The McLaren driver made essentially the most of a security automobile interval to vary tyres for the one time within the race and emerge in a lead he maintained all the way to the finish line.
Our writers give their verdict on the sixth spherical of the 2024 season.
Aid for Lando: 7/10 – Alex Kalinauckas
A mark up from Sainz’s win in Australia just because Verstappen was nonetheless on this contest with simply over half the race remaining. The world champion was in command till the protection automobile boosted Norris, who has had a wild weekend right here in Miami – going from dash pole contender to eradicated within the shorter occasion after which having a quiet GP qualifying with the snazzily upgraded McLaren.
Norris’s tyre life offset appeared to make the crucial distinction in pulling away from Verstappen post-restart on Sunday, however his tempo as soon as launched from Perez’s rear a lot earlier hinted at what was to return, even when there was no predicting what would occur again then concerning Kevin Magnussen’s newest shunt. You’ll be able to by no means rely Verstappen out, however in the long run he was nicely overwhelmed by a driver beforehand, outrageously, referred to as overrated by some.
Nearly as good as Miami will get: 8/10 – Filip Cleeren
A one-stop race in Miami would not sound like a humdinger on paper, however Sunday’s grand prix was about pretty much as good as this observe and these vehicles can provide us. In fact, a first-time winner within the likeable Lando Norris is a feel-good story F1 may use this yr. However past that there was preventing all through the sphere, between Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz, and seemingly between Lewis Hamilton and everyone else.
Not solely was the race attention-grabbing to comply with, however the minor gaps between the highest groups bode nicely for the remainder of the yr, though the observe format and scorching situations might have performed some half. McLaren’s upgrades appear to have allowed it to shut the hole to Ferrari, which may inject some dynamism in 2024’s pecking order.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15, battles with Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-24, forward of Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Crew VCARB 01
Photograph by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Norris a feel-good story, however no actual battle for the win: 6/10 – Ben Vinel
Lando Norris is the plain feel-good story of the day, with this maiden victory which had confirmed so elusive up to now via many missed alternatives. Nevertheless, there by no means was any actual battle for the win.
Verstappen was snug on the entrance within the first half of the race and Norris slowly however certainly edged away after he was gifted a golden alternative by the protection automobile, which he didn’t fail to grab. With out this Magnussen-vs-Sargeant crash skewing the image on the entrance, there may have been an interesting duel with Norris probably quick sufficient to bridge a 10-second hole to Verstappen.
Miami was an overtaking fest in comparison with different races this season, and a few tedious DRS strikes have been made up for by entertaining battles. What’s extra, the sphere appears to be bunching up – Mercedes’ Hamilton completed fewer than 17 seconds off Norris in P6 – which is promising for the rest of the season.
A welcome change for F1: 9/10 – James Newbold
What constitutes an important race? You’ll be able to take a look at that query a number of methods. The standard of wheel-to-wheel battling, unpredictable motion from the primary minute to the final, an exhilarating conclusion?
To my thoughts, the storylines and the diploma to which it’s remembered needs to be the defining standards. And Lando Norris attending to have a good time his long-awaited first win signifies that the shocking 2024 Miami GP will in the end stay far longer within the reminiscence than most races from the ground-effect period, though it owed a big quantity to the timing of the protection automobile.
Although the end result was arguably not in query as soon as Norris had seen off Verstappen’s assault on the restart to shortly pull away from DRS vary, seeing a brand new winner take the laurels of his former team-mates and rivals alike was a reminder that F1 can and does produce magic moments.
Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Crew, 1st place, is crowd handed by his crew in Parc Ferme
Photograph by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
By way of the pack too there have been loads of entertaining squabbles, with Turns 11 and 17 producing common spikes of motion. Even the cumbersome Flip 14-15 chicane was a supply of drama, when Max Verstappen’s snap of oversteer despatched him on a collision course with a bollard that introduced out a digital security automobile.
And whereas DRS is ceaselessly criticised for making passing too simple, I obtained the impression the stability was nearly proper this time round as defending vehicles may deploy their vitality strategically to remain forward so long as their tyres would allow them to.
Miami is probably not the primary circuit on folks’s minds with regards to producing an important race, however that’s exactly what we obtained on Sunday – for any variety of the explanations that you can want to give.