Miami F1 2024
With speed, with power, with passion...
'I finally delivered for them' – Norris pays tribute to McLaren after 'about time' debut F1 win in Miami
Lando Norris was left "over the moon" after achieving his first Formula 1 victory in the Miami Grand Prix, with the Briton paying tribute to his McLaren team for putting together the "perfect strategy".
It had been a relatively quiet start to the race for Norris, who had lined up in P5 on the grid. However, the Briton was in the lead when a Safety Car was called on Lap 29 of 57 following a collision between Logan Sargeant and Kevin Magnussen, allowing him to make a well-timed pit stop and emerge back on track in P1.
From there he maintained a gap to Max Verstappen in second and crossed the line to take his debut win in the sport, five years after arriving in F1 with McLaren.
Following some jubilant celebrations with his team when he jumped out of the car, Norris was then quizzed by former world champion Jenson Button on how it felt to be a Grand Prix winner.
"About time!" the 24-year-old smiled. "What a race. It's been a long time coming, but finally I've managed to do it. I'm so happy for my whole team, I finally delivered for them. A long day, tough race, but finally on top so I'm over the moon."
While the Safety Car timing benefitted Norris, the pace of his MCL38 was clear to see in the final stages as he stayed a decent distance ahead of Verstappen. Quizzed on whether he was feeling proud, Norris responded: "I am. The whole weekend's been good, I've just had some little setbacks along the way.
"I knew on Friday we had the pace, just a couple of mistakes here and there, but today we managed to put it together. We put the perfect strategy [together], it all paid off. Thanks to McLaren, everyone, and have to give a shout out to my mum and dad of course."
Finally the newest Formula 1 winner was asked what message he had for the team, with whom he has spent his entire career in the sport to date as well as showing his faith in them by signing a contract to stay onboard until beyond 2025.
"What do I say to them? I'm just proud really," Norris responded. "A lot of people doubted me along the way. I've made a lot of mistakes over my last five years, my short career, but today we put it all together so this is all for the team.
"I stuck with McLaren because I could believe in them and I did believe in them. Today proved exactly that."
FACTS AND STATS: Norris' SQ2 time good enough for pole but Verstappen takes P1
It was a busy Friday in Miami, with Max Verstappen taking Sprint pole for Red Bull, the sixth time out of seven opportunities he's started from P1 this season.
He was joined by Charles Leclerc on the front row – the Monegasque surprising many by putting a calamitous spin behind him and grabbing that P2 berth against the odds. Those aren't the only surprises to come out of Sprint Qualifying in Miami though, so here are all the other interesting facts and stats from Florida…
Verstappen grabbed his fourth pole in a Sprint Qualifying session, seventh when including the 2022 format.
Leclerc's P2 matches his best qualifying of the year in any format, and means the Sprint has the same front row as the last Sprint on American soil in Austin last year.
Sergio Perez grabbed third, his fourth top-three start of the year across all formats.
Daniel Ricciardo was fourth, for his first appearance in either SQ3 or Q3 this season, and his highest start in any format since Mexico City last year.
Carlos Sainz starts fifth, the same starting slot as in the Sprint in China.
Oscar Piastri was P6, as he out-qualified Lando Norris for just the second time in seven efforts this year.
Lance Stroll also out-qualified his team mate for only the second time this season.
Fernando Alonso's P8 means it is the first time both Aston Martin cars start in the top eight of any event in 2024.
Lando Norris qualified ninth, yet his SQ2 leading time would have put him on pole for the Sprint.
Nico Hulkenberg was 10th, the third time this season he has reached either SQ3 or Q3.
George Russell starts P11 for the second consecutive Sprint.
The last time neither Mercedes car reached SQ3 was in Austria last year.
Esteban Ocon was 13th, which matches his best qualifying of the year – in China at the last race weekend.
Yuki Tsunoda has been out-qualified by his team mate in both Sprint Qualifying sessions this year.
Pierre Gasly was 16th, the same position he qualified in for the Sprint in Shanghai.
Both Kick Sauber cars exited in SQ1 after both making it to SQ3 last time out in China.
Logan Sargeant was originally the slowest qualifier despite setting the fastest sector 3 time on his final lap.
Alex Albon lost his final lap time to start last, but he would have exited in SQ1 either way.
What is the weather forecast for the 2024 Miami Grand Prix?
After a rain-hit weekend in China, the F1 paddock moves to the other side of the world for the Miami Grand Prix – but what does the weather have in store at the Florida venue?
As was the case in Shanghai, the Sprint format will be in play at the Miami International Autodrome and, according to the current outlook, all three days of action are set to be held in largely sunny, warm conditions.
2024 Miami Grand Prix weekend weather forecast
FRIDAY, MAY 3 – FP1 AND SPRINT QUALIFYING
Conditions: A sunny and dry day. Breezy with an easterly wind. Gusts of up to 40 kph in the afternoon.
FP1: 28°C. SQ: 28°C.
Maximum temperature expected: 28 Celsius
Minimum temperature expected: 23 Celsius
Chance of rain: <20%
SATURDAY, MAY 4 – SPRINT AND QUALIFYING
Conditions: Mostly sunny with a few cumulus clouds developing in the afternoon. Slight chance of light scattered showers. Same wind conditions as Friday with gusts of up to 40 kph.
SPRINT: 27°C. Q: 27°C.
Maximum temperature expected: 28 Celsius
Minimum temperature expected: 23 Celsius
Chance of rain: 20%
SUNDAY, MAY 5 – RACE WEATHER
Conditions: Partly cloudy in the morning with a slight chance of showers, clearing in the afternoon. Similar wind conditions to previous days.
RACE: 27°C.
Maximum temperature expected: 27 Celsius
Minimum temperature expected: 23 Celsius
Chance of rain: 20%
What tyres will the teams and drivers have for the 2024 Miami Grand Prix?
Formula 1 heads to the United States for the Miami Grand Prix this weekend, with the Sprint format in play once again after an action-packed event in China last time out.
Official F1 tyre suppliers Pirelli have selected their midrange compounds for this round – the C2 as hard, C3 as medium, and C4 as soft – to tackle the 5.412-kilometre track that flows around the Hard Rock Stadium, the same compounds that were in use in Shanghai.
As the Sprint format again features, the usual dry tyre allocation drops from 13 sets to 12 (meaning two C2 hards, four C3 mediums and six C4 softs), while the number of wet-weather sets remains the same (five intermediate and two wet).
According to Pirelli, the Miami Grand Prix is a classic one-stop race, with hard and medium compounds the outright favourites for teams to go for.
Last year, winner Max Verstappen started from ninth on the grid on hard tyres before switching to mediums, while the other two drivers who made it to the podium, Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso, went the other way (medium then hard).