Lando Norris achieved many things this Sunday in Miami, all of them good for the Formula 1 World Championship, which wildly applauded the race that the Briton did, finally winning a grand prix. In his 110th race in the competition, all of them at the wheel of a McLaren, Norris finally broke the curse that seemed to have fallen on him, and that still maintains him as the driver who has scored the most podiums (15) without having been able to climb the step. highest on the podium. After five and a half seasons, the young driver, 24 years old, removed a thorn that was beginning to weigh on his morale, especially after leading the resurrection of the Woking team (Great Britain), and seeing how others took the lead. glory.
It was Daniel Ricciardo, in Italy and three years ago (2021), who celebrated McLaren’s first victory in nine years (since 2012). This time, the talkative boy from Somerset, one of the most popular on the grid, did everything well and had the luck he lacked on other occasions; that which is normally given by elements that can be classified as random, such as the appearance of the safety car. Max Verstappen finished second, helpless and unable to respond after the security remix the platoon. Charles Leclerc closed the podium and crossed the finish line just ahead of Carlos Sainz, his workshop neighbor at Ferrari, while Fernando Alonso finished ninth.
Placing fifth at the start, Norris found the route that put him in the best position to take advantage of any opportunity that presented itself. And this came right in the middle of the event, following the accident involving Logan Sargeant and Kevin Magnussen, which forced the stewards to bring out the safety car. That placed the McLaren driver in front, just ahead of Verstappen, who was unable to shorten his rival and colleague when the race was relaunched. Little by little, the margin in front of the current champion increased, until it went beyond seven seconds at the end. An unusual difference when it comes to Red Bull and Mad Max, upset at having lost, was also happy for having lost against Norris, who gave McLaren its second victory in 12 years. For the rest, the boy becomes the third driver to win this exercise, along with Verstappen and Sainz.
In less than a year and a half, McLaren has achieved something that has not even been within the reach of Red Bull. In the first stops of the calendar last year, McLaren put the slowest car of all on the track. After accepting the Everest that had to be climbed, the troops of the papaya-colored cars were revitalizing the prototype until in Silverstone they gave it a boost that has not stopped bringing the car closer to the Ferrari, first, and to the red buffalo, later. To understand a little about where this car comes from, just one piece of information is enough: a year ago, in Miami, the best placed McLaren at the end of the event was Norris himself, who did so almost a minute and a half behind the winner (Verstappen ). A return to the calendar later, the evolution of that device appeared sharper than the one that has dominated the show to date, without any type of condition.
“I’ve been late, huh…” Norris said, relieved, as soon as he got out of the car, and after being congratulated by the majority of his opponents, who broke protocol to give him a hug. “I’ve finally done it. It was a long day, and a complicated race. But finally I’m there, the first, and I feel over the moon,” added the great protagonist of the weekend, who last January renewed his commitment to McLaren, until beyond 2026: “I stayed because I believe in this equipment”.
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