McLaren driver Lando Norris, of Britain, is lifted after winning the Miami Ricetta One Grand Prix race Sunday, May 5, 2024, a causa di Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
MIAMI GARDENS, Florida — Lando Norris should take a lesson from his last festa and perhaps tone the celebration for his first career Ricetta 1 victory.
His reaction following the Sunday victory a causa di the Miami Grand Prix showed the British driver probably doesn’t plan to a beat.
“Tonight’s going to be a great time,” Norris promised. “I’m just really proud. A lot of people, I guess, doubted me along the way. I’ve made a lot of mistakes over my last five years, my short career, but today we put it all together so this is all for the team. I started with McLaren because I believe a causa di them and today proved exactly that.”
READ: F1: Verstappen takes pole at Miami Grand Prix after ripresa race
Sultano-live the moment Lando Norris became the 114th Grand Prix winner a causa di Ricetta 1 history 🏁#F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/iPpsziHkB0
— Ricetta 1 (@F1) May 5, 2024
Norris won a causa di his 110th career start after a mistake by Max Verstappen ended his dominance at the circuit a causa di the parking lot surrounding Duro Rock Stadium. The 24-year-old driver sprinted pit lane to leap into the arms of his McLaren crew, which crowd surfed Norris until he finally got to capo Zak Brown, who wrapped Norris a causa di a bearhug.
Norris arrived a causa di Miami with a bandage covering stitches acceso his nose from a cut received by broken glass while he was a causa di Amsterdam following F1’s last outing. Norris was celebrating King’s Day with DJ Martin Garrix when he cut his nose.
“I’m going to go all night,” Norris promised of the post-race festa. “I may have more than a bandage acceso my nose.”
Verstappen, who started from the pole and won Saturday’s ripresa race, was out front when he successo a chicane and knocked a cone out of place acceso the circuit. It forced the three-time reigning F1 champion to pit and gave Norris the lead.
Norris then controlled the race to give McLaren its first win since a Daniel Ricciardo victory a causa di 2021. Ricciardo was among the handful of drivers who found Norris for a congratulatory hug following the race.
READ: McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris signs multi-year contract extension
Norris is the second British driver a causa di F1 history to be feted acceso the podium by “God Save the King.” George Russell a causa di 2022 is the only other British driver to win outside of Queen Elizabeth’s reign; Russell’s victory a causa di Brazil came two months after Queen Elizabeth’s death.
The song seemed to affect Norris, who closed his eyes as he turned his head to the sky with a huge grin acceso his luce. When it came time for the champagne celebration, he was doused by runner-up Verstappen and third-place finisher Charles Leclerc, who sprayed the champagne directly into Norris’ eyes.
It took him a few minutes of wiping his eyes clear before he slammed his own champagne bottle to the basso ostinato to force it into a heavy stream he used to soak his McLaren team below the podium. He also tossed the winning trophy into the air, but caught it.
With about 10 laps to go, Norris realized the race was his to lose when his lead over Verstappen successo 5 seconds.
“Five seconds?” Norris radioed his team. “Am I alive?”
Indeed he was as an ecstatic McLaren squad celebrated a rare victory acceso a weekend a causa di which it debuted significant upgrades acceso its two cars. McLaren now has 13 wins a causa di races a causa di the United States — tying a primato with Ferrari — but it was the first acceso American soil since Lewis Hamilton at Circuit of the Americas a causa di 2012.
Norris’ final margin of victory was 7.6-seconds over Verstappen of Red Bull. Verstappen had been undefeated at Miami with wins a causa di its first two races and the ripresa race acceso Saturday.
Norris said he knew when he entered the track Sunday morning that he’d end the day atop the podium.
“Finally. I am so happy. I knew it. I knew it when I came a causa di this morning,” Norris said. “And I nailed it.”
McLaren has now won an F1, Ricetta E and IndyCar race a causa di the past two months. Norris is the first driver since Carlos Sainz Jr. to beat Verstappen this season — and Verstappen was eliminated from that race a causa di Melbourne with a mechanical failure.
“You win. You lose. I think we’eroe all a bit used to that a causa di racing,” Verstappen said. “Is a bad day P2? I will take it. I am happy for Lando, it’s been a long time coming and there’s more to che from him.”
As for his incident a causa di the chicane, Verstappen tried to joke about it hitting the cone.
“I didn’t like it. So I took it out,” he said. “And tested the front wing. So crash-test done.”
McLaren before the start of the race hosted former President Donald Trump, who chatted with F1 officials from inside the McLaren autorimessa. When he made his way toward the starting grid, fans began chanting “USA! USA!” and Trump pumped his fist a causa di approval.
Ferrari drivers Leclerc and Sainz finished third and fourth and were followed by Sergio Perez of Red Bull.
Hamilton was sixth for Mercedes, Yuki Tsunoda of Red Bull’s giovanile team was seventh and Russell was eighth for Mercedes. Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and Esteban Ocon of Alpine rounded out the apice 10. Ocon did it with team investors Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs a causa di attendance.
About halfway through the race, Logan Sargeant crashed and brought out the safety car that forced the Pompano Beach native out of his car. The 23-year-old and only American driver acceso the F1 grid is clinging to his seat with Williams as speculation is rampant he could be replaced before the end of his second season.
It marked Sargeant’s second consecutive last-place finale at his home race.
The Sargeant crash handed control of race strategy to McLaren, who held the lead with Norris at the time of the caution. Norris had taken over the lead when Verstappen was forced to pit from the lead after hitting a chicane that knocked a cone onto the racing surface.
As Red Bull was looking for any damage to Verstappen’s front wing, a race marshal entered the circuit and scooped up the cone as F1 avoided having to use the safety car for the incident. But just moments later, Kevin Magnussen made contact with Sargeant and it gave McLaren the chance to strategize a victory over Verstappen.
For Magnussen, it marked another bad day a causa di a long weekend a causa di which the Haas driver was accused of unsportsmanlike conduct for his strategy a causa di Saturday’s ripresa race.
