So He Made It: Lando Norris wins in Miami GP
Round 6 of F1 2024 in Miami: What Happened?
“Fate shuffles the cards and we play”, Schopenhauer once said and I think this phrase is very valid for describing this race. We can argue all we want about free will or the impossibility of man escaping the unpredictable Cluedo of events.
I don’t know the answer to this question — and sorry for this philosophising start — but maybe this race seems like something close to an answer.
Yes, because fate has finally given something wonderful and unforgettable to a driver who seemed to have been forgotten by the gaze of Lady Luck: Lando Norris wins his first Grand Prix.
The Brit manages to give the first victory to team principal Andrea Stella who stands on the podium to receive the constructors’ award and well-deserved applause for the work he is doing in Woking. Behind Lando, comes Max Verstappen, unexpectedly second, and Mr. consistency Charles Leclerc.
We were saying: a total will to power or dependence on chance? Who knows. What I know is that Lando does both, as often happens in any sport: a mix of talent and luck.
What actually happened? Let’s see step by step the main events of a race for which I had very low expectations, given the annoyance I feel towards this track.
Max sets off determinedly towards infinity and beyond. Charles on the other hand starts very badly — as has been the case for quite a few races now — and is suddenly overtaken by Carlos Sainz. However, the Monegasque immediately regains his position after narrowly avoiding a clash with Pérez.
Among these litigants comes a fourth, Oscar Piastri, who immediately takes the third position. Also interesting is the wheel-to-wheel fight between the two Alpines who seem to have found a shred of serenity.
Norris, meanwhile, is sixth after losing the starting P5. Behind him, another Mr. consistency, Nico Hülkenberg, fresh from his contract with Sauber for 2025, climbs to seventh position ahead of Hamilton and Stroll.
By a curious twist of fate, Saturday’s MVP Daniel Ricciardo is last. “Ah, how the turntables…”
In the meantime, direction shows the replay of Checo’s start and I must say that it is scarier than it seemed: he loses the braking point, arrives like a tornado, and almost collides with the two Ferraris and Max like a bowling ball. Eventually, he doesn’t get any penalty for this.
Leclerc is overtaken by Piastri on lap 4 with the Australian racing at a remarkable pace considering that his car hasn’t had any major updates.
In fact, like last year between Austria and Silverstone, McLaren opted for two remote upgrades: a complete one for Lando in Miami while Oscar only takes “half the package” to do a comparison test.
Sainz, in the meantime, gets very close to Leclerc and tries to pass him. His teammate can see him in the mirrors. Perhaps a switch of positions would have been appropriate — Carlos also makes it clear on the team radio — but nothing happens.
Checo, on the other hand, finds himself at risk of a penalty for a false start: not only did he slingshot over the others, but he also started outside the yellow grid line.
There’s a great overtaking by Hamilton on Hülkenberg who for a moment defends himself aggressively, but since he is not Magnussen, he gives up and lets Lewis pass in the corner.
Pérez doesn’t take any penalties and continues to gain pace on the Ferraris, while the McLarens fly. But it is a rather static phase where positions remain unchanged.
Max doesn’t run away indeed, remaining 2.7 seconds ahead of Piastri. However, on laps 12 and 13, the first pit stops begin and Pérez suddenly starts to lose pace and is caught by Norris.
It’s still an open race: one after the other, the top three set the fastest lap. It’s nice to see that Ferrari is fighting there with the others without having brought any updates.
Moreover, Miami is a track where strategy is fundamental because around 20–25 seconds are lost in the pit stop. And so everyone is a bit on the fence, undecided as to who will be the first to shuffle the cards.
And, above all, it is a track with little degradation: does it therefore make sense to make early stops? It’s a lottery, this time we have to acknowledge it, starting from the simple fact that so far anyone who has taken the pole position has never won.
McLaren cleverly makes a feint on lap 18 to confuse Red Bulls who call Checo subsequently. The Mexican returns on track in P10 with the white tyre.
While Norris attempts the overcut, remaining out with the Mediums, Leclerc goes to box on lap 20 and returns behind Hamilton with the Hards. Therefore, Charles immediately starts pushing to overtake him and somehow gain position on Piastri who is still on the track.
And he makes a monstrous overtaking on Lewis: a sign of next season?
In any case, we witness one of Max’s rare mistakes: he goes a little long in the chicane and hits a pin which remains on the road like bowling.
