Category: Formula 1

The McLaren driver crossed the line 7.6 seconds clear of the all-conquering Max Verstappen, converting a strategy in which he went long on the medium-compound tyres and pouncing on a safety car to cycle out ahead of the three-time world champion.

Dispelling the disappointment of his 2021 near-miss at the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi, Norris’ victory appeared to be a popular one among the rest of the grid – and the Briton received much in the way of congratulations from his adversaries as he completed arguably his most memorable saunter into parc ferme.

PLUS: The factors that mean Norris’ Miami win can’t be cast as a safety car fluke

“I’ve always had respect for everyone I race against, from the top to the bottom of every category that I’ve gone through since karting,” Norris said. “I’ve always had respect for my competitors and the people I raced against. And I’ve always said that. So as much as when you put the helmet on you hate them, and you want to beat them, and you don’t care who’s who, I’ve always had respect for the people I’ve raced against. 

“So when anyone comes up [to me], especially people who have achieved a lot, because it always means a little bit more. So when Lewis, Fernando, Max, Charles, Carlos, whenever they come up to you or people have good words for you, I appreciate those things a lot. Because from these people, it means something. They’re the people who know what it takes to achieve these types of things, for the work, the time, the effort that goes into doing something like this.”

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team, embraces Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, 1st position, to congratulate him on his race win

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Born in the port city of Bristol, situated between the mouth of the River Avon and River Severn, Norris is in his sixth season of racing in F1 for McLaren – with whom he shares a lengthy association. The Woking outfit signed Norris to its young driver squad at the start of 2017, ahead of his sole season in the now-defunct FIA Formula 3 European Championship.

Contrary to popular belief, Norris was not – he says – named after Star Wars character Lando Calrissian. Half-Belgian thanks to his mother Cisca, Norris nonetheless races under the British flag and grew up in the Somerset town of Glastonbury, known for its yearly music festival held in nearby Pilton. This allowed him to become a day-boarder at Millfield, a private school known for its contribution to sports – and where fellow racing driver Sam Bird was also educated. 

Initially not interested in racing, Norris started watching F1 with his father Adam – a Bristol-based businessman – and started to develop a keenness for it. After his victory in Miami, Norris paid tribute to his family for its support throughout his racing career – and to his grandmother over the team radio.

“I spoke to my mum and my dad already, which is always nice. Normally my dad comes to the races, but not today, so I’m sure he’s regretting that just a little bit. My parents have been so supportive. You know, they’re the ones who are with you from the start. They allowed everything to happen. They’re the ones that got me into racing, supported me, and allowed me to get to Formula 1, reach my dream, and do what I’ve loved to do since I was a kid. 

“And I’m very fortunate for everything that they’ve done and the position they’ve allowed me to be in. You think of those moments, and therefore, of course, I want to speak to my mum and dad, first of all, because you shared all those moments with them. And I just say a big thanks. And for my grandma, because she’s not been so well lately. I saw her last week, and I told her that I was going to win a race. I didn’t say when. I just said I was going to win a race. And I didn’t think it would be coming this soon. So I’m just very happy that I was able to do it as quickly as I did.”

Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, 1st position, kisses the winners trophy

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Also exposed to racing through the Gran Turismo video game series, Norris had the racing bug truly sinking its teeth into him when he was taken along with his brother Ollie to watch the karting British Championships at Clay Pigeon, the karting course near Dorchester where Jenson Button first started to race. 

“Me being me, I wanted to have a go!,” Norris told the Formula 2 website in 2018. “Soon after, I got a Bambino go-kart to drive around at home, and it started there…”

Norris picked up karting and, by 2013, he was competing on a global stage. There, he won the Junior class of the CIK-FIA European Championship – the same year Max Verstappen won the higher KF2 category – and went on to take victory in the CIK-FIA World Championship in 2014.

What is Norris’ junior racing record?

Alongside his Karting World Championship efforts, Norris started competing in the Ginetta Juniors Championship, a series on the support package of the British Touring Car Championship. At the age of 14 Norris was now exposed to a UK TV audience and behind the wheel of a Ginetta G40 in a full circuit race for the first time. Initially, Norris was only supposed to take part in the second half of the season, but ended up competing in the full championship – where he finished third behind future GT racers Jack Mitchell and James Kellett.

Norris moved to another of the BTCC’s undercard events in 2015: MSA Formula – built from the ashes of the defunct British Formula Ford Championship as the FIA rolled out its Formula 4 class worldwide. This was the first time Norris drove for Carlin, and he beat Ricky Collard and Colton Herta to the title to earn a move to the Formula Renault 2.0 championship.

Lando Norris

Photo by: Daniel James Smith

His campaign there was preceded by the New Zealand-based Toyota Racing Series in the spring of 2016, which Norris won convincingly over former karting rival Jehan Daruvala. Titles in Formula Renault 2.0’s Eurocup and NEC championships followed, driving for Josef Kaufmann’s team, prior to his reunion with Carlin for a stab at the 2017 Formula 3 European Championship.

Having marked himself as a star of the future with his sweep of championship wins, Norris was signed to the McLaren Young Driver programme, which was one of new CEO Zak Brown’s first points of business after taking over at McLaren. Against stern competition from second-year driver Joel Eriksson and third-year racer Maximilian Guenther, Norris chalked up nine victories to claim another title with two races to spare – naturally winning the rookies’ championship in the process.

Lando Norris, Carlin Dallara F317 – Volkswagen

Photo by: FIA F3 / Suer

This elevated Norris into Formula 2, which had introduced its new F2 2018 chassis. Carlin had left the series, then known as GP2, at the end of 2016 but had re-entered the championship a year later, Norris being partnered by Sergio Sette Camara at the British squad. A one-off for Campos at the end of 2017 gave Norris a taster of what to expect, and the Briton continued to deliver in the early tests to mark himself out as a championship contender. Ahead of his first full year in F2, Norris competed in the Daytona 24 Hours alongside Fernando Alonso and Philip Hanson for United Autosports – the endurance racing team owned by Brown.

