If there was a poll commissioned to find the most widely liked driver on the current F1 grid then it would surely prove to be Lando Norris. And now he has an even more prestigious title on top: maiden Grand Prix race winner.
“About time, huh?” he said when interviewed by former F1 champion Jenson Button in parc ferme in the paddock at Miami International Autodrome, having come so close to victory in the past only to be denied every time.
His next word was not so repeatable, the F-bomb live on international TV forcing him to make a quick apology for his coarse language before moving on with the rest of the questions from the media.
“What a race. It’s been a long time coming, but finally I’ve managed to do it,” he said, struggling to make himself heard above the cheers and whoops of a jubilant crowd where it seemed Lando was everybody’s best friend.
“I’m so happy for my whole team that I finally delivered for them,” he continued. “A long day, a tough race, but I’m finally on top, so I’m over the moon.
“I knew on Friday that we had the pace,” he insisted, telling the crowd that he had even predicted that morning that this would be the day of his first Grand Prix victory on his 110th outing, having previously amassed 15 podiums.
Norris arrived in Miami with his MCL38 fully pimped out with McLaren’s latest upgrade package, while team mate Oscar Piastri will have to wait until Imola in two weeks to get the same benefit.
©McLaren
The car had been strong in practice but ill-timed oversteer cost him a shot at pole in qualifying for the Sprint race from which he was bumped off track on the opening lap. He fared better in GP qualifying and took P5 for today’s race.
Even so this didn’t look like being a particularly auspicious place from which to earn his first F1 win. However a long first stint meant he had just inherited the lead when a safety car was scrambled for Logan Sargeant’s accident.
The timing proved perfect for him and he took the restart ahead of Max Verstappen. It seemed inevitable the Red Bull would cruise back into the lead – he has done in almost every recent race – but this time that didn’t happen.
Instead, Norris started punching in a series of fastest laps that saw him pull away from the field by around half a second every lap. And at the end of each one, the cheers from the fans in the grandstand got louder and louder.
In the end it wasn’t even close and he had a 7.5s lead over Verstappen at the chequered flag, although it took a few minutes for realisation of what he’d just achieved to settle in and for him to calm down enough to speak.
“The whole weekend has been good, I’ve just had some little setbacks along the way,” he said in reference to the Sprint retirement. “Just a couple of mistakes here and there.
“Today we managed to put it together. We put the perfect strategy, it all paid off, so thanks to McLaren and everyone. And I have to give a shout out to my mum and dad, of course!
“I’m just proud, really. I mean, a lot of people I guess, doubted me along the way,” he continued, thanking McLaren for always having faith in him and recently giving him a long erm contract extension despite a lack of wins.
“I stuck with McLaren because I could believe in them, and I did believe in them, and today proved exactly that,” he said. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes over my last five years, my short career, but today, we put it all together.
“This is all for the team,” he added.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was one of the first to congratulate Norris on his success after the race. “Most important is the victory for Lando because he deserves it so much.
“We have always said, as soon as we give him the right material, he will make it and he made it,” he said. “It’s so deserved for the McLaren team. I hope everyone enjoys this moment.”
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Norris celebrates hugely popular maiden win: “About time!” F1i.com.
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