Verstappen and Norris battle produces shock outcome

Lando Norris managed to hold off Max Verstappen into Turn 1 as the McLaren star held his lead on the opening lap of the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Brit's excellent start came as a shock, as the star has struggled to hold onto his lead past the first corner in previous races.

F1 HEADLINES: Verstappen doubles down in FIA war as Hamilton delivers incredible F1 rival dig

READ MORE: F1 stewards take action against Verstappen after Ferrari star CRASHES in Singapore

Norris has failed to lead the first lap of every grand prix that he has started in pole position, but finally dismantled this unlucky statistic in Singapore.

Lewis Hamilton followed the title rivals in third, but found no way past the Red Bull as his Mercedes fell out of DRS range.

Can Lando Norris win the Singapore Grand Prix?

All the drivers managed to get off the line without incident, staying away from the barriers around the street circuit.

However, Carlos Sainz followed a disastrous qualifying with a terrible start in Singapore, falling out of the top ten and taking the escape road alongside Fernando Alonso.

Sergio Perez, who exited qualifying in Q2 on Saturday, capitalised on the Spaniard's error and charged his way up into the top ten just behind the Williams of Franco Colapinto in P9.

The Argentinian's more experienced team-mate Alex Albon, however slipped down the order into P15, and delivered a furious team-radio message after Colapinto 'divebombed' into Turn 1, blaming him for tumbling down the field.

READ MORE: Red Bull star throws garage tantrum at Singapore GP