"Thank you Daniel": Max Verstappen grateful for ‘old pal’ Ricciardo’s help in clinching fastest lap from Lando Norris in Singapore

Max Verstappen managed to limit the damage in the 2024 drivers' championship as he finished P2 behind his title rival Lando Norris. The reigning world champion received some help from his former teammate and current VCARB driver Daniel Ricciardo, who grabbed the point for the fastest lap away from Norris.

While Verstappen struggled throughout the weekend at the Marina Bay street circuit, he was able to deliver a strong result in Qualifying. His Red Bull Racing car finished second in the main race as well, behind McLaren's Lando Norris.

With the advantage of starting in clean air on the track where keeping the car cool is crucial, the 26-year-old driver kept his head low and focused on pulling out maximum performance throughout the 62 laps of the race. Apart from being stuck behind Charles Leclerc's Ferrari during an undercut attempt on the race leader, he had a near-flawless showing on the streets of Singapore.

Norris held the point for the fastest lap of the Grand Prix for almost the entire second stint. With both Verstappen and Sergio Perez unable to pull it from the hands of the Brit, the Austrian roster turned to its sister team VCARB for help. Daniel Ricciardo pitted on the penultimate lap for a set of soft tires to do the needful.

The Australian took away the fastest lap from the McLaren driver, thereby helping Verstappen have an extra point's lead in the championship. Here's a look at the X post on Formula 1's official page, captioned:

FASTEST LAP FOR DANIEL RICCIARDO! The Aussie pitted on the penultimate lap 💪

RBR race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase informed the #1 driver about Ricciardo's selfless move on the team radio after the chequered flag. The Red Bull driver immediately thanked his former teammate and one of his closest friends on the grid. Their interaction was shared by Chris Medland, a Formula 1 journalist on X. Here's a look at his post, captioned:

Horner tells Verstappen he only lost eight points to Norris, but it's seven. GP informs Verstappen that his "old pal Daniel" took away the fastest lap at the end, and he replies, "Thank you Daniel"

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Lando Norris cuts gap to Max Verstappen after dominant win at Singapore GP

McLaren's Lando Norris dominated the entire race weekend in Singapore. The Brit cut the gap to the defending world champion by seven points after winning the Singapore GP.

After setting the fastest times during the Free Practice and Qualifying sessions, Norris was aiming for a drama-free race on Sunday. He managed to pull ahead of his Red Bull Racing rival at turn 1.

After that, Norris and his team managed the strategy by negating the undercut attempt by the Dutchman on lap 30. The 24-year-old went on to win the race with a gap of over 20 seconds to his rival.

Apart from the point for the fastest lap being robbed away by Daniel Ricciardo, Norris was able to cut down the gap to the championship leader to just 52 points (Verstappen leads with 331 points, with Norris close on his heels at 279 points).

With just six races remaining, the battle for the 2024 F1 drivers' title is expected to get much closer by the season finale in Abu Dhabi.