F1 News: Norris out duels Verstappen to win first F1 race in Miami

McLaren driver Lando Norris drove a spectacular race to win the 2024 Miami GP over polesitter Max Verstappen’s Red Bull Honda.

It was Norris’ first ever F1 win in his 110th start before an announced weekend attendance of 275,000.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Verstappen led early from the pole position, but his lead was never more than 3-seconds over the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and the McLaren of Oscar Piastri. It was clear then that Verstappen was not going to win this one going away.

Piastri edged closer to Leclerc and used the Drag Reduction System on the lengthy run between Turns 16 and 17 to snatch second place from the Monegasque, as race leader Verstappen now sat two seconds up the road.

It was all looking under control for Verstappen until he skipped over the Turn 14/15 chicane and struck a bollard, which he carried with him for a few more metres and disposed at the exit of Turn 16, prompting the Dutchman to radio his team and ask for a front wing check.

A Virtual Safety Car was soon deployed to allow a marshal to hop over the wall and retrieve the out-of-place bollard, prompting ‘cheap’ stops for Ocon, Alonso and Magnussen under the caution, with leader Verstappen then pitting at the end of Lap 23 after the VSC had ended – gaining no advantage.

Norris got the lead with a timely Safety Car (Kevin Magnussen took out Logan Sargeant) at the right time and when the track went green on lap 33 of 57, he gradually pulled away from Verstappen to win by over 7-seconds.

It was the first time Verstappen has been beaten on outright speed in a long time (Brazil 2022), the Dutchman never happy with his grip all weekend.

The upgrades that McLaren brought to this race worked to perfection as Norris was fastest on both the medium as well as the hard Pirellis around the Miami International Autodrome.

Verstappen complained of no front end grip on the hard tires, and he was lucky to hold off the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc for 2nd place by 2-seconds.

“About time huh?! What a race,” said an ecstatic Norris. “It’s been a long time coming, at last I’ve been able to do it for my team and deliver for them. It was a long race, the whole weekend has been good, with some little setbacks along the way.”

“I knew on Friday we had the pace. Today we managed to put it together. We had the perfect strategy. What do I say to [McLaren]? I’ve made a lot of mistakes along the way but today we put it all together, and it’s for them. We’ve stuck together and I believe in them.”

“You win, you lose, we are all used to that in racing,” said 2nd place Verstappen. “Today was just tricky, even on the mediums we weren’t pulling away. Once they switched onto the hard tire, they were flying. If a bad day is P2, I take it.”

“I’m happy for Lando, it’s been a long time coming and it’s not going to be his last one. He deserves it today.

“McLaren came with 10 upgrades on the car, for sure it looks like it works right?! We’ll analyze and try to come back stronger,” added Verstappen

“I didn’t have a great start, had wheelspin, Checo [Perez] on the right locked up and I thought we would crash but fortunately we all got out with no damage,” said third place Leclerc. “Unfortunately we missed a little bit of pace. We managed everything quite well, and P3 was the best we could do.”

“I’m really happy for Lando, he deserves it. We were expecting them to be strong – maybe not as strong as they showed today, Now it is up to us to bring the upgrades and catch up.”

Carlos Sainz Jr. held off the 2nd Red Bull of Sergio Perez for 4th with Lewis Hamilton all over Perez’s tail on medium Pirellis, but never able to find a way past to finish 6th ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, George Russell, Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon. Alpine finally get a point on the board.

Note: Carlos Sainz Jr. has been hit with a five-second time penalty – along with one penalty point on his license – after being deemed to have caused a collision with Oscar Piastri during the Miami Grand Prix. Sainz had originally crossed the line in fourth, but the penalty will drop him down to fifth, subsequently promoting Sergio Perez up into P4.

McLaren team boss Zak Brown, reveled in a milestone moment that also gave McLaren a first Grand Prix win since Monza back in 2021.

The series now moves to Imola in two weeks time, with Max Verstappen leading the point standings with 136 points, 35 more than teammate Sergio Perez and 38 more than Charles Leclerc.

2024 Miami GP Race Results – 57 Laps

Provisional results. Magnussen received a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision. Stroll received a 10-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage