Former US President Donald Trump joined the McLaren garage for the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday. Trump’s presence at the Miami International Autodrome brought some ‘much-needed luck’ for McLaren as they won their first race in three years. More importantly, it was Lando Norris who grabbed his maiden win in F1. With Norris finally breaking his duck, Karun Chandhok has joked that Trump may take credit for the same.
Taking to X (earlier Twitter), the former F1 driver wrote, “Hmmm…. How long before Trump claims credit as McLaren’s lucky charm??” Previously, Norris and McLaren have often witnessed luck go against them.
Hmmm…. How long before Trump claims credit as McLaren’s lucky charm??
— Karun Chandhok (@karunchandhok) May 5, 2024
However, the Briton had the luck go his way on this occasion. Soon after the 24-year-old brilliantly extended his first stint on the medium tire, a safety car came out following the collision between Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant, thereby essentially giving the McLaren driver a free pit stop for the hards.
Following the pit stop, Norris came out in the lead of the race, ahead of Max Verstappen. However, Norris’ job had not finished yet. Once the safety car period ended, Norris quickly escaped the DRS zone by extending his lead by over a second from Verstappen after just the first lap.
ya. um. no comment.
— sim (@sim3744) May 5, 2024
From there on, Norris calmly managed his pace and crossed the line 7.6 seconds ahead of Verstappen to win his maiden race. And with his win, Norris finally ended the pain of an unwanted record that he had registered to his name.
Lando Norris is finally a race winner!
After Lando Norris finished on the podium in Australia, he registered an unwanted record of having the most podium finishes without a race win. That run extended from 14 to 15 after Norris grabbed another podium in China.
While Norris may still hold that unwanted record, he is unlikely to care about it anymore as he can finally call himself a race winner! The Briton clearly was relieved after the Miami GP as he told his team on the radio after the race,
“About time! What a race. It’s been a long time coming. Finally I’ve managed to do it“.
With Norris winning the Miami GP, it also meant that Max Verstappen failed to win a race for the first time this season when he crossed the chequered flag. Barring the Australian GP in which he retired from the race, Verstappen has managed to win the other four races of the 2024 season.
Since Norris is only the second driver after his former McLaren teammate Carlos Sainz to break Verstappen’s recent run of victories, this win will mean all the more special for the British driver.
