Lando Norris has taken his first Formula 1 victory in this morning’s Miami Grand Prix.
In his 110th start, the win ends the McLaren driver’s record of the most podium finishes without taking a win, with his 16th top-three finish seeing him finally stand on the top step.
The result is McLaren’s first Grand Prix victory since Daniel Ricciardo led Norris home in a one-two finish at Monza in 2021. It’s just the team’s second Grand Prix win in 12 years.
Defending three-time World Champion Max Verstappen had no response for the winner’s pace, battling his Red Bull’s cornering ability on his way to second, a crushing 7.6 seconds behind.
A mid-race Safety Car favoured Norris, who started fifth and was the last amongst the lead group to stop. An incident between Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant was the cause, with the American being the sole retirement from his home race.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completed the podium, heading home teammate Carlos Sainz, who battled with Oscar Piastri mid-race but made contact with the McLaren while passing, which forced the Australian to pit lane for a front wing change.
Sainz received a 5-second penalty post-race for the contact, which elevated Sergio Perez to fourth and relegated the Ferrari to fifth.
Verstappen, who had dominated the weekend with a sprint race victory from the pole before topping Grand Prix qualifying, got off to a good start and led through Turn 1, quickly putting a gap on the field, threatening to break away for another Grand Prix win.
Leclerc fell into second, ahead of Piastri and Sainz, with the lead pack narrowly escaping a locked-up Sergio Perez through the opening corner. The Red Bull returned to fifth, ahead of Norris.
Piastri eased past Leclerc on Lap 4 with DRS assistance to move to second, with Verstappen still in reach and only two seconds ahead.
Perez was the first of the front six to box, coming in on Lap 17 and releasing Norris into clear air. Leclerc followed a lap later as Verstappen was told to increase his pace at the front due to the speed of the trailing McLaren.
A virtual Safety Car was called shortly after when the leader cut through the Turn 14/15 chicane and displaced a bollard, which blew around the track and flirted with the racing line.
Verstappen came in for his stop shortly after, putting Piastri into the lead with a 2.8-second buffer over Sainz.
The front two stopped on Lap 27, which saw Norris hit the front and show a pace that exceeded Verstappen’s, even with the Red Bull on fresher tyres.
Magnussen’s Turn 2 collision with Sargeant shook things up, bringing out the race’s sole full Safety Car. The Haas had its nose up the inside of the Williams through the fast right-hander, and the right rear of Sargeant came into contact with the front left of Magnussen, sending both spearing off to the right.
The American made hard rear-first contact with the wall, while Magnussen reversed out but received a 10-second penalty for causing a collision.
Norris stopped under caution, which allowed him to retain the lead from Verstappen and Leclerc.
Verstappen put the pressure on for the lead on the Lap 33 restart, but Norris defended well into Turn 1 before gradually pulling clear on 10-lap fresher tyres.
Piastri and Sainz were locked in an intense battle for fourth, with the Spaniard arguing he was pushed off-track while attempting to pass at Turn 11 on Lap 34.
The Ferrari finally passed on Lap 39 but made contact with Piastri’s front wing, forcing the McLaren to return to pit lane for a change and cycle to the back of the field after being passed by Perez and Lewis Hamilton.
Sainz received a 5-second penalty for the collision, which demoted him behind Perez after the chequered flag.
Norris continued to extend his advantage until the end, taking a 7.6-second victory, with Verstappen 2.3 seconds ahead of Leclerc.
Perez came home in fifth, ahead of Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda, who also benefitted from the mid-race Safety Car.
George Russell, Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon completed the points, with the latter being Alpine’s first of 2024.
Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo failed to make ground from a rear-of-the-grid start and was 15th, while Piastri recovered from his damage for 13th.
Formula 1 returns with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on May 17-19.
