circuit, brushing the walls twice but still cruising to a dominant victory.
Verstappen, starting and finishing second for Red Bull, trailed a distant 20.945 seconds behind, while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri secured third after starting fifth in the grueling 62-lap night race.
Norris trimmed Verstappen's lead to 52 points with six rounds and three sprints remaining, as McLaren extended its lead over Red Bull by 41 points in the constructors' race, with 180 points still up for grabs.
"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," Norris said after his third career victory and third of the season.
"The car was mega. I could push, we were flying the whole race and at the end, I could just chill. So it was a nice race, still tough – I’m a bit out of breath – but a very fun one."
Norris could have also earned a bonus point for the fastest lap, but Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo pitted for a third time for soft tires and snatched it at the end of what many suspect could be the Australian's last race.
Extraordinarily for Singapore, there was no safety car deployment in a largely incident-free race with only two retirements.
"On a weekend when we knew we were going to struggle, to be P2 is a good achievement," Verstappen said after what amounted to a lonely race.
"Of course, we are not happy with second. Now we just have to try and improve more and more, and that’s what we will try to do."
George Russell took fourth place for Mercedes, with Charles Leclerc fighting to finish fifth for Ferrari after starting ninth, and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton placed sixth for Mercedes.
Last year’s winner, Carlos Sainz, was seventh for Ferrari, ahead of fellow Spaniard Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and Haas's Nico Hulkenberg, with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez taking the final point.
"Today was a total nightmare," Perez said. He has scored only 144 points compared to Verstappen's 331 and has not been on the podium since China in April.
Ricciardo finished 18th and gained no benefit from the fastest lap, as the point only goes to those in the top 10, but he could at least add another achievement to his record and help his former teammate and friend Verstappen.
"Thank you, Daniel," Verstappen said over the team radio when informed.
Norris made a clean start, holding the lead from pole for the first time this season, with Verstappen slotting in behind.
The Brit then pulled away with a string of fastest laps, and by Lap 13, had a seven-second advantage – two more than the target his race engineer had set six laps earlier to protect him during the pit stop period.
Norris then stretched the gap to more than the time it would take to pit.
Verstappen came in first on Lap 29, and Norris followed one lap later without drama.
Behind them, Piastri made crucial overtakes while Hamilton complained that Mercedes had pitted him too early after starting third.
Williams rookie Franco Colapinto, in his third race after replacing American Logan Sargeant, finished 11th, while teammate Alex Albon retired.
Haas’s Kevin Magnussen, returning from a one-race ban, also stopped in the closing laps.
