Ex-McLaren Mechanic Marc Priestley Praises McLaren’s and Lando Norris’ Years of Hard Work – “Belief Will Drive Results”

With Lando Norris finally celebrating his maiden F1 Grand Prix win, praises have been pouring in for him from all over. Former McLaren mechanic, Marc Priestley also joined in to shower praise on the 24-year-old’s determination and grit. The 47-year-old uploaded a video on LinkedIn where he spoke about the years’ worth of work that has gone on behind the curtains to make the win a possibility. 

Calling it ‘The Lando Norris Story,’ Priestley detailed how it was a lesson of not losing belief. The McLaren setup underwent a rebuilding phase, with many people having to make various sacrifices. However, the belief within the Woking-based team kept them pushing.

“If you wanna take some lesson away from the Lando Norris story, take the lesson that belief will drive results.”, Priestley said.

Aside from praising his past employers’ much-awaited win, Priestley also joined in on the celebrations. The Briton donned a papaya-colored watch, paying homage to the winners of the 2024 Miami Grand Prix. 

Since 2019, Lando Norris has been a full-time driver with McLaren, having debuted on the grid alongside Carlos Sainz. The British driver never doubted his team and continued to stick with the team even when things went from bad to worse. And now, the 24-year-old is reaping the rewards of his loyalty, winning his first-ever race in F1, which also benefited Priestley monetarily.

Marc Priestley earned a profit off Lando Norris’ win

Starting the race in P5, Lando Norris wouldn’t have entertained many thoughts of winning the race in Miami. Presumably, while he would have set his sights on a podium finish, Priestley had his hopes much higher.

As revealed on X by the man himself, Priestley had placed a bet on Norris to win the race. The 47-year-old further revealed the odds of the bet were 18/1 and expressed how happy he was to have won. Although the odds didn’t favor Norris, his performance in the race warranted nothing but a race win.

I promise this is true….I never bet on #F1, but yesterday I put a bet on @LandoNorris to win the #MiamiGP. 18/1

— Marc Priestley (@f1elvis) May 5, 2024

In the middle stages of the race, Norris had dropped a place and was running sixth. However, the Safety Car made its way to the track following an incident between Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant. McLaren and Norris took full advantage of the same to take the lead.

While others pitted under normal racing conditions, Norris did the same under the Safety Car. From there on, the #4 driver showcased brilliant composure to defend his position and do away with the ghosts of the 2021 Russian GP to pick up the winner’s trophy.