First Formula 1 victory for Norris after a curious safety car, Verstappen second in Miami

NOS Sports•yesterday, 11:35 PM

Lando Norris has recorded his first Grand Prix victory ever in Formula 1 at the Miami circuit. Max Verstappen finished second, more than seven seconds behind the Briton from McLaren, and thus suffered a surprising defeat after twenty victories in a row in races in which he did not fell out.

A curious situation with the safety car was the basis for Norris’s stunt. He was in the lead on the thirtieth lap, because he was the only one who had not yet made a pit stop. A crash then occurred at the back of the race. The safety car entered the track just in front of Verstappen, who had to stay behind as number two. Norris was still in front and was therefore able to make a pit stop ‘free’ and get fresh tires.

Usually the safety car drives in front of the leader of the race to neutralize the race, but the race management did not think this was necessary this time.

In any case, Norris was already in the lead, he retained the lead after the safety car and then went on to his first GP victory. He had already finished second seven times in his Formula 1 career, including in the Chinese GP two weeks ago.

It is the first GP victory for McLaren since Daniel Ricciardo triumphed at Monza in 2021.

The American organization made a big show of the GP in Miami. A total of 275,000 people attended the race weekend, including a large number of celebrities. Donald Trump was the most famous invitee, but there were also loads of (former) top athletes on display.

Zinedine Zidane, LeBron James, Serena and Venus Williams, Luis Suárez, Tom Brady and Lindsey Vonn were among those in attendance, as were a host of musicians, actors and influencers.

The celebrities saw a start where all riders came through miraculously unscathed. Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Pérez in particular made it exciting by leaving very eagerly.

The Mexican almost hit Verstappen, but also missed Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz by a hair. Pérez was investigated for a false start, but was not penalized for it.

He did not benefit much from his uncontrolled start, because when the dust cleared he found himself in fifth place. Verstappen apparently held on to his pole position with ease.

The big winner of the opening was Oscar Piastri, who started from P6, but quickly gained four places. Later he even managed to take second place by overtaking Charles Leclerc, who started second, after a few laps.

After 28 laps the GP took a striking turn when a crash occurred at the back of the race. Logan Sargeant was made to spin by a clumsy action by Kevin Magnussen, after which a safety car was needed.

The safety car entered the circuit in front of Verstappen, who was second at the time. Leader Norris, who was the only one who had not yet made a pit stop, was still ahead and saw his chance: he was able to change his tires and retain the leading position.

Not much later, Verstappen could be heard via the on-board radio complaining about his car: “I can’t get the car to make the corners, it’s a disaster‘, said the Dutchman.

Verstappen’s lament turned out to be not without reason: the Dutchman could barely follow Norris in the final laps and saw the Briton disappear further and further from view. Something certainly seemed wrong with Verstappen’s car.

Norris made no more mistakes in the remaining laps and trumped the competition on his own. In his sixth season he was able to celebrate his first GP win, which he did exuberantly. “It’s about time,” was his first response, with a wink. “I am over the moonalso for my entire team.”

Verstappen finished in second place, ahead of the Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz and the Red Bull car of teammate Pérez. He showed himself to be sporty afterwards. “You win and you lose, that’s part of racing. McLaren had more speed today, Lando really ‘flew’. I’m very happy for him, he deserves it.”