Max Verstappen thanked Daniel Ricciardo after his former Red Bull team-mate denied Lando Norris the fastest lap point at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday.
Norris won the race ahead of Verstappen to reduce his deficit in the Drivers' Championship to 52 points ahead of the final six Grands Prix of 2024.
But Ricciardo clocked the fastest lap of the race, despite finishing in 18th position.
And Norris' failure to clinch the bonus point means Verstappen will still be crowned champion this year even if he finishes second to Norris at every remaining Grand Prix and Sprint race.
Despite dominating F1 over the last few seasons, Verstappen has never won in Singapore and arrived at Marina Bay off the back of a dismal run of form.
But the Dutchman impressed in qualifying on Saturday to start the Grand Prix from the front row in second place behind his title rival.
Norris held Verstappen off in the opening stages of the race as he kept his position at the front. And the Briton soon put distance between himself and the three-time world champion as he moved clear to spend much of the race out on his own at the front.
Norris eventually finished 20 seconds ahead of Verstappen to claim 25 points and move onto 279 points in the Drivers' Championship standings. And Verstappen's 18 points in Singapore means he took his season tally to 331.
Norris posted the second fastest lap after clocking a time of 1:34.925 on his 48th lap. But Ricciardo then posted a time of 1:34.486 on the 60th lap to prevent the McLaren man from grabbing an extra point.
So even if Norris wins every Grand Prix and Sprint race between now and the end of the season and posts the fastest lap at every race, Verstappen will take the honours by finishing second to his rival every time they take to the track when points are on offer.
And after being told of Ricciardo's fastest lap moments after the Singapore Grand Prix had come to an end, Verstappen simply replied: "Thank you, Daniel."
Verstappen is now without a win in eight races, with Norris winning two of those and his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri also tasting victory on two occasions to take their team to the top of the Constructors' Championship leaderboard.
And discussing his 52-point lead at the top of the individual standings, Verstappen explained: "That can change quickly again.
"We need to keep on trying and at one point try to overturn it a bit, not always finishing behind. But we will see how that goes."
