Lando Norris used a conveniently timed safety car and strong pace on Pirelli’s hardest tire compound to finally claim the first victory of his Formula 1 career by winning Sunday’s (May 5) Miami Grand Prix.
Norris was able to take a free pit stop under a safety car period after Logan Sargeant and Kevin Magnussen crashed on lap 29. On the restart Norris pulled away from Max Verstappen, who he had jumped in the pits, and maintained his lead for the remainder of the race while Verstappen struggled with handling on the hard tires.
“About time, huh?” Norris said after the race. “F***, I’m sorry… What a race! It’s been a long time coming, but finally I’ve managed to do it. I’m so happy for my whole time, I’ve finally delivered for them. Long day, tough race, but finally on top. So, I’m over the moon.”
This win comes in the 110th race of Norris’ F1 career, and closes a long chapter marked by many missed opportunities, such as the 2021 Russian Grand Prix where Norris opted to stay on slick tires on a rapidly-wetting track.
Norris was nearly overtaken by Verstappen when the race restarted on lap 33, but the Briton was able to drive away after surviving the Red Bull driver’s attack into turn 1. Verstappen had been complaining of handling issues on the hard tires prior to the safety car, putting him at a further disadvantage beyond the hassle of having to run in dirty air behind the McLaren.
At the end of the 57-lap Grand Prix, Norris led Verstappen to the checkered flag by 7.6 seconds. The Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished third and fourth, respectively. Sergio Perez, Lewis Hamilton, Yuki Tsunoda, George Russell, Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon rounded out the points-paying positions.
The contact between Sargeant and Magnussen which triggered the race-altering safety car occurred as the two battled for 18th place through the first sector of the track.
As Sargeant defended his position from the Haas entering turn 1, Magnussen used a late entry to switchback to Sargeant’s right side as they pair approached turn 2. The late nature of Magnussen’s move left Sargeant unaware of the Dane’s presence and the two collided before spinning into the barriers. Sargeant’s car sustained rear-end damage which ended his day while Magnussen drove away from the seen with a damaged front wing.
Magnussen was later assessed a 10-second time penalty for the incident, his fourth of the weekend.
On the other end of McLaren’s fortunes for the day was Oscar Piastri. The Australian ran comfortably in second for the first half of the race before being caught out by the safety car and shuffled down the order, having already made his stop. Afterward, Piastri had to defend his position from Sainz, who was adamant that the McLaren sophomore ran him off the track and needed to cede fourth place or be penalized.
Sainz eventually took the position on-track, despite Piastri’s vigorous defense. Shortly thereafter, Piastri picked up front-wing damage and had to stop to swap out the damaged hardware. This shuffled him down to 19th and meant he would be limited to a 13th-place result at the end of the day.
Ocon’s 10th-place netted Alpine their first points of the season, after a nightmarish start to the year for the French squad. However, on the race’s opening lap Ocon shared the spotlight with his teammate Pierre Gasly as the two rubbed elbows throughout the majority of the first lap in an exchange the commentary team described as looking “personal.”
Gasly finished 12th, his best result of the year so far.
2024 F1 Miami Grand Prix Results
Next up on the F1 schedule is the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix from the Imola Circuit in San Marino. Coverage will begin Sunday, May 19, at 9 a.m. ET on ESPN.
About the author
Alex is the IndyCar Content Director at Frontstretch, having initially joined as an entry-level contributor in 2021. He also serves as Managing Director of The Asia Cable, a publication focused on the international affairs and politics of the Asia-Pacific region which he co-founded in 2023. With previous experience in China, Japan and Poland, Alex is particularly passionate about the international realm of motorsport and the politics that make the wheels turn - literally - behind the scenes.
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