The McLaren driver made the most of a safety car period to change tyres for the only time in the race and emerge in a lead he maintained all the way to the finish line.
Our writers give their verdict on the sixth round of the 2024 season.
Relief for Lando: 7/10 – Alex Kalinauckas
A mark up from Sainz’s win in Australia simply because Verstappen was still in this contest with just over half the race remaining. The world champion was in command until the safety car boosted Norris, who has had a wild weekend here in Miami – going from sprint pole contender to eliminated in the shorter event and then having a quiet GP qualifying with the snazzily upgraded McLaren.
Norris’s tyre life offset seemed to make the critical difference in pulling away from Verstappen post-restart on Sunday, but his pace once released from Perez’s rear much earlier hinted at what was to come, even if there was no predicting what would happen back then regarding Kevin Magnussen’s latest shunt. You can never count Verstappen out, but in the end he was well beaten by a driver previously, outrageously, called overrated by some.
As good as Miami will get: 8/10 – Filip Cleeren
A one-stop race in Miami doesn’t sound like a humdinger on paper, but Sunday’s grand prix was about as good as this track and these cars can offer us. Of course, a first-time winner in the likeable Lando Norris is a feel-good story F1 could use this year. But beyond that there was fighting throughout the field, between Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz, and seemingly between Lewis Hamilton and everybody else.
Not only was the race interesting to follow, but the minor gaps between the top teams bode well for the rest of the year, although the track layout and hot conditions may have played some part. McLaren’s upgrades seem to have allowed it to close the gap to Ferrari, which could inject some dynamism in 2024’s pecking order.
Norris a feel-good story, but no real fight for the win: 6/10 – Ben Vinel
Lando Norris is the obvious feel-good story of the day, with this maiden victory which had proven so elusive in the past through many missed opportunities. However, there never was any real battle for the win, with Verstappen comfortable at the front in the first half of the race and Norris slowly but surely edging away after he was gifted a golden opportunity by the safety car, which he did not fail to seize. Without this Magnussen-vs-Sargeant crash skewing the picture at the front, there could have been a fascinating duel with Norris potentially fast enough to bridge a 10-second gap to Verstappen.
Miami was an overtaking fest compared to other races this season, and some tedious DRS moves were made up for by entertaining battles. What’s more, the field seems to be bunching up – Mercedes’ Hamilton finished fewer than 17 seconds off Norris in P6 – which is promising for the remainder of the season.
A welcome change for F1: 9/10 – James Newbold
What constitutes a great race? You can look at that question several ways. The quality of wheel-to-wheel battling, unpredictable action from the first minute to the last, a thrilling conclusion?
To my mind, the storylines and the degree to which it is remembered should be the defining criteria. And Lando Norris getting to celebrate his long-awaited first win means that the surprising 2024 Miami GP will ultimately live far longer in the memory than most races from the ground-effect era, even though it owed a significant amount to the timing of the safety car.
Even though the result was arguably not in question once Norris had seen off Verstappen’s attack at the restart to quickly pull clear of DRS range, seeing a new winner take the laurels of his former team-mates and rivals alike was a reminder that F1 can and does produce magic moments.
Through the pack too there were plenty of entertaining squabbles, with Turns 11 and 17 producing regular spikes of action. Even the cumbersome Turn 14-15 chicane was a source of drama, when Max Verstappen’s snap of oversteer sent him on a collision course with a bollard that brought out a virtual safety car. And while DRS is frequently criticised for making passing too easy, I got the impression the balance was just about right this time around as defending cars could deploy their energy strategically to stay ahead as long as their tyres would let them.
Miami may not be the first circuit on people’s minds when it comes to producing a great race, but that is precisely what we got on Sunday – for any number of the reasons that you could wish to give.
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