The Miami GP marked the second race of the season in which Max Verstappen did not dominate and win.
Lando Norris ended a streak that saw him as the driver with the most podium finishes [15] without getting a victory.
The Briton achieved his first win on Sunday afternoon in Miami and took McLaren back to the highest step of the podium in a main race since Daniel Ricciardo’s victory at Monza in 2021.
Max Verstappen debriefed his race, expressing: “If a bad day is P2, I take it.
“I mean, you win, you lose,” Verstappen added. “I think we’re all used to that in racing, right?”
The World Champion made a perfect start, leading the pack out of turn 1. At the same time, he was fortunate not to be wiped out as Sergio Perez locked up as the Mexican got it wrong as he tried to pass the slow starting Leclerc.
Verstappen managed to build around a 3.5s lead until near the end of lap 19, the Dutchman cut the second part of the chicane. He knocked over a bollard, carrying it with his car through some corners until it fell, causing the very short appearance of a Virtual Safety Car to remove it from the track.
Red Bull decided to change the set of tyres for the 26-year-old at the end of lap 23, and he rejoined the race P4 behind Piastri, Sainz, and Norris. Piastri and Sainz came in on lap 27, with Norris finding himself leading the race in lap 28.
Verstappen admits Norris’ pace on old mediums was already a big concern.
“Today was just a bit tricky. I think already on the mediums, I didn’t feel fantastic. We were pulling away but not like it should be,” said Verstappen.
“And then once we made the pitstop and I heard what lap times that McLaren were doing I thought, ‘Wow, that’s pretty quick.’ Once they also switched on to the hard tyre, they just had more pace, and especially Lando, he was flying. It was incredibly difficult for us on that stint.”
Luck was on Norris’ side when still having his pit stop pending, there was an incident between Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant, meaning the Safety Car came out on track, allowing Norris to enter the pits and keep the lead.
At the restart, the McLaren driver defended himself against the attack of Verstappen’s RB20 and then took off down the road, ending the Grand Prix with a lead of 7.6s over the World Champion, who admitted to having problems getting his car to turn correctly as he struggled with balance and grip.
“But if a bad day is P2, I take it. And I’m very happy for Lando. It’s been a long time coming. And it’s not going to be his last one so yeah, he definitely deserves it today.
“It wasn’t our strongest weekend in terms of race pace, but we’ll analyse it all and we’ll try to come back.”
Verstappen maintains his lead in the WDC standings six races into the championship, extending it to 33 over the course of the Miami weekend.
When asked if McLaren’s new upgrades and pace could mean a big challenge for the rest of the season, the Dutchman hopes not.
“I hope not! I mean, they came with an upgrade. Yeah, for sure, it looks like it works. So, we have a bit of work to do from our side.”
