Beaten Max Verstappen delivers Lando Norris prediction as McLaren seal huge win in Miami

Lando Norris celebrates his Miami Grand Prix victory.

Max Verstappen predicted Lando Norris’ first win in Formula 1 is “not going to be his last”, after finally breaking his duck in Miami on Sunday.

Norris rose from sixth to first in a superb drive, capitalising on a mid-race Safety Car to pit and then ease away from the Red Bull driver to claim his first race victory in Formula 1 at the 110th time of asking in a popular victory for the sport.

Lando Norris: First win ‘won’t be his last’ after maiden F1 victory in Miami

For Verstappen, he said his pace felt like a “disaster” mid-race as he could not get his Red Bull turning as he wished, despite leading throughout the first half of the Miami Grand Prix.

He still brought his car home second, but Norris eased clear of the Dutchman in the second half of the race after the Safety Car restart, having pitted at the right time and extended his first stint – having been in a position to do so through tyre management from the outset.

The reigning World Champion was pragmatic after his second place finish, and admitted that McLaren’s extra pace came as something of a surprise to Red Bull.

“I mean, you win, you lose. I mean, I think we’re all used to that in racing, right?” Verstappen said after the race.

“But yeah, today was just a bit tricky. I think already on the mediums, I didn’t feel, you know, fantastic. We were pulling away, but not like it should be.

“And then once we made the pit stop and I heard what the lap times the McLarens were doing, I said, ‘Wow, that’s pretty quick’.

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“So yeah, once they then also switched on to the hard tyre, they just had more pace and especially Lando, he was flying.

“It was incredibly difficult for us in that stint. But if a bad day is P2 I take it, right? And I’m very happy for Lando.

“It’s been a long time coming, and it’s not going to be his last one, so yeah, he definitely deserves it today.”

Given McLaren came to Miami with a raft of upgrades, the MCL38 appeared more competitive than before in Norris’ hands – even before the timing of the Safety Car played into his hands.

When asked if McLaren’s showing was the “true pace” of their car, Verstappen responded with a smile: “I hope not!”

He added: “I mean, they came with an upgrade. For sure it looks like it works, right? So we have a bit of work to do from our side.

“I think definitely it wasn’t our strongest weekend in terms of race pace, but we’ll analyse it all and we’ll try to come back stronger from there.”