McLaren’s Norris wins his first in F1

A mistake by Max Verstappen forced the Red Bull driver to take a pit stop, putting him in second place after dominanting most of the race

Lando Norris should take a lesson from his last big party and perhaps tone down the celebration for his first career Formula One victory.

His reaction following the Sunday victory in the Miami Grand Prix showed the British driver probably doesn’t plan to miss a beat.

“Tonight’s going to be a great time,” Norris said. “I’m just really proud. A lot of people, I guess, doubted me along the way. I’ve made a lot of mistakes over my last five years, my short career, but today we put it all together so this is all for the team.”

Norris won in his 110th career start after a mistake by Max Verstappen ended Verstappen’s dominance at the circuit in the parking lot surrounding Hard Rock Stadium. The 24-year-old driver sprinted down pit lane to leap into the arms of his McLaren crew.

Norris arrived in Miami with a bandage covering stitches on his nose from a cut received by broken glass while he was in Amsterdam following F1’s last outing. Norris was celebrating King’s Day with DJ Martin Garrix when he cut his nose.

“I’m going to go all night,” Norris promised of Sunday’s post-race party. “I may have more than a bandage on my nose.”

Verstappen, who started from the pole and won Saturday’s sprint race, was out front when he hit a chicane and knocked a cone out of place. It forced the three-time reigning F1 champion to pit and gave Norris the lead.

Norris then controlled the race to give McLaren its first win since a Daniel Ricciardo victory in 2021.

With about 10 laps to go, Norris realized the race was his to lose when his lead over Verstappen hit five seconds.

“Five seconds?” Norris radioed his team. “Am I alive?”

Ferrari drivers Leclerc and Sainz finished third and fourth and were followed by Sergio Perez of Red Bull.

Hamilton was sixth for Mercedes, Yuki Tsunoda of Red Bull’s junior team was seventh and Russell was eighth for Mercedes. Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and Esteban Ocon of Alpine rounded out the top 10.