Contents
Lando Norris surprisingly wins his first GP in Miami, World Championship leader Max Verstappen only comes second. The Sauber pilots remain without an exploit.
The podium
- 1. Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren)
- 2. Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull)
- 3. Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari)
In the McLaren team, they had made their claims known without reservation before the start of the season. Their goal was nothing less than victories. They were convinced that they could even stand up to Max Verstappen given the ideal situation.
These perfect conditions were now present in Miami. At the first opportunity, Lando Norris provided proof that the technicians were heading in the right direction when radically modifying the car. The complete latest version was only available to the English this weekend in Florida. His teammate Oscar Piastri had to be content with a partial replacement for the time being.
Norris uses safety car phase
The decisive scene occurred during a safety car phase around half way through the workload. The neutralization of the race became necessary after a collision between Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant. Norris used the time in which the lead car sets the minimum speed to stop to change tires. The reduced loss of time allowed the Brit to return to the track as the leader.
Anyone who thought that five-time winner Verstappen would have a duel with Norris was disappointed. The Brit, who had never won in 109 Formula 1 starts, immediately pulled away from the Dutch world champion and continued to distance himself lap after lap. In the end, Norris celebrated his debut victory with a lead of almost 8 seconds.
Legend:
Let’s celebrate
Lando Norris.
Reuters/Brian Snyder
Verstappen, who once again said he didn’t feel comfortable in his car (radio message), had to make do with second place. So far this season, the reigning world champion has only failed to win in Australia due to a defect. Behind Verstappen, Charles Leclerc took third place on the podium in the Ferrari, just ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz.
Zhou gains ground at anniversary
Once again there were no points for the Sauber racing team, but at least Guanyu Zhou had a successful anniversary to celebrate. In his 50th GP for the Hinwil racing team, the Chinese improved from 19th place on the grid to 14th place. Teammate Valtteri Bottas came 17th.
This is how it continues
After a weekend off, the F1 entourage continues in Europe in two weeks. First there’s the GP Emilia Romagna in Imola (May 17th – 19th), then it’s on to the prestigious race in Monaco (May 24th – 26th).