Norris does not feel any regret for losing quickest lap to Ricciardo at the Singapore Grand Prix

Having endured a tough time at the Singapore Grand Prix, Visa Cash RB driver Daniel Ricciardo took the honours of setting the quickest race lap at the Marina Bay Circuit.

Daniel Ricciardo endured a difficult qualifying on Saturday, having failed to make the cut into Q2 while his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda qualified inside the top ten. Starting from P16 on the grid, the Australian opted for the soft compound to start the 62-lap race on.

The aggressive strategy prompted the eight-time F1 race winner to come in early for his first tyre change, but it did not pay out as he finished down in P18. A late second tyre change for a set of softs meant that he set the quickest lap, but he was unable to collect the additional point as he finished outside the top ten.

In the run-up to Singapore, the rumors that RB could replace Ricciardo as early as the next race were gaining momentum. The reality of the threat he was facing became clear after Ricciardo’s emotional post-race interview: “I knew that this was possibly my last race. That’s why I tried to enjoy it.”

With nothing to lose due to his track position, the Visa Cash RB team decided to give Ricciardo one last hurrah shortly before the end. They brought him back in, bolted on a set of soft tyres and sent him out to chalk up the 17th DHL Fastest Lap of his career.

With a time of 1:34.486, he denied the dominant race winner Lando Norris a potential first Grand Slam. More importantly, though, he deprived the McLaren driver and closest title challenger to Max Verstappen of the bonus point.

However, RB team boss Laurent Mekies refuted any suggestion that it might have been done as a favor to sister team Red Bull: “Given this may have been Daniel’s last race, we wanted to give him the chance to savor it and go out with the fastest lap.”

Asked how he felt after losing the additional point for the quickest race lap, McLaren driver Lando Norris said that he was not surprised given the way Formula One works.

"That's how it's been in Formula 1 for, I don't know, probably since before I was born, so... Nothing to complain about. There's been races in the past when other people have been racing.

"We try to take it away from others. So, yes, the logical thing to do. The smart play by them. Happy for Daniel. That's all," concluded Norris.