After 110 career starts and a record 15 podiums without an F1 victory, Norris is now part of the winner’s circle.
Psst… Hey! Max Verstappen didn’t win the Formula 1 race today! Instead, it was Lando Norris—the guy who previously held the record for most podiums without a win. You can’t say that about him anymore, though. Now, he’s a winner.
Norris put up a monster effort in his McLaren at the Miami Grand Prix. He started the race in P5 alongside his teammate Oscar Piastri on the third row, and at the beginning, it looked like Verstappen might’ve been reeling in another easy victory. The Red Bull lead man was dominant during the 57-lap contest’s first half, but a safety car threw a wrench in his plans when Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant collided.
From there, Norris exited the pits and rejoined in the lead. Boy, did he take advantage of that. He accrued fastest laps like they were nothing, inspiring the F1 Twitter meme machine to churn out a few gems:
The final 24 laps were Lando’s as he built quite a gap in front of Verstappen—more than six seconds toward race’s end. There were concerns that backfield scuffles might create even more chaos as Norris’ teammate Piastri fought hard, first colliding with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and nearly touching with fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo. At that point, McLaren radioed in to say, “Oscar, a reminder, Lando is leading the race, we do not want to cause a safety car here.” Piastri would go on to finish 13th.
With Norris’ W, he stands on the top step for the first time after 110 career F1 starts. He’s the series’ first new winner since George Russell at Interlagos in 2022, and alongside former teammate Sainz (who’s done it twice), he’s the only non-Red Bull driver to take a Grand Prix in the past 18 months. Fortunately for Norris, he didn’t have to get his appendix taken out just weeks beforehand.
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While it feels questionable to say this season is more exciting than the last few that Verstappen dominated, we’ve at least seen three different manufacturers win through six races in 2024: Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren.
Most everyone had great things to say about Norris and his triumph, obviously including himself and his team:
Even Verstappen gave a nod on the cooldown lap:
Max and Charles Leclerc rounded out the podium, giving Lando the appropriate soaking with champagne. You know the party’s just starting for him, and rightfully so. That was a mega drive, and one that finally brings the payoff he’s been working so desperately for since joining F1 five years ago.
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