McLaren’s Lando Norris received the primary Formula One race of his profession with a shock victory over world champion Max Verstappen within the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday.
Breathing life into an F1 season that risked turning into a one-man story once more, Norris, in his 110th race for McLaren, beat Verstappen by over seven seconds with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc ending third.
Verstappen, who started on pole, had received 4 of the opening 5 races of the season and leads the world championship standings.
It appeared like enterprise as traditional with the Dutchman, who had received the earlier two Miami races, main till lap 24 when he pitted and Norris’s McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri took over the lead.
Lando Norris was capable of pit throughout a security automobile
Australian Piastri himself went into the pits 4 laps later, permitting Norris to seize the lead and the British driver by no means appeared again.
Crucially, Norris was capable of pit throughout a security automobile on lap 30, incomes him a beneficial time benefit which he by no means relinquished.
The security automobile got here after Kevin Magnussen clipped Logan Sargeant, sending the American Williams driver into the wall, bringing a yellow flag.
Norris, who had 15 podiums earlier than his first win, took full benefit of the protection automobile and with Verstappen struggling to catch up, he secured his maiden victory.
It was the primary time Verstappen has been crushed on monitor, when he completed the race, since Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz received in Singapore in September final yr.
Norris was hoisted within the air by the McLaren mechanics as his lengthy watch for a victory within the sport got here to an finish.
“About time huh?” stated Norris,
“I knew on Friday that we had the pace…today we managed to put it together. We had the perfect strategy, it all paid off,” he added.
‘He deserves it’
“I assume lots of people doubted me alongside the way in which. I’ve made lots of errors during the last 5 years, my brief profession, however at this time we pulled all of it collectively, so that is all for the crew.
“I stuck with McLaren because I could believe in them and I did believe in them and today proved exactly that,” he added.
The nearest Norris had come beforehand to profitable a Grand Prix was in Sochi, Russia in 2021 when he led within the latter levels earlier than failing to make a tyre change early in rain, costing him dearly.
Verstappen, who had complained about lack of grip in qualification and through Sunday’s race, stated his Red Bull had been unable to maintain up with Norris as soon as the McLaren driver switched to exhausting tyres.
“They simply had extra tempo, Lando was flying. It was extremely troublesome for us, however on the dangerous days P2, I’ll take it proper?
“I’m very happy for Lando, its been a long time coming and it’s not going to be his last one. He definitely deserves it,” said the Dutchman.
Leclerc echoed these sentiments.
“Very often he ran very close it but for one reason or another he didn’t make it. But today he did an incredible job and the whole weekend he has been on it,” stated the Ferrari driver.
Sainz completed fourth with Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez in fifth place however the pair swapped locations after stewards imposed a post-race penalty of 5 seconds on the Spaniard for his collision with Piastri.
Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and George Russell completed sixth and eighth with RB’s Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda ending seventh.
As within the first two years of the Miami Grand Prix, held round Hard Rock Stadium, the house of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, the race attracted loads of celebrities.
Former France worldwide footballer and coach Zinedine Zidane, singer Ed Sheeran, Super Bowl profitable quarterback Patrick Mahomes and former US President Donald Trump had been amongst these noticed on the race. Trump visited the McLaren storage earlier than the race.
Results from Formula One Miami Grand Prix on Sunday:
1. Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren) 308 km in 1 h 30:49.876, 2. Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull) at 7.612, 3. Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari) at 9.920, 4.Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull) at 14.650, 5. Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP/Ferrari) at 16.407*, 6. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes-AMG) at 16.585, 7. Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/Racing Bulls) at 26.185, 8. George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) at 34.789, 9. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin) at 37.107 10. Estéban Ocon (FRA/Alpine) at 39.746, 11. Nico Hülkenberg (GER/Haas) at 40.789, 12. Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine) at 44.958, 13. Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren) at 49.756, 14. Guanyu Zhou (CHN/Sauber) at 49.979, 15. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Racing Bulls) at 50.956, 16. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Sauber) at 52.356, 17. Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin) at 55.173, 18. Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas) at 1:04.683, 19. Alexander Albon (THA/Williams) at 1:16.091l, Logan Sargeant (USA/Williams) Did Not Finish.
Fastest Lap: Piastri 1:30.634
* Sainz handed a 5 second penalty by stewards after he was deemed to have triggered a collision with Oscar Piastri.
World Championship standings
Drivers
1. Max Verstappen (NED) 136 pts, 2. Sergio Perez (MEX) 103, 3. Charles Leclerc (MON) 98, 4. Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) 83, 5. Lando Norris (GBR) 83, 6. Oscar Piastri (AUS) 41, 7. George Russell (GBR) 37, 8. Fernando Alonso (ESP) 33, 9. Lewis Hamilton (GBR) 27, 10. Yuki Tsunoda (JPN) 14, 11. Lance Stroll (CAN) 9, 12. Oliver Bearman (GBR) 6, 13. Nico Hülkenberg (GER) 6, 14. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) 5, 15. Kevin Magnussen (DEN) 1, 16. Esteban Ocon (FRA) 1
Constructors
1. Red Bull 239 pts, 2. Ferrari 187, 3. McLaren 124, 4. Mercedes 64, 5. Aston Martin 42, 6. Racing Bulls 19, 7. Haas 7, 8. Alpine 1
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