Norris secures maiden F1 title
‘I knew on Friday that we had the pace...today we managed to put it together. We had the perfect strategy, it all paid off’
Daily Tribune‘I knew on Friday that we had the pace...today we managed to put it together. We had the perfect strategy, it all paid off’
LANDO Norris smiles after shocking world champion Max Verstappen to pocket his first Formula One title in the Miami Grand Prix.
CLIVE MASON/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
MIAMI (AFP) — McLaren’s Lando Norris won the first Formula One race of his career with a shock victory over world champion Max Verstappen in the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday.
Breathing life into an F1 season that risked becoming a one-man story again, Norris, in his 110th race for McLaren, beat Verstappen by over seven seconds with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finishing third.
Verstappen, who began on pole, had won four of the opening five races of the season and leads the world championship standings.
It looked like business as usual with the Dutchman, who had won the previous two Miami races, leading until lap 24 when he pitted and Norris’s McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri took over the lead.
Australian Piastri himself went into the pits four laps later, allowing Norris to grab the lead and the British driver never looked back.
Crucially, Norris was able to pit during a safety car on lap 30, earning him a valuable time advantage which he never relinquished.
The safety car came after Kevin Magnussen clipped Logan Sargeant, sending the American Williams driver into the wall, bringing a yellow flag.
Norris, who had 15 podiums before his first win, took full advantage of the safety car and with Verstappen struggling to catch up, he secured his maiden victory.
It was the first time Verstappen has been beaten on track, when he finished the race, since Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz won in Singapore in September last year.
Norris was hoisted in the air by the McLaren mechanics as his long wait for a victory in the sport came to an end.
“About time huh?” Norris said.
“I knew on Friday that we had the pace...today we managed to put it together. We had the perfect strategy, it all paid off,” he added.
“I guess a lot of people doubted me along the way. I’ve made a lot of mistakes over the last five years, my short career, but today we pulled it all together, so this is all for the team.”
“I stuck with McLaren because I could believe in them and I did believe in them and today proved exactly that,” he added.
