Exactly 952 days of waiting are finally over. After missing a golden chance by not changing his tires in the rain at the 2021 Russian GP, Lando Norris received a new opportunity with a safety car in the middle of this Sunday’s Miami GP, and triumphed in the duel with Max Verstappen. F1’s newest winner, the McLaren driver put an end to the team’s almost three-year absence, since Daniel Ricciardo in Italy, in 2021. Charles Leclerc completes the podium.
Norris started fifth in the race, which had Verstappen in pole position. However, he received the golden chance thanks to a yellow flag on lap 28, when he was provisionally leading, having postponed his mandatory pit stop.
The Briton’s lead was threatened by Alexander Albon’s engine breaking four laps before the checkered flag; To McLaren’s relief, however, the Anglo-Thai driver from Williams managed to return to the pits alone, eliminating once and for all the chances of a safety car to allow Verstappen to get closer.
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Max Verstappen (RBR) +7s612
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +9s920
- Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +11s407
- Sergio Pérez (RBR) +14s650
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +16s585
- Yuki Tsunoda (RB) +26s185
- George Russell (Mercedes) +34s789
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +37s107
- Esteban Ocon (Alpine) +39s746
- Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) +40s789
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +44s958
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +49s576
- Guanyu Zhou (Sauber) +49s979
- Daniel Ricciardo (RB) +50s956
- Valtteri Bottas (Sauber) +53s356
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +55s173
- Kevin Magnussen (Haas) +1:04.683
- Alexander Albon (Williams) +1m16s091
Logan Sargeant (Williams) – ABANDONED.
F1 returns in two weeks on May 19, with the Emilia-Romagna GP. The stage at the Autódromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari is valid as the seventh of the championship. See calendar.
Pole Verstappen continued ahead without any difficulties. However, he was almost hit from behind by his RBR colleague Sergio Pérez when the Mexican, fourth on the grid, placed the car alongside Charles Leclerc (2nd) and Carlos Sainz (3rd) on the inside of the first corner.
Checo crossed the stretch just a few meters from hitting his teammate and also Sainz. Overtaken by the two Ferraris, he dropped to fifth place.
Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri jumped from sixth to second place, ahead of Leclerc and Sainz, although the Ferrari drivers recovered their positions in the following meters. His colleague, Lando Norris, was in fifth place. The good start, further boosted by updates to the pair’s car, paved the way for the rest of the race.
Fight for the podium turns into a fight for victory
It didn’t take long for Piastri to recover the places he lost in the first lap: at the opening of the second, he overtook Sainz. On Wednesday, it was Leclerc’s turn to take second place. The Monegasque driver got closer on the 16th lap, but visited the pits four laps later.
Leader Verstappen visited the pits on lap 24, dropping to fourth place. With that, Piastri took the provisional lead while the three-time champion spent the following laps parked behind Norris – almost 11s behind. Then, the Australian stopped, on the 28th lap, which put his McLaren colleague in the provisional lead.
The scenario surrounding the top positions, however, worsened with a yellow flag on lap 28: Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant, competing for 18th place, crashed. The Haas driver was given a 10s penalty for taking his rival out of the race. The safety car was called, with one detail: Norris had not stopped.
With that, the Brit took advantage of his 35s6 advantage over Verstappen and visited the pits under a yellow flag. He returned to the track 13s ahead of the three-time RBR champion, although the safety car brought both closer until the restart on lap 34. When the race resumed, however, Norris remained at the top: he opened up a 1s2 lead and, on lap 38, , he already had 2s1 for the three-time RBR champion.
This party turned into a funeral
Even when he was leading, Verstappen did not open up the large advantage he usually has over his rivals; the biggest difference he had, over Piastri, was 5s3. Just before visiting the pits, he broke a cone when he went over a curb, leaving the track.
After the safety car, the three-time champion’s RB20 remained difficult to drive; on the radio, he complained about not even being able to turn the car and spoke of a “disaster”.
Meanwhile, Norris’ advantage only grew, albeit timidly: from 1s4 when the race resumed, it grew to 2s2, and then 3s on the 40th lap. Two turns later, the distance increased: 3s3. With exactly ten laps to go, it was already 5s1. At the checkered flag, the McLaren driver won in 7s6.
Piastri missed podium chance
On the other hand, the safety car was not so kind to Piastri: he had made his pit stop on the 28th lap, shortly before the race was interrupted. When the green flag was waved in the 34th lap, he was in fourth place.
Ahead of Ferari’s Sainz, the Australian even left the line and brought his rival with him, a move that came under the stewards’ sights; however, any action for the episode was ruled out. The Spaniard finally passed his rival on lap 40, when the two came into contact that damaged the McLaren driver’s front wing. Back in the pits, Piastri dropped from fifth to 19th place, but finished 13th.
Who takes third place?
Originally second on the grid, Leclerc had a calm race until the final laps: at the start of the race, he remained ahead of his teammate, Sainz. After visiting the pits on the 20th lap, he dropped to sixth place, but recovered with the help of the yellow flag on the 28th lap.
Having Piastri, behind him, focused on defending himself from Sainz, helped. But the Australian was overtaken on lap 40 and, as a result, it was his garage neighbor who appeared in Leclerc’s rear view mirror. In the end, however, the Monegasque was not threatened by his teammate and secured his 33rd podium of his career.
