'Verstappen struggles meant Miami GP fizzled out' - GPFans Hot Takes

Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Great Britain, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

Miami Grand Prix

'Verstappen struggles meant Miami GP fizzled out' - GPFans Hot Takes

Lando Norris took home a stunning race win

Originally written by Sam Cook. This version is a translation.

Monday 6 May 2024 06:00

Lando Norris stormed home to take his first ever race victory at the Miami Grand Prix, beating Max Verstappen over the line to take a stunning win for McLaren.

McLaren benefitted from a brilliantly timed safety car which was called out following a crash between Logan Sargeant and Kevin Magnussen, a safety car period which Norris took full advantage of to lead the grand prix.

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Norris then managed to pull away from Verstappen, in a dominant fashion that is more regularly seen from the Dutchman, rather than at the expense of the Dutchman.

After an incredible race in Miami, here's what GPFans journalists thought of all of the drama!

GPFans Journalists on the Miami Grand Prix

Miami was the best race I've watched in a while and not just because Max Verstappen didn't win it.

Obviously, fans are tired of the Dutchman's domination but this would've been a smashing race without Lando Norris taking a historic victory down in Florida.

The race was packed with incident and overtaking and on-track battles and no doubt F1 really benefitted from the lack of practice to iron out car setups - we now have jeopardy back without that meaning drivers' safety being in question.

Jenson Button was right, let's get rid of practice and just have more sprints, it will certainly aid the excitement for the fans.

The Sprint race was also a compelling watch from start to finish, maybe it's time to embrace the future...

Chris Deeley - US Chief Editor

A scorching Miami Sunday which started with a British winner and a McLaren on the podium in the F1 Academy race ended the same way in the F1 feature race – except this time round, the two were one and the same.

Lando Norris may have been a touch fortunate to have still been awaiting his pitstop when the safety car was brought out, but it's worth remembering that it's only thanks to his fantastic effort in blasting out times on his ageing medium tyres that he was able to take that rare opportunity.

Continuity is an underrated commodity in Formula 1, but this McLaren team are set to have it for years to come. They have a young sprint race winner in Oscar Piastri and now a young feature race winner in Norris.

For all the hype and hoopla about Lewis Hamilton going to Ferrari and Mercedes looking to fight back in 2026, McLaren could well be the juggernaut of the future.

Dan Ripley - Deputy Chief Editor

While not quite a passing of the baton, this is a significant weekend in British motorsport - and not just because Norris took a well overdue first Formula 1 win.

While the McLaren star stormed to Miami success, Britain's greatest ever driver Lewis Hamilton was trailing well outside the top three once more with hopes of a podium pretty much extinguished after a poor qualifying display on Saturday.

This was Hamilton's best race this season after he broke into the top six for the first time. Granted, his Mercedes is a rather false reflection of his overall ability, evidenced by team-mate George Russell's struggles down in eighth.

Yet, this is a reminder that while Hamilton will not be getting any better in his ageing years - even if his 2025 Ferrari fires him up the grid - the likes of Norris will certainly be getting faster as they approach their prime, and now with race-winning experience. Britain has a new grand prix hero.

Lewis Hamilton has struggled so far in 2024

Ronan Murphy - Social Media Editor

“Stop the count!” There was no need for McLaren to jokingly tweet Donald Trump’s infamous quote after the former American president visited their garage at the Miami GP, because their lead proved to be more than just fleeting.

In warm sunshine in Miami, the F1 world championship finally heated up as Lando Norris secured victory..

And the best part of it all was the fact that Norris deserved the victory, there was no mechanical failure from the Red Bull to hand him the win.

Lando is now a race winner, but more importantly for fans of F1 this season, Max is not a race winner this weekend.

Stop the count.

Tyler Rowlinson - F1 Journalist

One may be biased here, as a McLaren fan myself, but this is the day F1 fans have been waiting for!

It was never a case of whether Lando Norris would win a race, it was a matter of when. He has always had the ability to challenge for victory and, admittedly it has taken longer than anticipated, but now he’s finally got one, surely there will be many more to come.

The safety car certainly played into the McLaren’s hands, but even so, the team kept Verstappen honest and didn’t allow him to pull away. Was it the tyres and the lack of grip that was the reason the unstoppable force of the Dutchman and Red Bull weren’t their usual self? Whatever the case, McLaren’s upgrades have proven today that they are the team that can challenge the defending champions.

We saw a more inspired and fiery Lewis Hamilton in Miami, as he kept close to Sergio Perez towards the end of the race, proving that he can stay competitive when the Mercedes machinery decides to not be so Mercedes-y.

Alpine deserve an honourable mention this weekend. It’s clear to see they have taken a huge leap forward since the opening round in Bahrain. It may just be the one point, but it’s one point more than what they had before this race. Good signs of progress from the French team.

Overall, for a track that is difficult to pass on and has produced some dull races in the past, the 2024 edition was a very enjoyable race in Miami.

Lando Norris, finally, you're a Formula 1 race winner!

Rhys Thomas - F1 Journalist

I didn’t imagine there’d be any point this season at which I’d be hoping Max Verstappen would pick up the pace.

But as Lando Norris extended his lead from three seconds, to four, then past five, part of me was cursing the one time the Dutchman seemed out of tune with his Red Bull.

Of course, any non-Verstappen win is a cause to uncork the champagne, but the excitement of the moment fizzled out rather than fizzing up.

F1 is all about jeopardy and even surprise wins can suffer through a lack of it - Carlos Sainz’s win in Australia was largely as pedestrian as any Verstappen one.

That said, this race was different from the start, with action and incident all over the track. Perhaps it’s a shame this didn’t extend into the battle for first; perhaps the storyline didn’t need that extra drama.

Sam Cook - F1 Journalist

Wow! Lando Norris!

The fact that the end of the race saw a driver pulling further and further away from his rivals, and that driver wasn't Max Verstappen just shows what an incredible job the young Brit managed.

Yes he and his team were fortunate with the safety that allowed them to get a jump on the Ferraris and Verstappen, but what came next was phenomenal.

Norris dominated the field after the safety car period, and the usually dominant Dutchman could not get near to the pace of the 24-year-old.

A well deserved victory for McLaren, and one which will be celebrated throughout Britain as fans wake up on a Bank Holiday Monday revelling in a new motorsport star.

Jim Kimberley - F1 Journalist

This time last year we had one of the dullest F1 races. Not even a yellow flag troubled the Miami International Autodrome as the glitz and glamour of Liberty Media’s hope for an American Monaco-esque event fell flat. Today was the opposite.

From the very first corner where Perez was 2cm from destroying Verstappen’s race, we had drama. It continued as the Alpines battled. And before we knew it, the best race of 2024 unfolded.

Norris is an F1 race winner and looked every bit of the champion material that many have said he is. Yes, he enjoyed the benefits of a safety car, but fortune is all part of F1. Let’s not forget how unfortunate he has been in Miami before. Karma works in mysterious ways.

Take a moment to think of Piastri today, though. He was the McLaren who surged forward at Turn 1 and raced up to P2. He was the one that could’ve jumped up to P1 had the VSC appeared earlier or later. To end up with no podium… no points… must hurt. Yet that also says McLaren are returning back to the sharp end. What a potent pairing. What a race.

Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

View full biography

Max Verstappen McLaren Lando Norris Miami Grand Prix Logan Sargeant Kevin Magnussen