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Lando Norris dominated the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix despite a couple of close brushes with the wall.
But with Max Verstappen finishing directly behind him in the results, albeit 20.9 seconds adrift, and Daniel Ricciardo's RB denying Norris the fastest lap bonus point, the difference in the title race is now 52 with six weekends to go.
So is it too little too late for Norris and McLaren? Or does this dominant win mean Norris's title bid is well and truly on? Our writers have their say:
Surprise result keeps Verstappen in control
Scott Mitchell-Malm
Verstappen's winless run continues and it's another loss to Norris but this is a timely result for Verstappen to stop his own rot, even if he can't help but bleed some points to his nearest rival.
After two very tricky weekends at Monza and in Baku, it was critical Verstappen got back on the podium to minimise the damage Norris could inflict. There were times through this event that didn't look possible at all.
And yet Verstappen has emerged with a second place and, controversially aided by the other Red Bull team taking fastest lap away from Norris right at the end, a loss of 'only' seven points.
Given how quick Ferrari looked in the race and the fact Oscar Piastri was on the back foot in the second McLaren, this could easily have been fifth for Verstappen and a 15-point drop.
It's hardly swung the momentum back towards him in the championship battle but it's a very helpful calming of the situation - a reminder that Verstappen is still in control, even when Norris/McLaren dominate an individual race.
With Red Bull upgrades in the pipeline, maybe he's finally made it through his worst period of the season.
If he has, and he's still 50+ points to the good, then he'll be able to get this title over the line without much stress.
A fourth Verstappen title will be a limp not a cruise
Matt Beer
Days like today make this seem like we're going to have a paradoxical end to the season where Verstappen's fourth title is simultaneously both limped to and is an all-time great championship victory.
Dominating like this is all very well for Norris but it's not going to be enough all the time Verstappen can pull off second places on a day his team-mate is barely scoring and all the time you can't be confident Norris will keep this run up rather than disappearing into shakier territory again like he has since his similar domination at Zandvoort last month.
Norris just has to keep doing a perfect job
Gary Anderson
Norris can do no more than he did in Singapore. All he can do is keep his head down, try his best to win as many of the next six grands prix as possible and hope that a couple of other cars can get in between him and Verstappen.
It's a tough task but not impossible.
Again you would have to say that the McLaren duo are the strongest on the grid. Once again together, Norris and Piastri helped McLaren make another step in its quest for the constructors' championship, which for the team is a big pay day.
However it does pan out in the end, those strategy decisions in Hungary and Italy might just come back to bite them if it falls short of a title double.
Success of Red Bull's fix will dictate title
Josh Suttill
Norris has a decent shot at the title if his strike rate of dominating a weekend is two in four as it has been since the summer break.
But that's all going to depend on what the performance profile is of the Red Bull and McLaren after this pseudo-autumn break.
We more or less know what to expect of the McLaren but Red Bull is the key question mark - will the fixes it brings at the United States Grand Prix improve the performance of the RB20 significantly enough?
If it's suddenly neck and neck with the McLaren then Verstappen's 51-point advantage should comfortably see him over the line.
But if it fails and Red Bull remains where it is, then there will be other more damaging weekends to come where Ferrari and Piastri don't drop the ball in qualifying. Suddenly the well-managed three to eight-point losses to Norris will start becoming more like 12-15 point losses.
And that will transform the title race and leave Verstappen banking on McLaren continuing to miss opportunities or hit misfortune to have any chance of a fourth title.
