At the moment of triumph, Norris was brimming with happiness and shouted into the radio: “I love you all!” He thanked his mother, father, grandmother, and took credit for his critics: “Many people doubted that McLaren could win. They doubted that I could win,” said Norris, saying that in the last few kilometers he thought about all the skeptics and smiled. He is finally free of the stigma of never having won in 15 podium finishes in 109 Grands Prix – an annoying record. Recently third in Australia and second in China, he was finally allowed to spray champagne from the highest place.
But one win every 110 Grands Prix? Miserable rate. Norris wants to fight against this. He said he actually wanted his first success at his home race in Silverstone. “Then I just have to win again,” he said. Why not? In his sixth season in Formula 1, the son of multi-million dollar investment entrepreneur Adam Norris and Belgian mother Cisca Wauman has matured. He refrains from daring maneuvers, swears much less on the radio, appears more calm and makes fewer mistakes.
Verstappen: “I’m very happy for Lando”
Even though he often appears strangely exaggerated outside the racing car, his colleagues appreciate the joker in the paddock. Rows of them rushed to congratulate the premiere winner. “I’m not happy with today,” said the defeated Verstappen, “but I’m very happy for Lando. I respect and appreciate what he has achieved.” The patronage of the perennial winner? No, you could tell that Verstappen and Co. were genuinely happy for their friend from Bristol.
In Miami, Norris benefited from the fact that after a collision between backbenchers Logan Sargeant and Kevin Magnussen in the middle of the race, the safety car was deployed and the field was slowed down. So he lost little time during service. His opponents had recently completed the mandatory pit stop at full speed. No shame, a bit of racing driver luck. Norris took advantage. At the restart, the attacking Verstappen flashed away and the Brit raced away. Nico Hülkenberg in the Haas remained in eleventh place without any points.
Norris knew that he didn’t just owe his victory to his mom and dad. He also greeted those whose tireless toil made his company vehicle faster: the fitters, engineers and designers at the McLaren factory in Woking. There they completely overhauled the Papaya car before shipping it to Florida. The competition was amazed: the MCL38 was unrecognizable. From the nose to the rear wing, the brake shafts to the hood and the wheel suspension to the side pods: almost everything is new. A large-scale fresh cell treatment.
“These types of upgrades undoubtedly involve a significant amount of work,” said team boss Andrea Stella. He praised the team’s “great performance,” which proves that in Formula 1, speed always counts, everywhere, on the track and in the wind tunnel. “I’m pretty sure,” Norris said, “that without those upgrades I wouldn’t have won.” The redesigned McLaren shouldn’t be circling until later in the year, Stella revealed. But apparently not only the driving McLaren employees are on their toes, but also the thinking ones. McLaren wanted to make the car more efficient. “To achieve more downforce without increasing air resistance,” Stella explained the mission.
Since the practice laps on Friday, McLaren was considered the secret favorite in Miami. The Red Bull found no grip on the slippery track, Norris circled faster than Verstappen, but only on the medium Pirellis. In the sprint on Saturday, Norris was eliminated after 200 meters through no fault of his own. It was only on Sunday at the Grand Prix that Norris and Oscar Piastri demonstrated what the McLaren was capable of. However, a collision with Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari threw the Australian, who was now in second place, down towards the end; Piastri took 13th place. Because he had caused the collision, Sainz was subsequently given a five-second penalty, which meant he lost his fourth place lost. Sainz was ranked fifth, Sergio Perez (Mexico/Red Bull) moved up to fourth place.
Eulogy to Trump by Norris
Without the safety car at a fortunate time, Norris would hardly have won. There can be no talk of a changing of the guard in Formula 1 for the time being. “I think to reach Red Bull we need to take a few more steps that we did here in Miami,” said team boss Stella. The opponents also still have reserves. Ferrari wants to strike back with new parts at the European opener in Imola in two weeks. Anyone who stops will be left behind.
In addition to the racetrack, strange scenes also took place around the McLaren team. Norris had raced to the finish line when former American President Donald Trump was among the first to congratulate him. He wore the infamous red cap with the inscription “Make America great again.” Trump, against whom several criminal proceedings are pending and who collected donations for the election campaign on the sidelines of the Grand Prix, was courted like a state guest. Mohammed bin Sulayem, the President of the International Automobile Federation FIA, particularly stood out.
But McLaren also played a key role in this spectacle. Before the race, the team welcomed Trump to the pits. The 77-year-old posed for photos with managing director Zak Brown, clenching his fist. Norris said Trump’s congratulations were an “honor.” “Donald” is someone “who you have to respect in many ways”. Norris did not provide an explanation for his eulogy to Trump. After a splendid journey, he left the observers perplexed.
