Lando Norris had to wait 110 races for it, but since Sunday he finally has a Grand Prix victory to his name. The McLaren driver proved critics wrong and turned out to be a popular winner afterwards.
Waar Kevin Magnussen het halve Formule 1-veld een weekend lang dwarszat in Miami, bracht de Deen Norris juist de opening richting die eerste zege. De McLaren-coureur wist te profiteren van een safetycar, die hem aan de kop van het veld had gebracht. Nu moest Norris het nog afmaken. Dat deed de 24-jarige met de grandeur van een ervaren winnaar.
Na afloop kwam de Russische Grand Prix van 2021 ter sprake, de race die Norris al had moeten winnen. “Ik krijg daar nog steeds veel gezeik over”, bekende Norris. “Daar hebben we het samen, het team en ik, het gewoon niet goed gedaan.”
“Veel mensen twijfelden of ik kan winnen onder druk, zeker als Max Verstappen vlak achter me zit. Maar juist dit jaar voel ik meer vertrouwen dan ooit”, stelde de uiteindelijk winnaar. “Dus onderweg naar de finish heb ik daar niet meer aan gedacht.”
‘Als mijn moeder ballen had, was ze mijn vader’
Zodra Norris met wat fortuin tijdens de safetycar kon stoppen, was hij de te kloppen man. Verstappen mocht mopperen, maar deed dat niet. De drievoudig wereldkampioen weet als geen ander hoe geluk succes kan brengen. Twee crashende Mercedessen gaven hem de kans op zijn eerste zege. En Nicholas Latifi en een muur in Abu Dhabi brachten de Nederlander in 2021 terug in de jacht op zijn verloren gewaande eerste wereldtitel.
Verstappen wilde dan ook niets horen over andere scenario’s. “Als, als, als… Als mijn moeder ballen had, was ze mijn vader”, reageerde de Limburger gevat. Daarmee was dat dossier voor Verstappen dan ook gesloten.
Zijn teambaas Christian Horner benadrukte na afloop dat het toch echt een heel goed weekend was geweest voor Red Bull. “We hebben nog altijd de meeste punten bij de coureurs en constructeurs gepakt dit weekend, dus uiteindelijk zijn we sterk voor de dag gekomen.”
Hole in the floor for Verstappen
The Brit also had an explanation for Verstappen’s unusually slow pace. According to him, it collided with a pole. But the World Cup leader himself did not want to hide behind that: “For me, the car felt the same before and after that incident, I also drove the same pace.” Later, Verstappen returned to it in a team press release and stated that a large hole had been found in his floor.
It doesn’t matter for Norris, his first victory has been won. The Brit doesn’t really care how that came about. However, he had secretly been concerned about comments on social media. Norris was the Formula 1 driver with the most podium finishes without a win. Now Nick Heidfeld has that dubious honor again. Norris proved people wrong who called him ‘Lando No-wins’ online.
“I always believed in myself anyway. And I always enjoyed those reactions on Instagram. Lando No-wins really became a thing. To finally prove those people wrong and show that I can do it, That makes me smile even bigger. I want to thank them.”
Norris as popular winner
He was also grateful for the drivers who came to congratulate him. For example, Lewis Hamilton praised him: “I have known Lando for a long time, I couldn’t be happier for him. I hope he can really enjoy it.” Former teammate Carlos Sainz also spoke of a deserved victory: “He deserved it for a long time. He is driving at an excellent level. I am happy for him that it finally worked out. The luck he had with the safety car came to him to.”
Verstappen agreed: “It is a well-deserved victory for Lando. This has been coming for a while. And it is certainly not his last.”
Charles Leclerc can also enjoy the emotions of other winners. “You want to beat them, but in the end it’s nice to see. We grew up together. Max and I were a category above Lando, but we always kept an eye on the younger drivers. I remember seeing him in the karts. We all had the same dream: to one day be a Formula 1 driver.”
‘They know what it takes’
Norris is a beloved driver within the guild. He also thinks he knows why: “When you put on the helmet, you naturally hate them. But I have always had respect for the people I race against.”
Compliments from the big names therefore mean a lot to the McLaren driver. “When people like Lewis, Fernando, Max, Charles or Carlos come to you with nice words, I really appreciate it. Words from these people mean something. They know what it takes to achieve these kinds of things and how much work, time and effort you have to put in.”
On Sunday in Miami it all came true for the driver from Glastonbury. Norris was already part of the club of top drivers, but is now one of the 114 Grand Prix winners in Formula 1 history.
