After 110 Grand Prix starts, Lando Norris has secured his first-ever F1 race win. The McLaren driver defeated Max Verstappen in an action-packed Miami GP, while Charles Leclerc completed the podium in third place.
- Norris wins, 7.612secs ahead of Verstappen
- Leclerc on podium
- Sainz loses P4 after penalty
Norris earns maiden F1 win
It was initially Norris’ McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri who looked primed to fight Verstappen for the win. An earlier error by Sergio Perez opened the door for Piastri to climb from P6 to P3 off the line, and he later passed Leclerc to moved up to P2. Norris, on the other hand, had a slow start and was running P6 in the early stages.
Out at front, while Verstappen settled into the lead, he didn’t pull off his characteristic early gap. The race played into Norris’ hands when the Safety Car was brought out on Lap 28, following an incident involving Logan Sargeant and Kevin Magnussen.
The Safety Car was deployed just as Norris crossed the line, allowing him to pit for fresh tyres and rejoin the race in the lead. He fended off Verstappen at the re-start and starting pulling away at front as the Red Bull driver encountered balance problems. At the end, Norris crossed the chequered flag with a 7.612secs advantage over Verstappen.
“About time! It’s been a long time coming, but we’ve finally managed to do it. I’m so happy for the whole team, and what we’ve achieved together,” said Norris, who has scored McLaren’s first win since the 2021 Italian GP.
“We’ve had a few little setbacks across the weekend, but today we managed to put it all together. The car was great, the strategy was perfect, and I’m over the moon. I’m proud of everyone in this team today. I’ve always believed in them, and they’ve always had faith in me, and today we’ve really justified that.”
Sainz handed penalty for Piastri clash
Leclerc finished third ahead of his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz. However, Sainz was later handed a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Piastri. This dropped him to P5 and promoted Perez to fourth place.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell salvaged some points for Mercedes, finishing P6 and P8, respectively. RB’s Yuki Tsunoda split the two Mercedes drivers in P7, while Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso finished ninth. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon rounded out the top 10, collecting his first point this season.
2024 F1 championship standings
Verstappen continues to lead the championship, 33 points ahead of his teammate Perez. Leclerc this third overall, just five points behind Perez.
F1 will now head to Italy’s Imola circuit for the Emilia Romagna GP on May 17-19.
2024 Miami GP results
Suraj Viswanathan
