Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen led tributes to Lando Norris after the McLaren driver became Formula 1’s newest race winner – and one of its most popular – in the Miami Grand Prix.
In the 110th grand prix of his five-year career at the top level, Norris seized the opportunity presented to him by a fortuitously-timed Safety Car to maintain the lead of a race he had inherited by delaying his sole pit stop, and then impressively pulling away from Verstappen when the race restarted to seal an impressive maiden triumph.
Norris, one of the sport’s most highly-regarded and affable drivers, was congratulated by a succession of his peers amid jubilant McLaren celebrations in the pit lane after the race. The appreciation shown towards the 24-year-old continued in the post-race interviews from a number of the grid’s biggest names and existing race winners.
“I’m really happy for Lando,” said seven-time champion Hamilton, the record holder for F1 race wins, to Sky Sports F1.
“Such a special moment to win your first Grand Prix.
“I started at McLaren and I’m really happy to see them back at the top. It’s been a long time.”
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Lando Norris celebrates in style, crowdsurfing with his McLaren team as well as being congratulated by rival drivers.
Verstappen, who surprisingly had no answer to Norris’ speed in the 24 laps to the finish after the restart, is a friend of the McLaren driver’s away from the track and was pleased to see the Briton break into the F1 winner’s circle.
“If I get beaten, it’s great that it has been done by Lando,” admitted Verstappen.
“He deserves it. It’s been a long time coming and it’s going to be the first of many.
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Max Verstappen was gracious in defeat, saying he feels this is the first of many wins for Lando Norris in Formula 1.
“Maybe it’s also a bit of relief for him that he has that win now, who knows what’s going to happen next.
“But for sure they had a strong weekend. Maybe it was a little bit messy still [on Saturday] but today they were flying – and especially Lando was flying. So definitely very happy for him.”
‘He definitely deserves it’ – rivals full of praise for Norris
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McLaren’s Lando Norris dedicated his first Grand Prix win to his family after claiming a maiden victory in Miami.
Charles Leclerc: “I’m really happy for Lando. As much as we all want to beat each other and to come out on top, it’s always emotional to see so many emotions on one of your competitors.
“We have all grown up together. Max and myself were on the same category but you always keep an eye on the younger categories.
“I remember looking at Lando, when he we all had these same dream of being a Formula 1 driver one day.
“Then once you achieve that you want obviously want the first win. I remember my first win and it is a very, very special moment.
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“I told him already he needs to enjoy it as much as possible. He definitely deserves it.”
George Russell: “Obviously happy to see Lando finally get a victory. It seemed well deserved. He has done an amazing job for a long time.”
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