F1 Miami Grand Prix: Lando Norris secures long awaited maiden victory

McLaren’s Lando Norris, who had held the record for most podiums without a win in F1, has claimed a famous victory at the Miami Grand Prix.

The Briton took advantage of a timely safety car, which allowed him to pit and maintain the lead of the race, to finish ahead of Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.

Norris’s teammate Oscar Piastri, who led the race at one stage, was desperately unlucky as contact with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz damaged his front wing.

The maiden win for Norris comes after 110 grands prix and 15 podium finishes.

“Thanks mum, thanks dad, this one’s for my grandma,” Norris said over his team radio.

Norris became the 21st British driver to win an F1 race, the first McLaren driver to win since Daniel Ricciardo took the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, and the first McLaren driver to win in the United States since Lewis Hamilton in 2012.

“It’s been a long time coming but finally, I’ve been able to manage to do it,” he said.

“I’m so happy for my whole team, I finally delivered for them.

“Long day, tough race, but finally on top so I’m over the moon.”

Norris, starting fifth, dropped to sixth from the start and was stuck behind the Red Bull of Sergio Perez.

Once Perez pitted and Norris had clean air, he became the fastest driver on track.

He was catching the race leaders before a safety car gifted him a major opportunity to win the race.

“I’m just proud really. A lot of people I guess doubted me along the way,” Norris said.

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes over my last five years … but today we put it all together.

“This is all for the team. I stuck with McLaren because I believed in them.”

Norris’s Australian teammate Oscar Piastri was given a dream start from sixth, and when Red Bull’s Sergio went off track it created a corridor that allowed him to climb to third.

Piastri was driving a flawless race, moving up into second and keeping race leader Verstappen honest as the Red Bull world champion was unable to pull away.

Piastri led for a few laps after Verstappen pitted, before the race was turned on its head.

A crash between Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargent, which ended the latter’s race, brought out a safety car and was an answered prayer for McLaren and Norris.

The Briton was the only driver in the top six not to have pitted, but with the rest of the field going at a crawl, Norris could pit and come out in the lead.

From the restart Norris was excellent, pulling out a gap of over two seconds to keep Verstappen out of DRS range.

“I can’t get the car to turn, it’s a disaster,” Verstappen said over his team radio as Norris continued to extend his lead over four seconds.

Meanwhile, Piastri’s misfortune after the safety car continued.

Now behind his teammate, the Australian was sent to the rear of the field after Sainz made contact with him, breaking his car’s front wing.