Considered as one of the best seasons of F2 thanks to its depth of talent, 2018 was contested by Norris, who won the Bahrain opener, ART’s George Russell, and Anglo-Thai driver Alex Albon – who converted a race-by-race deal with DAMS into a full season thanks to a strong start to the championship.

Despite opening strongly in securing the feature race victory in the Bahrain season opener (his last victory in any category before his Miami GP win) Norris did not reach the top step again in 2018 and retained his position in the championship hunt through consistency – although a puncture in the rain-affected Sochi round ended his championship hopes before the field diverted to its Yas Marina finale. Russell claimed the crown when Albon was taken out in a start-line incident following a stall, a frequent feature of the 2018 F2 car owing to a series of clutch issues. 

Lando Norris, Carlin

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Regardless, Norris impressed sufficiently in F2 and in a series of FP1 sessions for McLaren to earn a step up to F1 in 2019 – replacing Stoffel Vandoorne at the team.

How has Norris performed in F1?

Norris was partnered by Carlos Sainz in 2019, the Spaniard signed to replace compatriot Fernando Alonso in the latter’s first retirement from F1. The two quickly formed a firm friendship, and combined to help McLaren move back up the grid after a series of lean years with Honda powertrains and problematic cars.

In his first F1 race at Albert Park, Norris qualified eighth and finished 12th, and followed that up with his first points through finishing sixth in Bahrain. He amassed 49 points in his maiden season as McLaren made great strides forward with its MCL34, almost half of Sainz’s tally that year. His second season proved more felicitous despite the impact of COVID, and he claimed a maiden podium at the Red Bull Ring opener. This time, he finished just eight points behind Sainz, ahead of the Madrid-born driver’s move to Ferrari in 2021.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG F1, and Lando Norris, McLaren, celebrate on the podium after the race

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images

Contracted at McLaren for a third season, Norris was partnered with Daniel Ricciardo for 2021 – which was billed as his most serious test in F1 given the Australian was still highly rated at the time. However, Norris outperformed the ex-Red Bull driver and claimed all but one of the team’s five podium finishes – albeit the one that would have likely stung the most. In a zany Italian Grand Prix where title adversaries Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton crashed at the chicane, Ricciardo assumed the lead – and Norris directed to play rear gunner against the chasing Valtteri Bottas. McLaren thus secured its first 1-2 finish since the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix.

Norris had his own opportunity to win at the next race at Sochi, and took his first pole from Sainz. Although the Ferrari driver snatched the lead at the start, Norris reclaimed it on the 13th lap and managed the race well – keeping Lewis Hamilton at bay until rain started to fall. Hamilton took the opportunity to pit for intermediates while Norris, anticipating a short shower, elected to stay out. That call proved to be hubristic, and he lost a lot of time to Hamilton while struggling on the slicks – and eventually aquaplaned off the circuit to throw away a shot at victory.

Lando Norris, McLaren, commiserates with himself after the race

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Although Norris committed his long-term future to McLaren, its first foray into the ground-effect regulations mandated for 2022 was not entirely successful and he managed just one podium finish all year – at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola. 2023 started out even more disastrously, with just 12 points scored in the opening eight races, but Norris benefitted from a vastly improved car at the Austria round to ignite a season where he claimed seven grand prix podiums. His first victory had to wait once more when Oscar Piastri won out in the Qatar sprint.

That brings us to 2024, and Norris’ best career start to an F1 championship season with three podiums – including his Miami Grand Prix victory. After walking away from China with second place, Norris had the unwanted record of holding the most podiums – 15 – without a win. This record now returns to Nick Heidfeld.

Podium: race winner David Coulthard, McLaren, second place Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, third place Nick Heidfeld, Sauber

Photo by: Motorsport Images

How does Norris approach racing in F1?

In speaking to the media, Norris has often exhibited a self-deprecative and cautious approach when discussing his chances. Even after good results, it appears he is a natural pessimist – and instead draws attention to his own weaknesses rather than opting for self-aggrandisement. Speaking about this after his Miami win, Norris stated that this is a source of motivation.

“I have my times when I’m happy with what I’m able to go out and do. I’m just one of those guys that I’m not happy when I know I’ve not done the job I’m capable of doing,” he said. And [this win] shows what I’m capable of doing. I think all year I’ve done a very good job. And I’ve worked hard and I’ve eliminated and got rid of a lot of my weaknesses.

“I’m still going to be that guy. I don’t think that’s going to change. That’s what works for me. That’s my mindset. Everyone has their own way of doing things, their own approach, their own way that they talk to themselves and think of: how can I approach today? How can I go out and do the best job? For me, it’s talking down at myself and kind of putting myself down because for me that’s what works and I’m fine with that. 

“I don’t need other people to be happy with it and for other people to agree with it. It’s what’s best for me, and what works best is what’s made me who I am and I think that’s my best way of going forward. So I’m going to have my days when the glass is full and I can be happy and I’m proud of myself. Everyone’s going to have those days and everyone should have those days. But in order to make myself the best man, the best driver, I have my way of doing things and I stick to that.”

Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, 1st position, lifts the trophy in celebration on the podium

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

What does Norris do outside of racing – and what’s next in F1?

In 2020, Norris set up Quadrant – a company that focuses on “racing, gaming, clothing and content” with multiple streamers, and has since received investment from YouTuber Will Lenney. Much of the company’s involvement expands into Esports and the sale of clothing, but it will expand into an athlete support programme.

He has also cultivated a following through streaming on Twitch, which he has also used for charitable endeavours – raising money for COVID response funds and mental health charity Mind. He also plays golf, playing in various Pro-Am tournaments – notably the Netflix Cup held ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023.

Norris has a long-term contract with McLaren, which spans until the end of the 2027 season. It is known that he has held talks with Red Bull previously on more than one occasion, but has ultimately committed to McLaren following them. 

