Miami GP - Race

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Crypto.com Miami GP

Race

May 5, 2024

Norris secures his first F1 victory by defeating Verstappen in the Miami GP

After 109 attempts, Lando Norris secured his first Formula One race victory in Miami.

The British driver took advantage of a mid-race Safety Car period that propelled him ahead of Max Verstappen from Red Bull, securing the lead which he maintained until the end.

Starting from sixth position, Norris benefited from a collision between Williams' Logan Sargeant and Haas' Kevin Magnussen on Lap 28, which altered the race dynamics significantly.

The subsequent Safety Car period allowed Norris to make a pit-stop without losing his lead, enabling him to restart ahead of the championship leader Verstappen, who crossed the finish line 7.6 seconds behind in second place.

"WOOOOOOOOOO! WOOOOOOOOO! About f---ing time!" Norris was ecstatic upon crossing the finish line, exclaiming on the team radio.

"I guess that's how it's done. Finally! Finally! I'm so happy. I knew it when I came in this morning, I said today is the day of opportunity and I nailed it, and you nailed it."

The outcome was well-received, as evidenced by the majority of drivers offering their congratulations to Norris either during his victory lap back to the pits or after he had exited his car.

Following the race, Norris mentioned: "About time, huh? What a race, it's been a long time coming and finally I've managed to do it -- so I'm so happy for my whole team, I've finally delivered for them. A long day, tough race but finally on top so I'm over the moon.

"I am, [proud] the whole weekend has been good, we had some little set backs along the way. I knew on Friday we had the pace, and just a couple of mistakes here and there. But today we managed to put it together, we put the perfect strategy and it all paid off. Thanks to McLaren and everyone, I have to give a particular shout to to my mum and dad."

When he was asked if he wished to convey a message to the team, he responded:"I'm just proud really, a lot of people doubted me along the way. I've made a lot of mistakes over my last five years in my short career but today we put it all together, so this is all for the team. I stuck with McLaren because I believed in them and I did believe in them and today proved exactly that."

Before the podium ceremony, Fernando Alonso and ex-teammate Daniel Ricciardo were among the drivers who sought out Norris to offer their congratulations.

Regarding his second-place finish, Verstappen commented: "I mean, you win, you lose, we're all used to that in racing. Today was just a bit tricky. I think today on the mediums it didn't feel fantastic, we were pulling away but not like it should be and then once we made a pit stop. I heard what time the lap times the McLarens were doing and I was like 'yeah that's pretty quick'. Once they [McLaren] switched over to the hard tyre they were pretty quick, especially Lando, he was flying.

"If a bad day is P2, then I take it. I'm very happy for Lando, it's been a long time coming. This isn't going to be his last one, he deserves it definitely."

Upon arriving in Miami, Norris set a new record with the most podium finishes (15) without a win, but he finally ended that streak. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari took third place, followed closely by teammate Carlos Sainz, while Sergio Perez of Red Bull finished fifth. Lewis Hamilton, who praised Norris post-race, secured sixth place, ahead of Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda and George Russell. Fernando Alonso finished ninth, and Esteban Ocon earned a crucial point for Alpine. The race initially followed a familiar pattern with Verstappen leading, but he couldn't break away from the chasing pack as easily as before. The dynamics shifted after Verstappen's first pit-stop when Magnussen made a daring move on Sargeant, causing a collision that put both cars into the wall. Norris, who had yet to pit, efficiently changed tires without the usual time loss.

During the restart, the British driver successfully defended against Verstappen's aggressive attack. However, this proved to be the closest the Red Bull driver would get to overtaking him, as Norris managed to increase the gap between them in the second half of the race and secure a comfortable victory.

Tension was palpable at McLaren.

During the closing laps, teammate Oscar Piastri was engaged in a tight battle with Ricciardo from RB and nearly had a collision with his ex-teammate at one point.

Piastri was then informed by his race engineer:"Oscar, reminder, Lando is winning the race, we do not want to cause a Safety Car here..."

If Piasti hadn't collided with Sainz during the race, he could have possibly stood on the podium alongside Norris. The incident caused him to make an unexpected pit stop for a new front wing.

Verstappen is currently ahead in the drivers' championship with 136 points, leading by 35 points, while Norris has climbed to fifth place with 83 points.

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Miami GP 2024 F1 Race Results

1. Lando Norris, McLaren (1:30:49.876)

2. Max Verstappen, Red Bull (+7.612)

3. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (+9.920)

4. Sergio Pérez, Red Bull (+14.650)

5. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari (+16.407)

6. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes (+16.585)

7. Yuki Tsunoda, RB (+26.185)

8. George Russell, Mercedes (+34.789)

9. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin (+37.107)

10. Esteban Ocon, Alpine (+39.746)

11. Nico Hülkenberg, Haas (+40.789)

12. Pierre Gasly, Alpine (+44.958)

13. Oscar Piastri, McLaren (+49.756)

14. Zhou Guanyu, Sauber (+49.979)

15. Daniel Ricciardo, RB (+50.956)

16. Valtteri Bottas, Sauber (+52.356)

17. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin (+55.173)

18. Alexander Albon, Williams (+1:16.091)

19. Kevin Magnussen, Haas +1:04.683)

20. Logan Sargeant, Williams (+30 Laps)