McLaren have just secured a ‘bigger W’ than Lando Norris’ Singapore Grand Prix win

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McLaren have secured a ‘bigger W’ than the margin of Lando Norris’ dominant win at the Singapore Grand Prix where he set the second-largest margin of the 2024 season.

Norris now holds the two biggest winning margins of the year so far as the Briton continues to hunt Max Verstappen down in the drivers’ championship. The 24-year-old’s victory at the weekend reduced his deficit to the Red Bull pilot to 52 points with six rounds still remaining.

It was also on Verstappen’s home turf that Norris penned the biggest winning margin of the year with a 22.946s gap between the McLaren and Red Bull drivers in the Dutch Grand Prix. Verstappen finished 20.945s off Norris in the Singapore GP after gaining lots of time late on.

McLaren usurp Lando Norris’ Singapore GP win by signing Will Courtenay from Red Bull

But Formula 1 strategy expert Ruth Buscombe believes McLaren trumped Norris’ win at the Singapore GP after confirming the signing of Red Bull’s head of race strategy Will Courtenay to be their sporting director. The Briton will leave Milton Keynes to move to Woking in 2026.

Red Bull intend to hold Courtenay to his contract running until mid-2026, although McLaren could yet try to agree to compensation for his early release. It is a huge coup for the Papaya outfit to poach Courtenay, who was in Milton Keynes before Red Bull bought Jaguar in 2004.

READ MORE: Who is McLaren’s new sporting director Will Courtenay? Everything to know

Courtenay rose up the ranks within Red Bull over the past 19 years to become their head of race strategy. Buscombe describes his journey as a rise that many in Formula 1 have tried to copy. Courtenay being a ‘phenomenal leader’ also makes him joining McLaren a ‘huge’ deal.

“Huge,” Buscombe shared on X. “I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Will for nearly 15 years.

“He’s incredibly talented; a phenomenal leader whilst also being a genuinely lovely human I (and many others) aspired to emulate as we grew in F1 Strategy. IMO, [it is] a bigger Papaya W than Lando Norris’ Singapore margin.”

Christian Horner thought McLaren took the mick at the Singapore Grand Prix

Norris was simply in a league of his own all weekend at the Singapore Grand Prix to give Red Bull a major warning for their constructors’ title and drivers’ championship targets. McLaren now boast a 41-point lead over their rivals in search of their first the teams’ title since 1998.

First practice was even the only session that McLaren did not lead at Marina Bay after Norris finished the opening hour in second place to Ferrari pilot Charles Leclerc. Norris then led the way in FP2, FP3, Q1, Q3, each lap of the Singapore GP and posted the fastest lap of the race.

Norris’ lead over Verstappen even exceeded 27 seconds at one point, to leave Red Bull team principal Christian Horner suggesting the Briton and McLaren took the mick. Verstappen had initially stayed close to Norris over the early laps before the latter claimed to be at ‘pace six’.

Now, Red Bull are pinning their title defences on taking upgrades to the United States Grand Prix – which even Horner admits may not be enough. But Buscombe believes McLaren luring Courtenay from Red Bull is a bigger statement than Norris’ win at the Singapore Grand Prix.