McLaren has committed to Mercedes power for the incoming powertrain regulatory overhaul in 2026, with a deal that extends to 2030. 

The Mercedes boss found himself on the receiving end of scathing remarks from Mintzlaff over the Miami Grand Prix weekend, with the energy drinks company’s managing director not happy about Mercedes trying to lure Verstappen away from his current squad.

Mintzlaff told Bild Am Sonntag: “I understand the pressure that Toto Wolff and perhaps other teams have after years of being behind. But I think Toto Wolff should concentrate on his challenges. He has enough of those.

“And it also has something to do with respect. If I keep talking about the personnel of other teams, that’s not right.”

Wolff is totally unmoved by what was said, though, and suggested that what Mintzlaff was talking about was irrelevant to him.

“I don’t know what this guy is commenting on,” said Wolff. “It has no relevance for me.”

There were reports – which Wolff has denied – of Mercedes lining up a meeting with Verstappen and his representatives this week to discuss a potential 2025 deal.

However, Wolff has made clear that he continues to keep a watching brief over developments, although it is too early to be definitive about his squad’s second driver plans for 2025.

Oliver Mintzlaff, Managing Director, Red Bull GmbH

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

“There’s always plenty of meetings,” he said. “I can’t really say [anything definite] about the second driver. I think we’ve talked about the possibilities, and I want to be fair to these guys and not make it look like we are paying chess with humans because we are not doing that.

“We want to take our time, see where Max’s thinking goes and, at the same time, monitor the other drivers.

“Carlos [Sainz] was very strong today again and that’s why we are a little bit on an observation mode at the moment.”

While Mercedes waits to see what Verstappen decides in the end, its other obvious option is junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

The Italian youngster was at the centre of speculation over the Miami weekend about a potential step up to Williams soon, with it understood that the squad has asked the FIA for an F1 superlicence exemption for him because he is under 18.

Wolff said that Mercedes has no interest in him racing in F1 now as it wants him to focus on doing his best in F2.

“So many stories were created, and it doesn’t do him any favours because he needs to concentrate on his F2 campaign,” added Wolff.

“He’s doing lots of testing for us in order to bring him up to speed and I think this decision of the second driver is weeks if not months away. We didn’t make any approach to the FIA about getting an earlier release.”

Norris finally broke his duck in F1 on his 110th start, taking a convincing win at the Miami International Autodrome albeit with help from a well-timed safety car.

It was Norris’ first win in a motor race in over 2200 days, having previously claimed 15 podiums in F1 before climbing the top step.

Norris admitted that finally taking his first victory was a weight off his shoulders, but according to team principal Stella that could also be said of the team itself, because it was finally able to give the 24-year-old a car that was quick enough to do so.

“I think [not winning] was a bit of a weight on his shoulders, but it was a weight on our shoulders as well ,” Stella said when quizzed by Autosport.

“We knew as soon as we made winning material available to Lando, he would have delivered. So we felt the responsibility and I have said that many times, that it is up to us, it is not up to Lando.

“But credit to Lando, he kept developing over the winter, especially looking at improving in qualifying and delivering laps that sometimes don’t have to be 100% when you have a fast car, just be there. I think he is doing that.”

The Italian added: “That’s for me a testament to how ready he was, and also if we look at what he delivered in podiums with a car that sometimes wasn’t really a podium finisher on merit, for me Lando is in a very strong journey.”

Stella praised Norris for keeping his powder dry in the first stint on medium tyres when stuck in traffic, only to then deliver one fastest lap after the other once he found clear air, pace that even had Red Bull’s Max Verstappen rightly worried.

“I have to say that his race management is very mature,” said Stella. “As soon as he saw there wasn’t much to do after the first lap, he started to save his tyres because he knew his race would come at some stage.

“The pace he was able to pull off when the cars ahead of him pitted, that was quite incredible. He was getting the most out of the material he has.

“We needed to provide him with winning material. And as soon as we did it, he achieved it.”

McLaren driver Lando Norris took his maiden grand prix win after he benefitted from the safety-car period following a crash between Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant in the Williams on lap 28 of the race.

Norris was the last of the frontrunners to pit, and managed to do so under safety-car conditions, meaning he emerged ahead of Max Verstappen to keep the lead.

Sainz was running in front of Norris but had pitted a lap earlier, under race conditions, dropping to fifth by the time the accident occurred.

Had Ferrari waited another lap, Sainz feels he would have emerged in the lead with a shot at winning the race.

“Frustrated, because we were ahead of him before that pitstop before the safety car,” said Sainz of his race.

“If we would have extended one more lap, we would’ve caught the safety car and we could have won the race too.”

Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur acknowledged the poor timing of the safety car, and joked that he “forgot the crystal ball”.

He said: “I was not aware that Sargeant and Magnussen would crash the lap after! Of course, when you are in this situation, you are a bit unlucky – or I would say probably that Lando was a bit lucky, because he was the only one on track.

“But more than this, I think it’s the fact that they put the safety car in front of Verstappen. They’re so used to have Verstappen leading the pack that they send the safety car in front of him!

“The safety car was quite slow, and it was a very good move at the end for Lando.”

Sainz went on to finish fourth on track but was demoted to fifth by a penalty for his clash with Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri.

The duo made contact as Sainz dived down the inside of Turn 17 on lap 39, the Spaniard seemingly losing the rear of his car and hitting the front of the McLaren.

Although Piastri fought back over the next corners, the Australian went off track at the end of the start/finish straight and had to concede his position.

Sainz was handed a five-second penalty after the race, dropping behind Piastri in the final results.

The Ferrari driver said he had to resort to an aggressive dive because he could not match the top speed of the McLaren on the straights.

“I realised it was time to be aggressive because everyone was being aggressive today,” Sainz said before his penalty was announced. “And if I needed to get a move on Oscar, you could see that we were struggling on the straights, this meant that I needed to send one down the inside. I did it.

