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Finally, the spectacular spectacle under the sunlight that is how the Miami Grand Prix sells its high-end extravaganza of excess and expense delivered on advertising, as did the star of the show as Britain’s Lando Norris scored his first goal Formula one I win.
It took a long time, but Norris deserved it and gave a definitive notice that, given the machine, he was more than capable of putting the world champion, Max Verstappento the sword.
It was the Super Bowl-style event in a destination city that F1 owners crave, and for spectators dancing and drinking quietly in the raucous fan zones, it fit the bill. Norris was outstanding, he gained some luck from the safety car time, but then had to complete 24 laps with impeccable precision as three-time world champion Verstappen loomed in his mirrors.
Norris not only held his nerve but demonstrated, as he has made clear in the past, that he is not afraid to take on Verstappen as long as it is a head-to-head battle. This was the moment, and Norris had to handle it through perhaps the most intense, tense 24 laps of his life.
It’s been a while, the debut win for the 24-year-old from Glastonbury came at his 110th Grand Prix after he made his debut at the Australian Grand Prix in 2019. He took eight second places and could have won in Russia in 2021 only to be unlucky with the late rain, but he has repeatedly demonstrated the skill and guts to compete with the best at the very front.
Then for Norris, who has long shown outstanding promise, it was rehabilitation for a driver who is well respected. Verstappen looked to be in control at the front until the race turned upside down around the midway point. McLaren had risked sidelining Norris long before his pit stop and where he inherited the lead.
Verstappen pitted on lap 24 and when Logan Sargent dropped out, tangling with Kevin Magnussen on lap 29, it prompted a safety car under which Norris got a free brake, ensuring he retook the lead from Verstappen.
He duly held onto his lead at the restart on lap 33 as Verstappen struggled to get his tires up to speed and Norris opened up a gap on his fresher tyre, but it was incredibly tense as the British driver produced a series of faultless laps. which he knew were vital.
A string of fastest laps followed, they started ticking away and as unlikely as it looked, Verstappen seemed to have nothing more to bring, complaining of a lack of grip. For once, Norris was in full command of the front, doing what he had always said he could do.
The safety car had fallen in his favour, but Norris held his nerve with an absolute iron will to close like a champion. The lead grew as the laps counted until he took the flag and a historic first victory by 7.6 seconds from Verstappen.
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His laughter and raucous celebration from the cockpit was extolled and he was sportingly cheered on by Lewis Hamilton as the seven-time champion lapped him.
“I love you all, thank you so much. We did it, Will,” he roared to his race engineer, Will Joseph. “I guess that’s how it goes in the end. I knew it when I came in this morning, I said today is the day of opportunity. Thanks mom, thanks dad, this is for my grandma. He then pounced on his team, crowd surfing in their welcoming arms.
The crowd also stood up to greet his feat with a roar of approval. For three years, fans have come to the track that winds around the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens and have yet to see anyone but Verstappen win. That the Dutchman’s grip was broken by a pilot so popular in the US and the making of history was the sporting drama they appreciated with enormous acclaim.
“I’m very happy for Lando, it’s been a long time and it definitely won’t be his last, he deserved it today,” said Verstappen, who nevertheless extended his lead in the title race to 35 points from Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, who was fifth.
As the champagne flowed, it was palpable that the fans were having a good time. Finally a new winner in Miami and proof positive that there’s a place for bouncing around in a bikini while sipping cocktails in F1, just as there’s a place for standing in a waterproof in the rain on a grassy hill at Spa, as long as there’s a great track show and for the first time, both Miami and Norris performed in spades in that department.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were third and fourth. Perez was fifth for Red Bull, Hamilton and teammate George Russell sixth and eighth for Mercedes, Yuki Tsunoda seventh for RB, Fernando Alonso ninth for Aston Martin and Esteban Ocon tenth for Alpine.
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