Lando Norris claimed the first victory of his Formula 1 career in his 110th race as he took full advantage of a timely Safety Car and then emphatically pulled away from Max Verstappen to win the Miami Grand Prix.
Shedding the unwanted record of the most podium finishes without a win in his sixth season of F1, Norris ran only sixth in the opening stages but the decision by McLaren to extend his opening stint worked wonders when the Safety Car was called for a crash for Williams’ Logan Sargeant.
With the cars ahead of him all having pitted by then – including race leader Verstappen – Norris had inherited the lead and then was crucially able to keep it by pitting under the Safety Car as his rivals all ran to a reduced speed on the track.
The job was far from over though with 24 laps still to go when the race resumed and with Verstappen, who had appeared set for another comfortable win before then, right on his tail.
But Norris impressively showed no nerves and, instead of having to defend from the world champion, consistently pulled away from the Red Bull in the laps that remained and eventually won by seven seconds.
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Lando Norris pulls away from Max Verstappen after the safety car restart during the Miami GP
Norris, 24, takes McLaren’s first win in since Daniel Ricciardo’s in the 2021 Italian GP and just their second in the past 12 years.
“He’s a super popular young man is Lando Norris. He beat both Ferraris and Red Bulls fair and square,” said Sky F1’s Martin Brundle.
Verstappen had to settle for a distant second having topped all the other sessions in Miami’s Sprint weekend.
Miami GP result: Top 10
1) Lando Norris, McLaren
2) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
3) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
4) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
5) Sergio Perez, Red Bull
6) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
7) Yuki Tsuonda, RB
8) George Russell, Mercedes
9) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
10) Esteban Ocon, Alpine
Charles Leclerc, who had been overtaken by the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri at the race start, took third ahead of Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz.
Lewis Hamilton finished in the highest position of his difficult season so far in sixth after a strong race for Mercedes, finishing within 2s of the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez.
Yuki Tsunoda beat the second Mercedes of George Russell to eighth, with Fernando Alonso recovering from his disappointing qualifying to take ninth for Aston Martin.
Alpine finally opened their points account for 2024 with Esteban Ocon in 10th.
More to follow…
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Drama on the opening lap in Sergio Perez almost hits Max Verstappen as he locks up at the first corner of the Miami GP.
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