“And good pace towards the end, catching the guys in front, Max and Charles, but it was too late. I lost much time with Oscar.”

Prior to Formula 1’s third visit to the Hard Rock Stadium, nobody other than Max Verstappen had won a Miami Grand Prix. And it was set to be the same again, as the irrepressible Dutchman took victory in the sprint race and claimed pole position – albeit by just a tenth – which he seemed certain to convert.

The course of the race’s events were changed irrevocably by the fleeting contact of two bits of tyre matter. Kevin Magnussen‘s racing equivalent of ‘leaving a foot in’ with his challenge against Logan Sargeant for minor placings fired the American into the Turn 2 barrier and sounded the clarion call for a safety car.

Lando Norris, who had yet to make his first stop and had gone long, was the primary benefactor. Owing to the timing of the safety car, his eventual switch to the hard tyre effectively came for free and ensured he retained a lead over Verstappen. But we’ve been here before: Verstappen usually finds his way through, and it was that conditioned sense of inevitability that made the final 20 laps so compelling. But the threat of a challenge seemed to evaporate, and Norris kept building a lead that proved more than enough to claim a first F1 win.

The 2024 Miami Grand Prix will forever be “that first Norris win”, but there was far more to it than that. Indulge us, if you will, as we pick our way through the 10 biggest talking points from Florida.

1. Norris can finally put “No-Wins” epithet to bed

It has been a long time coming, but Norris is finally a grand prix winner

Photo by: Michael Potts / Motorsport Images

It was the result that dispelled The Ghost of Sochi 2021.

McLaren and Norris had never been allowed to forget the precipitous downpour that produced their collective fumble on that day in Russia, particularly as the agonising wait for retribution had lingered far beyond anything that the team had anticipated. Difficulties in its early interpretations of the 2022-spec regulations suggested that Norris had been too loyal to McLaren, especially when 2023’s awful start came to bear. It seemed like he’d missed the boat.

Under the guidance of Andrea Stella, McLaren has turned the ship around. Equally, Norris kept himself in the game in Miami; an early phase of tyre saving ensured that the Briton could extend his stint, which ultimately yielded the safety car-assisted pitstop on lap 29 that kept him ahead of Verstappen.

PLUS: The three factors that mean Norris’s Miami F1 win can’t be cast as a safety car fluke

The two drivers were evenly matched in the second and third sectors, barely separated by 0.1s through those splits each lap, but it was the opening sector where Norris could focus on his break-building. He was usually 0.3s faster than the Red Bull driver in the opening array of corners, which kept their interval timings steadily growing by each lap, and precluded Verstappen from mounting any kind of fightback during the race’s second act.

Thankfully, Norris’ win will now quell the Twitter comics, at least those who noticed that “No-wins” is vaguely similar to “Norris”. That said, as we speak, many are now arguing that “no-wins” is a pluralised in some Aston Martin-esque questioning of the Official Witty Repartee Rules and Regulations, so that they don’t have to come up with a new nickname.

2. McLaren keeps upgrade hit rate as Miami package works out

Norris celebrates on top of his upgraded MCL38

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

On race pace terms, McLaren can make a genuine claim that it had the fastest chassis in Miami. Norris waltzed away from Verstappen, while Oscar Piastri relegated the Ferraris by a position through an explosive start to the grand prix. That’s a huge turnaround over the past 12 months, at the start of which the team was lucky to even score points.

Ever since Zak Brown entrusted the keys to the erudite Stella, the team’s fortunes have only progressed; a clear philosophy in the technical department’s direction has ensured that upgrades have been continual despite the cost cap’s restrictive effects.

Upgrades don’t always work for a variety of reasons: perhaps the correlation between wind tunnel and the real world isn’t particularly strong, or a team’s turbulence models aren’t advanced enough, or reliability has been hampered in some way. In McLaren’s case, however, it seems that upgrade packages will bring tangible performance benefits without fail.

The Austria bolt-ons last year turned the season around, and further additions in Singapore helped keep pace with the other frontrunners. In pure lap-time terms, McLaren lost a little to Red Bull at the start of 2024, but that was because Red Bull had long since stopped developing its 2023 machinery and saved the bigger steps for the new car.

For the Miami round, McLaren brought a wide-ranging suite of aero updates to its MCL38, including a new front wing, front suspension, sidepod inlets, floor, and rear wing geometries. Norris got the full kit while Piastri had half of it, giving the team a chance to perform back-to-back tests, but it was impressive to see that the team got the new aero dialled in with just a single practice session. With more time to explore the changes in Imola, can McLaren extract even more?

3. Verstappen’s lack of pace down to hole in floor…or was it?

Verstappen’s unwanted passenger saw him also pick up car damage

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Those expecting Verstappen to put Norris under scrutiny on the lap 33 race restart probably figured that the race was over when the Dutchman threw a speculative attack into the first corner, but Norris saw the championship leader coming and shielded himself against any further efforts into the next corners.

It was like watching the knight defend the Holy Grail at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade; Verstappen (the grail knight) swiped once, was evaded by Norris (Indiana Jones), and then rather fell over under the weight of his own sword. Norris continued to pad out his lead over the final 20 laps – a tenth here, a couple of tenths there – as insurance, which ultimately proved excessive at the flag.

But why couldn’t Verstappen close the gap? The driver himself reckoned that his RB20 struggled to extract much in the way of grip from the hard compound tyre; the stint on the mediums had been satisfactory, but the white-walled C2 did not mesh with the Red Bull’s Miami set-up.

Even though he reckoned that his lap 20 bollard-bothering antics had not caused any damage, team principal Christian Horner reckoned that the liberated road-side marker had “done quite a lot of damage to the underside of the car.”

“We will have to look at exactly what the effect of that was. It is a reasonable amount of the area around the left rear floor,” Horner said. “There is a reasonable amount that’s missing and you can see it awfully flexing as well, so it certainly wouldn’t be helping.”

