Lando Norris wins the Miami GP. The 24-year-old British McLaren driver triumphs in Florida, taking the first success of his career. Norris precedes the Red Bull of Dutchman Max Verstappen, who started from pole position, and the Ferrari of Monegasque Charles Leclerc. Fourth position for the other red of the Spaniard Carlos Sainz.
McLaren masterpiece
Norris, starting from fifth position, took advantage of the assist from the safety car which made its appearance on the track halfway through the race and shuffled the cards, upsetting the hierarchies. McLaren places itself in front of everyone and imposes a pace that allows it to keep Verstappen’s world champion Red Bull at a distance. The world champion, firmly leader of the 2024 World Championship, loses contact with the leader lap after lap and ends up settling for second place ahead of Leclerc and Sainz.
Ferrari on the podium but red disappointment
Ferrari still gets on the podium but leaves Miami with the feeling of having lost a chance: McLaren surprises Red Bull, the Cavallino is the third force on the track.
Fifth place finish for the other Red Bull of Sergio Perez followed by the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, the Racing Bulls of Yuki Tsunoda and the other Mercedes of George Russell, while closing the top ten were the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso and the Alpine by Estaban Ocon.
Norris and McLaren’s numbers
Norris is the 114th driver in Formula 1 history to win and he is the 21st McLaren driver, as well as the 21st Briton, to reach the top step of the podium. The 24-year-old collects the 16th podium finish of his career, the third of the 2024 season.
McLaren wins the 184th victory in its history and interrupts an almost 3-year fast: the team had not celebrated since the 2021 Italian GP won by Daniel Ricciardo.
The race lap by lap
Lap 57 – Norris triumphs and wins the first victory of his career. Verstappen second, Leclerc third.
Lap 52 – Script now outlined, Norris flies towards triumph.
Lap 49 – Red Bull seems to be raising the white flag. Verstappen slips 5” behind the leader. The Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz chase in third and fourth place.
Lap 45 – Norris continues to march quickly with McLaren, the advantage over Verstappen reaches 4”.
Lap 40 – The crowd warms up for the duel between Piastri and Sainz for fourth place. The Ferrari driver passes with a maneuver that ends up in the sights of the stewards.
Lap 39 – On lap 39, McLaren’s lead reaches 2.4 seconds.
Lap 36 – Norris surprises, accelerates and extends: the advantage over Verstappen reaches 2”.
Lap 34 – The race restarts, Verstappen glues himself to Norris who squeezes his McLaren to maintain first position.
Lap 32 – Norris leads ahead of VerstappenLeclerc, Piastri and Sainz in the frozen GP.
Lap 29 – Contact between Sargeant and Magnussen, safety car on track and Norris finds himself in the lead with McLaren. Piastri and Sainz, returning from the pit stop, find themselves penalized.
Lap 28 – Piastri stops in the pits, changes tires halfway through the race: we are on the 28th of the 57 laps scheduled.
Lap 24 – Verstappen stops for the pit stop, Piastri in the lead ahead of Sainz.
Lap 22 – Verstappen has a 3”5 lead over Piastri. The leader hits a cone of the chicane and suffers no damage.
Lap 20 – Pit stop for Leclerc.
Lap 19 – Perez, fifth with Red Bull, is the first of the top drivers to stop for a tire change: he returns to the track with hard tyres.
Lap 18 – Leclerc just 0”6 from second placewhile Verstappen extends and takes the lead over Piastri to over 3”.
Round 16 – Leclerc’s Ferrari uses medium tires for a fast lap. The Monegasque approaches Piastri.
Round 14 – The first round of pit stops begins, but none of the big names stop.
Round 12 – In top positions the situation appears crystallized. Verstappen controls but doesn’t break away. Leclerc and Sainz chase Piastri’s McLaren without giving the impression of being able to decisively attack second place.
Lap 10 – McLaren surprises with its pace: Piastri manages to stay within a ‘decent’ distance from Red Bull.
Round 7 – Verstappen begins to hammer and takes off. The advantage over Piastri is approaching 3”.
Round 5 – Verstappen leads with 2” on the possessed Piastri, Leclerc third at 3”.
Round 4 – Piastri’s show continues, McLaren also overtakes Leclerc and rises to second place.
Round 3 – Piastri protagonist at the start: fast lap for McLaren.
Round 2 – Piastri overtakes Sainz and climbs to third place.
Round 1 – Verstappen retains first position. Piastri with McLaren takes fourth place from Perez’s Red Bullbehind the Ferraris.
