Norris breaks Verstappen’s string of wins.
MIAMI, Florida — It has been a long time for McLaren’s Lando Norris, who has had second-place finishes in his Formula 1 career. But on Sunday, the Briton snapped his winless streak by taking the Miami Grand Prix seven seconds ahead of Max Verstappen in his Red Bull, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc taking third.
After winning in his 110th grand prix start, Norris breathed a sigh of relief that the day he had wished for had finally come. “About time, huh?” Norris, 24, said.
Norris began the race in fifth as he worked his way up the grid until his luck finally came when Verstappen struck a bollard on lap 22 and had to pit. The incident brought out the virtual safety car for a couple of laps while marshals removed the object. But only laps later, the Williams of home driver Logan Sargeant and Haas F1’s Kevin Magnussen collided, sending the American into the barriers. Magnussen continued, but Sargant sustained heavy damage to his car and was the only driver to retire from the race.
That incident brought out the safety car for a couple of laps, allowing Norris to remain in the lead despite pitting. Norris continued as Verstappen’s earlier incident made his Red Bull hard to drive. That gave Norris more of a gap that he could put on the Dutchman, increasing his lead to seven seconds by the time the checkered flag came out, giving Norris his first career win.
Carlos Sainz finished in fourth but had to deal with the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri, who had a good race until he collided with the Ferrari driver, sustaining more damage than Sainz. Piastri had a broken front wing and had to pit, losing his chance to place in the top five. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was fifth, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell giving Mercedes sixth and eighth places. Yuki Tsunoda had a steady and well-deserved drive, placing seventh in his RB Cash App, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso taking ninth after passing the Alpine of Esteban Ocon, who, by finishing in tenth, gave his team their first points of the season after beginning the year with a very heavy car.
After the race, Norris thanked many individuals who contributed to this moment and also conveyed what he felt before the race … that Sunday could be the day that everything changed. “I knew on Friday that we had the pace (even though we made) a couple of mistakes here and there,” Norris explained. “But today, we managed to put it together. We put in the perfect strategy, and it all paid off.”
Norris and his team will have another chance at victory when the Formula 1 team heads to Europe for the first race on the continent. Race weekend will occur in two weeks at Imola at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit over the May 17-19 weekend.