4. Leclerc doesn’t need practice sessions to grab podiums

Leclerc effectively sat out practice after an early spin

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Two and a half laps was all she wrote for Charles Leclerc’s practice running in Miami. A languid spin out of the Turn 14-15 chicane put the Monegasque’s blue-tickled Ferrari the wrong way around, and it proved difficult to perform a recovery pirouette given the tightness of the walls at Turn 16. Thus began the references to the first film in the Austin Powers franchise, when Mike Myers’ snaggletoothed British spy parody attempts to perform a 4000-point turn, but Leclerc’s efforts did not last as long. He overheated the clutch and couldn’t engage reverse, forcing him to clamber out of his car.

Minimal preparation before sprint qualifying proved no obstacle, however, as Leclerc plonked his car on the front row of the grid and kept Verstappen somewhat honest throughout the 19-lap race to claim second. His form continued into the full grand prix and again clinched second on the grid, although the interloping McLarens appeared to have an edge on race pace over the Ferraris.

Although Leclerc reckoned that Ferrari might have enjoyed a veneer-thin tyre advantage over Red Bull in Miami, judging by his post-sprint comments, he wasn’t able to entirely keep pace with Verstappen at the start. This let Piastri trickle past and stunt the Ferraris’ progress early on into the race, although Leclerc’s earlier stop ensured that he could undercut the Australian for the race’s second half.

Race weekends have been compromised before by limited practice, but Leclerc shook that off and performed when it mattered. And all of that while his drinks bottle wasn’t working…

5. Sainz’s assertive radio traffic isn’t always right

Sainz made a couple of wrong strategic moves in Miami

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

The radio traffic emerging from Carlos Sainz‘s car is usually chock-full of insights, ranging from the strategic to the ‘brave’ renditions of Sade’s 1984 hit Smooth Operator. This weekend, the radio waves were an insight into his frustration, which belied his usually calm demeanour as he hit out at a close-quarters battle with Piastri.

Sainz attempted to hang his car around the outside of Piastri at Turn 11, a move that the Australian repelled but also left Sainz to take to the run-off. It was a robust defence and one that the stewards ultimately proved to be happy with, but Sainz tasked his engineer Riccardo Adami with getting McLaren on the blower to get Piastri to give the place up. McLaren ran Piastri through its own series of events, perhaps worried that the Melburnian’s laid-back nature might not be assertive enough in pleading its case, but it never came to that.

Frustrated by the decision (one that probably led countryman Fernando Alonso to assume it was down to being Spanish), Sainz gave Piastri little quarter in their future battles, which led to contact at Turn 17 that killed off Piastri’s podium hopes. After going a bit long into the tight left-hander, Sainz gave Piastri nowhere to go and nibbled at his front wing, forcing the McLaren driver to make a stop.

For someone who’s usually spot on with his tactical talk, Sainz showed a few lapses in his judgement in Miami; dictating strategy is one thing, but it’s best to leave the penalty lobbying in the pitwall’s hands.

6. Alpine’s upgrades show progress as Ocon gets first 2024 point

Ocon’s Miami point lifts Alpine above Williams and Sauber in the standings

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Now that Alpine has shed about 10kg off its A524, the car is now operating at the weight limit for the first time this season. Although the team still has a way to go to be considered competitive, it now sits above Williams and Sauber in the constructors’ championship thanks to Ocon’s points-scoring exploits in Miami.

The Frenchman survived a robust onslaught from team-mate Pierre Gasly on the opening lap, although it did cost Ocon two positions. Gasly wanted to be the driver on the “optimum” strategy as, per his words, the lesser-placed driver would have to take the Hail Mary strategy in the event of a safety car and go long. Ocon was thus saddled with the latter option, but it worked out perfectly when it came to the bollard-enforced virtual safety car period.

Once everything had cycled out post-safety car, Ocon had shuffled up to ninth and spent a good while keeping former team-mate Alonso at bay to maintain the two points on offer. The veteran Spaniard eventually found a way past on the run to Turn 11, scything ahead to put Ocon down to 10th, but it nonetheless got Alpine off the mark in a difficult 2024 thus far.

“We don’t want to be jumping around and celebrating too hard,” Ocon said afterwards. “Obviously, it’s only a top 10. But considering where we were a couple of races ago in Bahrain, 19th and 20th, I think, you know, we can take the positives out of this race and the baby steps that we are doing at the moment. But it definitely feels good to come out of this weekend with some reward.”

7. Potential Red Bull exodus not yet headed off after Newey exit undefined

Newey is waving goodbye to Red Bull in early 2025

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

The 2024 season has been pretty prolific in its bombshell news stories thus far, and Adrian Newey’s confirmed departure from Red Bull in 2025 is just another storyline in F1’s microcosmic soap opera. The whys, wherefores, and what’s nexts have been digested in terms of Newey’s future employment – but the ramifications for Red Bull will take longer to fully understand.

The departure of Newey will at least clarify his involvement in the car design over the past few seasons. Should the Milton Keynes team remain F1’s top dog, then the likes of Pierre Wache, Ben Waterhouse, Enrico Balbo and co deserve their flowers. If not, then Newey’s star continues to twinkle as brightly as it did 25 years ago. He won’t be involved in the team’s 2026 design, so we’ll only find out then.

PLUS: How big a blow is Newey’s exit to Red Bull?

Furthermore, will anyone follow Newey out of the exit door? McLaren CEO Brown predicted that “more dominos” would fall, citing an increase in CVs on his desk from Red Bull employees. Verstappen looks set to remain at the team, even if Mercedes would like to find a way to spring him from his current deal. Instead, reports are that sporting director Jonathan Wheatley is casting his net out for a possible team principal opportunity, while Wache has been linked to Ferrari more than once over the past couple of years.

Red Bull is currently in the process of revisiting its current contracts to keep its key players at the team, having already locked down Balbo and Waterhouse in recent months.

