A suprise. Briton Lando Norris (McLaren) won the first victory of his Formula 1 career at the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday May 5 after a lively race around the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Only sixth on the starting grid, the 24-year-old driver beat the three-time world champion, Max Verstappen (Red Bull), who started in pole position, and the Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).
While he was in the lead because he had not yet changed tires, Norris took full advantage of the deployment of the safety car at mid-race after a collision between the Dane Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and the local driver. he stage, the American Logan Sargeant (Williams), forced to abandon after hitting the barriers. He was then able to make a “free” pit stop and still come out in the lead.
The Briton then resisted Verstappen when the safety car disappeared, before irreparably distancing him. The Red Bull driver, not very comfortable during the weekend despite his victory in the sprint and his pole position won on Saturday, had to bow out and finished almost 8 seconds behind the winner. Leclerc had a solid race despite a botched start and finished just 2 seconds behind Verstappen, proof that Ferrari is gradually reducing the gap with the Austrian team.
Verstappen still prances at the top of the rankings
Behind this trio, the Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) took fourth place, ahead of the Mexican Sergio Pérez (Red Bull), the seven-time British world champion Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and the surprising Japanese Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls), who also benefited from the safety car to achieve a very good result.
The Top 10 is completed by the Briton George Russell (Mercedes), the Spanish veteran Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and the Frenchman Esteban Ocon, which allows Alpine to finally score its first point of the season. The French team is gradually turning around after a catastrophic start to the season. She had an encouraging weekend in Florida since the other French driver, Pierre Gasly, finished ninth in the sprint on Saturday, just outside the points, then twelfth on Sunday.
In the world championship standings, Verstappen, who had won four of the first five Grand Prix this season, is leading with 136 points, respectively 35 and 38 lengths ahead of Pérez and Leclerc. Sainz, winner in Australia after Verstappen’s retirement, is fourth with 85 points on the clock, just ahead of Norris (83).