Lando Norris Stuns Max Verstappen for First Career Win

Lando Norris won the first race of his Formula One career, shocking world championship leader Max Verstappen and a sold-out crowd at the third annual Miami Grand Prix on Sunday. A heroic opening effort and a well-timed safety car helped boost the 24-year-old to reach the checkered flag first, while Verstappen’s Red Bull settled for second and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished in third.

Here’s more from the first Grand Prix in the United States in 2024:

Nearly three years ago, a heartbroken Norris saw his first career victory quite literally slip away in the final few laps when the driving rain began to fall in Sochi at the 2021 Russian Grand Prix. On Sunday, there were no clouds in sight—just the South Florida sunshine and a McLaren driver standing on the top step of the podium.

Norris became the first driver since Carlos Sainz in Singapore last September to beat Verstappen on track and luck was only part of the equation. He put together the longest opening stint among the leaders on medium tires and was eventually rewarded with a safety car when Kevin Magnussen clipped Logan Sargeant and sent the Williams into the wall on lap 29.

After the restart, it wasn’t so much that Norris barely staved off Verstappen—he frankly dominated the remaining laps. The Red Bull had a brief peek at the lead at turn 1 on lap 33 but never saw another opportunity as the McLaren raced ahead down the road and ultimately won by more than seven seconds.

“It’s about time, huh?” Norris said after kicking off the celebrations with his pit crew. “What a race. It’s been a long time coming, but finally, I’ve been able to do it. I’m so happy for my whole team, I finally delivered for them.”

There was a very real chance that McLaren could’ve ended up with both drivers in the top four, seeing as Oscar Piastri—who had half of the upgrades the team brought into the weekend, while Norris was given the full set—was running in second prior to the safety car. Unfortunately, Sainz and Piastri collided near the end of lap 39, forcing the McLaren driver to pit for a new front wing and fall to the back of the pack. Even still, Piastri recorded the race’s fastest lap after the late stop—a testament to the strides the Woking outfit made this weekend.

Now comfortably in third place in the constructors standings, Norris and McLaren will hope that the upgrades carry over to Imola and deeper into the season as they seek to track down Ferrari.

Further down the grid, another team other than McLaren will leave the weekend largely pleased with the results at the Miami International Autodrome: RB Racing.

It all began on Friday afternoon when Daniel Ricciardo had the drive of the day, qualifying in fourth for the sprint race. The 34-year-old Australian followed that up by holding that position in Saturday’s sprint to score his first points of the year. Teammate Yuki Tsunoda also slipped into the final points-scoring position that afternoon after Lewis Hamilton was dealt a penalty for speeding in the pit lane.