8. Newey courted by Ferrari, Aston Martin… and Williams

Would Newey look good in red?

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

When Newey’s departure was announced, the most compelling destinations appeared to be either Ferrari or Aston Martin. At Maranello, Frederic Vasseur is attempting to build a Ferrari team comparable to that of the early 2000s and return the Prancing Horse to the field’s forefront – and Newey might be viewed as a shortcut to that level of success.

In the meantime, Aston Martin has grand ambitions and financial security from owner Lawrence Stroll, who is believed to have tabled a large offer for Newey’s services. McLaren and Mercedes are understood not to be interested, preferring to stick with their own philosophies, so it seemingly comes down to whether Newey wishes to relocate to Italy and join Ferrari, or stay in the UK for Aston Martin.

Or there’s the romantic option: a return to Williams. Newey departed Williams in 1996 after a variety of fractures in his relationship with both Frank Williams and Patrick Head, particularly after signing a deal that he would also be consulted on major decisions at the team – including driver selection. When it became apparent Damon Hill was not going to be renewed for 1997 and Williams would sign Heinz-Harald Frentzen instead, Newey had not been consulted and chose to leave the team for McLaren.

Perhaps going back to Williams would offer the opportunity he wanted 28 years ago: a genuine say in how the team operates, with scope for a shareholding should owners Dorilton sanction that.

“It would be remiss of me to not be talking to him. It is as simple as that,” said Williams principal James Vowles. “I think we also have to be sensible about it. Our conversations with him have been very light. But even so, are we in discussions? Yes. Very light discussions. But to answer your question, would it be a dream team? Yes.”

9. Magnussen gets six stamps on FIA stewards’ loyalty card

Magnussen is on the edge of picking up a race ban after his multiple penalties in Miami

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Three 10-second penalties for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, added to a five-second track limits penalty, equalled a grand total of the stewards’ ire at Magnussen (and 35 seconds added to his sprint race time, for those with extreme maths allergies). The Dane even admitted that he might have overdone his defence against Lewis Hamilton in Saturday’s 19-lap event, but he wasn’t quite done with his penalty gathering.

Perhaps sensing that a few more stamps on his FIA card might entitle him to a free coffee, Magnussen buzzed around Sargeant and attempted to pass the American in the opening corners on the 28th lap. Instead, he hooked Sargeant’s right-rear wheel with his left-front and posted the Floridian into the wall to produce the safety car.

PLUS: Miami Grand Prix Driver Ratings

That was worth another 10-second penalty, but that wasn’t quite it – Magnussen then took to the pitlane under the safety car but did not change his tyres, which comes with a 20-second penalty for the presumed potential disruption to others. Post-Miami, Magnussen now has 10 points on his license – another two will result in a race ban.

“It wasn’t a good day, again,” Magnussen mused. “Hopefully I can get some clarity on things going forward.”

10. Antonelli primed for F1 chance as FIA receives superlicence request

Is Antonelli being primed for an F1 debut at the earliest opportunity?

When Verstappen made his prodigious entrance into the F1 arena as a race driver at the grand old age of 17, the FIA tightened up its superlicence requirements to stop drivers skipping rungs on its carefully curated ladder to F1. It also upped the minimum age limit needed to hold a superlicence to 18.

It emerged over the Miami weekend that the FIA had received a request to grant Mercedes young driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli a superlicence, even though he only reaches 18 in August. It may be that this could simply ensure that the Italian can participate in FP1 sessions at some point in 2024, but has led to speculation that Williams might be angling for a replacement for Sargeant should the Fort Lauderdale-born driver continue to struggle.

Antonelli has been granted test days in old Mercedes machinery, as the Brackley squad attempts to give him ample preparation for a future F1 opportunity, but James Vowles says that Williams is committed to sticking with Sargeant.

“I know nothing about what’s going on with the Mercedes tests right now,” said Vowles. “We are looking, as everyone else is, for where we want to be on driver line-up for next year. And we have our own young driver programme.

“Logan has to earn his seat and at the moment, he has some tough targets where he has to get much closer to Alex. But there is nothing on the radar at the moment for replacing him.”

Sargeant remains under pressure to perform at Williams

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

What is perhaps most significant about it though is that the triumph was not the result of freak circumstances putting Verstappen out of contention, as happened in Australia with his brake problem.

Instead, Norris had to work hard for it, holding off his Red Bull rival at the safety car restart and then extending his advantage to the end of the race to come home well clear for a very popular win.

PLUS: The three factors that mean Norris’s Miami F1 win can’t be cast as a safety car fluke

Here is how the international media have reacted to Norris’s success.

Britain’s Fleet Street

The Daily Mail newspaper leads with the headline: “Lando Hope and Glory” and it said Norris: “has quickly become the poster boy for F1 and now Lando Norris has reached new heights bagging his first Grand Prix win in Miami pushing reigning world champion Max Verstappen off the top of the podium.”

The Guardian had the headline: “‘I freaking love it’: Lando Norris proud to silence the critics with first F1 win at Miami Grand Prix.” The newspaper goes on to explain how his triumph is “a moment of immense pride and one that he insisted would finally silence the critics and doubters who have called his talent into question.”

Having arrived in Miami with a scar on his nose as the result of an injury he picked up celebrating King’s Day with DJ Martin Garrick, The Daily Telegraph leads with: “From bloodied nose to King of Miami: Lando Norris an F1 winner at last.”

Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, 1st position, the McLaren team celebrate victory with Champagne

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

It goes on to reflect on the significance of the result for both the young British driver and his McLaren team: “The sight of the young Briton leaping over the parc ferme barriers into the arms of his ecstatic mechanics, being hoisted onto their shoulders in tears, before wrapping McLaren chief executive Zak Brown and team principal Andrea Stella in big bear hugs, showed just how much this meant to him.

“And to the team. McLaren have been to rock bottom and back since Lewis Hamilton won their last world title back in 2008. The Woking team are starting to look seriously competitive once again.”