A very precious Virtual Safety Car is therefore decided which however gives advantage only to Ocon, Alonso, and Magnussen who were already in the pit area.
Max goes to pit on lap 24, gives up the lead to Piastri, and returns on track in P4. In front of him, his unexpected rival runs like Jesse Owens: Lando stamps an impressive 1:31.9.
You can see that this time he has much more than others, especially more than Max, which is also a symptom of the successful updates by the Papaya team.
Now let’s pretend to stop time: Piastri and Sainz go to the pits on lap 28, Norris is first, and Max is behind him losing 4 tenths on Leclerc. It’s a particular situation.
Here’s where destiny intervenes: the Fates weave a favourable thread for Lando. How? Sargeant and Magnussen touch in the first sector during overtaking and the American goes out, stopping in the escape route. Magnussen will get a 10-second penalty.
It’s Safety Car. Everything is crystallized.
Lando doesn’t enter the pits immediately, as would be convenient for him, but he does on the immediately following lap because he has a gap of 18 seconds on Max. You read that right.
He returns on track in front of the Safety Car with a 30-second gap: yes, this is possible according to the regulations, but it is an anomalous situation indeed.
Lando therefore has two options: overtake everyone and get behind the SC or slow down and let it pass. In the end, SC waits for him.
On lap 33 it’s show time: green flag. Will Max pass? Will Lando defend himself? It is the decisive moment of an entire career. All contained in just a few seconds, just like his previous attempt at the 2021 Russian GP.
You can feel the audience warming up. A warm and positive energy almost seems to push him forward.
Lando sprints, Max tries to grab him but remains behind with the difficult task of having to defend himself also from Leclerc. A few laps pass, and it’s the unthinkable: Charles is 8 tenths behind Max who has lost the DRS from Lando.
Behind them, there is a small brawl between Sainz and Piastri with the Australian sending the Spaniard out. He isn’t investigated, perhaps because it was actually simply racing stuff — Carlos doesn’t agree, and in my opinion, he’s a little right.
In the meantime, as we’ve seen, the whole race has been overturned but the path is now brighter on the horizon. As the rounds pass, the unexpected becomes inexorable and close at hand.
We hear Max’s team radio: “I can’t turn the car.” Shit happens, Max, what can you do? Come on, you are second…
On lap 39 Sainz finally manages to overtake Piastri with a great manoeuvre but a contact occurs in the MCL38’s front wing which causes the Australian to stop to box and lose positions. Also, Carlos loses pace, because he too probably suffered damage from the contact.
However, he gets a 5-second penalty at the end of the race for the contact. Oscar will finish the race P13 with the fastest lap point: a joke considering his not-so-bad race.
We are 15 laps away from making history for Lando. Tsunoda is like a sandwich between Hamilton and Russell in P7.
Ocon and Alonso are ninth and tenth respectively: an unexpected bromance as we will see at the end of the GP, between duels and overtaking which however leads them to swap positions. Precious points for all of them.
Lando, on the other hand, is about to break all the negative records that haunt him: he hasn’t won since 2018 in F2, he is the driver with the most podiums without ever winning, and he is the only one to have never won a race with McLaren in 110 races held.
Everything seemed black, but that strange mix of personal talent and fortuitous circumstances (Safety car + spot-on updates) — or, free will and determinism — finally pays off and all the darkness gets swept away: Lando is the first to cross the finish line with a 7-second advantage over Max.
He gets out of the car, greets the crowd who are cheering for him, and walks almost in disbelief: he has a strange expression on his face. He seems tired or dissatisfied or simply resigned: he feels that he has done his part and that without the Safety Car, maybe he wouldn’t have won.
But he enjoys the moment, as he should, and he throws himself on the mechanics who lift him into the air. Unrepeatable and unforgettable feelings that only the first time can provide.
Like him, I can’t wait to dive forward two weeks to the GP I’ve been looking forward to most for a whole year: Imola. Last year was a tragedy, as we remember very well, and never like this year has the wait been so frenetic for one of the two home GPs.
Curiosity for the long-awaited Ferrari updates, the Frecce Tricolori, the home celebration, the uncontrollable craving for racing in a region that is practically permeated by the sound and smells of engines…
An entire country can’t wait — and so do I, as I’ll be there to tell you about it ☺️