The Sun’s headline is: “Gamble Land-ed.” Its race report goes in with: “LANDO NORRIS was the top Trump in the Miami Grand Prix after winning his first F1 GP. The brilliant Brit capitalised on a rare off day for the reigning world champion Max Verstappen to win this thriller at the Hard Rock Stadium.”

Bild: He can be beaten!

The fact that a grand prix has not been won by Verstappen is the reason for a remarkable headline in the German Bild: ‘Formel-1-Sieger is NICHT Verstappen’, with the subtitle ‘Big surprise in Miami’.

The race report then opens with the words: “He’s beatable! Max Verstappen wins the Miami Grand Prix – NOT!” All this of course points to the continued dominance of Verstappen, which meant that few had expected a victory for anyone other than the Dutchman.

“Instead, Lando Norris surprisingly crosses the finish line first. Not only does he become the 114th driver in the history of the premier class of motorsport to win a race, he also avoids a negative record. If the Brit had stood on the podium for the 16th time in his career in Miami, he would have been the driver with the most grands prix between his first podium finish and his first victory. It didn’t get that far.”

The safety car really messed things up, as people in Germany also concluded: “Verstappen had recently had his first tyre change and thus relinquished his (clear) lead. With the safety car, the McLaren driver gets a ‘free pitstop’.

The Briton returns to the track ahead of Verstappen and retains the lead during the flying restart. The McLaren star, who had already been labelled as ‘eternal talent’ by some experts in the paddock, then drove sovereignly to victory.”

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

L’Equipe: A clear mistake

In France, the race report in the largest sports newspaper L’Equipe is headlined ‘La surprise Norris’. Here too, the McLaren driver’s victory was not expected.

“To beat Max Verstappen, you always need a bit of luck,” the F1 reporter writes in the first paragraph.

“In Australia, Carlos Sainz and Ferrari benefited from the retirement of the three-time world champion. In Miami, Lando Norris scored his first ever F1 victory, thanks to a safety car at the wrong time for Verstappen.”

This was the moment when everything fell in the right direction for the McLaren driver.

“By positioning itself in front of Max Verstappen’s car and not in front of leader Norris, the safety car gave the team from Woking the opportunity to make a pitstop in peace and go out as the leader again. The safety car caught the entire field and slowed them down, especially Verstappen. An obvious mistake, but Norris was more than happy to unwrap the present. The Dutch giant still had to be defeated, but he did an excellent job.”

With the usual grades, Norris was awarded a 9: “Admittedly, the safety car made it a lot easier for him by coming in at the best time and not necessarily in the best place [which kept him in the lead despite his pitstop]. But once in the lead, Lando Norris put on a show. Untouchable with his hard tyres, he needed nothing and no one to stay ahead of Max Verstappen, who was over seven seconds behind him.”

Gazzetta dello Sport: Red Bull is not invincible

‘Finalmente Lando Norris!’ opens the race report in the Italian sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 2nd position, Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, 1st position, congratulate each other in Parc Ferme

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Its report states: “The usual winner Max Verstappen finished second this time, due to a car with which he was unable to attack the Englishman. Norris led the race due to a stroke of luck with the timing of the safety car. A touch of luck that does not detract from the merits of the 24-year-old British talent.”

However, people in Italy are also critical of the race management and the timing of the safety car, which meant that they did not catch leader Norris but pursuer Verstappen.

“Fortunately, this oversight by the FIA had no impact on the race. Norris had about 18 seconds ahead of Verstappen at the time of the neutralization, more than enough to make a pitstop under safety car conditions and maintain the lead. If the field had been closer together, this mistake could have been decisive.”

In addition to the joy of a new race winner in the series, people in Italy also draw another conclusion: “This race has shown that Red Bull is not invincible. McLaren took a big step forward with the extensive package of updates. Ferrari will also provide updates during the next GP in Imola. Strange that this ‘turnaround’ took place during the first GP after Adrian Newey announced his departure from Red Bull. Coincidence?”, the author wonders.

Having made a brilliant initial launch from fourth on the grid, Perez was able to draw alongside the two Ferraris ahead of him and make a lunge to grab second place behind polesitter Verstappen.

But the Mexican was unable to get his car slowed down on time as he hit the brakes approaching Turn 1, nearly hitting the back of Verstappen’s similar RB20 as they navigated the tight right-hander.

Perez eventually ran wide over the tarmac run-off area and rejoined the track in fifth place, behind not only Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz but also McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.

Horner feels a poor getaway for second-placed Leclerc opened up an opportunity for Perez at the start, but Red Bull came close to having both its cars involved in a painful first-lap incident.

“His start was optimistic. Charles didn’t have a great start ahead, I think that caused Checo… he had to lift for Charles and then he had a window into the first corner,” explained Horner.

“He went for it, obviously got in very deep and was lucky not to collect Max at the first turn and not to collect the Ferrari coming back onto the track.

“So I was pleased to see most cars survive that.”

Verstappen revealed that he saw Perez closing in on him at Turn 1, but a disaster was averted as the Mexican just about managed to avoid crashing into the triple champion’s car before running deep into the corner.

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

“I was very aware. I turned in and I saw him lock up,” he said. “And I looked after the race, there was like a scratch on my diffuser. So something must have hit.

“But yeah, it was very close. Could have ended in a disaster, of course, for the team as well. So yeah, lucky.”

Lacking the pace to mount a significant recovery, Perez could muster just fifth at the flag, which became fourth when Sainz was hit with a post-race penalty for an incident with Piastri after the safety car restart.

Perez admitted that he had to take avoiding action after coming perilously close with Verstappen in a corner that had already witnessed a race-ending clash between McLaren’s Lando Norris and the Aston Martins in Saturday’s sprint.

“I had a good start, Charles had a really bad start, but as soon as I brake into the inside there was no grip, like with Lewis [Hamilton] yesterday [in the Sprint],” he explained.

“And offline there was no grip, and I ended up locking. I nearly took off Max out. So I had to come off the brake and I lost a position to Oscar.

“It was quite unfortunate, but other than that, I think, we were struggling for some pace today. We just couldn’t manage to get a pace where we needed and, yeah, something that we got to work on to try and understand why, what was the issue.”

Additional reporting by Filip Cleeren and Ronald Vording

On the Autosport Podcast, Bryn Lucas is joined by Alex Kalinauckas to break down the action, including how Norris took advantage of the perfectly timed Safety Car after Logan Sargeant and Kevin Magnussen hit each other. There’s more on Max Verstappen who suffered floor damage from a rare error when cutting the Sector 2 chicane, as well as Ferrari, with Carlos Sainz picking up a post-race penalty for hitting Oscar Piastri while trying to pass at the hairpin.

Did Kevin Magnussen go too far to defend his teammate in the Sprint after picking up 35 seconds of time penalties? And the midfield battle heats up as RB strong results for both their drivers in the Sprint and the Grand Prix, and Alpine gets their first point of the season.

And be sure to follow the new James Allen on F1 Podcast, releasing on the Autosport YouTube and Podcast channels on May 7th, with Episode 1 paying tribute to the legacy of the late Ayrton Senna, with last week marking the 30th anniversary of his passing. Listen in for a sneak peek of an Interview with Manish Pandey, writer and producer of the 2010 movie “Senna”. 

During a break from his ongoing legal hush-money trial in New York, Trump made a controversial appearance in Miami on Sunday – whipping up the crowds and being spotted with senior figures from grand prix racing.

He also posed for photographs at the McLaren garage and was spotted chatting to its CEO Zak Brown before the race – with many spectators chanting for him.

Trump’s divisive nature inevitably triggered some debate about why F1 and McLaren had given him an international media platform – with McLaren subsequently clarifying that its decision had nothing to do with politics.

In a statement issued by the team, it said: “McLaren is a non-political organisation however we recognise and respect the office of President of the United States.

“So when the request was made to visit our garage on race day we accepted alongside the president of the FIA and the CEO’s of Liberty Media and Formula 1.

“We were honoured that McLaren Racing was chosen as the representative of F1 which gave us the opportunity to showcase the world class engineering that we bring to motorsport.”

Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, 1st position, is congratulated by Donald Trump

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Trump’s visit to McLaren coincided with the squad taking its first F1 victory since the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, as Lando Norris pulled off a brilliant maiden win.

Speaking after the race, Norris said that Trump had later congratulated him about his success – and called him his ‘lucky charm’.

Speaking about having Trump in the garage, Norris said: “I didn’t see him in the garage, to be honest. I was busy prepping for the race. But he saw me after, and he came up to congratulate me.

“So I guess an honour, because whenever you have someone like this, it has to be an honour for them to come up to you, to take time out of their life, to pay their respect for what you’ve done.

“He said he was my lucky charm because it’s my win. So I don’t know if he’s going to come to more races now.

“But yeah, there’s a lot of special people or cool people that have been here this weekend. Donald is someone that you got to have a lot of respect for in many ways.

“And yeah, for anyone like that who acknowledges what you can go out and do, and acknowledges the work ethic that goes into things, you got to be thankful for that. And I was. So yeah, a cool moment.”

Verstappen found himself unable to match the pace of Norris after the safety car restart at Sunday’s Miami race, opening the door for his McLaren rival to secure the maiden victory of his career.

The Dutchman had put down his lack of pace to balance the difficulties he had experienced all weekend and being uncomfortable with the hard tyres that he had switched to prior to the restart.

But post-race analysis of Verstappen’s Red Bull had revealed that the world champion had picked up damage to his floor – most likely as a result of running over the chicane kerbs and taking out the bollard on lap 22.

Speaking afterwards, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: “I don’t think we had a great balance all weekend. Obviously, he hit the bollard around lap 20 and that has actually done quite a lot of damage to the underside of the car, so we will have to look at exactly what the effect of that was.

“It is a reasonable amount of the area around the left rear floor. There is a reasonable amount that’s missing and you can see it awfully flexing as well, so it certainly wouldn’t be helping.”

Horner’s comments seemed to fly in the face of Verstappen’s reaction getting out of the car when he suggested that his pace problems had all been down to set up and tyres and that he felt there had been no damage.

“I never really felt comfortable the whole weekend with it,” he said. “I think on the medium it was still OK-ish, but on the hard it was quite a disaster. 

“I mean, just low grip, just very tricky balance in the low-speed. I couldn’t really lean on the rear while in the high-speed I was understeering a lot. So when you have these two issues, you cannot also balance it out because you’re chasing two different things. So yeah, just driving to the grip that I had and it was not a lot.”

Speaking about the incident with the cone, he said: “I didn’t like it, so I decided to take it out and test the durability of the front wing as well. So that’s a crash test done. Yeah, there was no damage. The cone was out of the way for everyone, so it was basically a free-for-all after that.”

Asked specifically though about Horner’s suggestions of his pace drop being down to damage, Verstappen replied: “It didn’t feel different, so I don’t know. Maybe it was already damaged. I don’t know. I mean I hit that thing and then my pace was the same so I didn’t really know if there was damage.” 

Red Bull later explained that Verstappen’s remarks about the damage had come before he had seen the car – with it fairly obvious that there was damage.

Horner had explained that its race data showed Verstappen was well down in performance through Turn 1, which would have accounted for the advantage that Norris had.

“He lost two-and-a-half-tenths in Turn 1 every lap,” he said. “Whether that was because of the damage, when you actually see the pictures of what was missing, it wasn’t designed like that.”

Furthermore, Verstappen gave a quote in the Red Bull press release later in the evening clarifying how clear the damage was.

“When we took the car back to the garage, we also found that the floor was damaged and had a hole in which could have been picked up from hitting the cone,” he remarked.