Lando Norris broke his longstanding winless run in Formula 1 at the Miami Grand Prix earlier this year. It was a surreal moment for him as he had faced immense criticism until then for his failure to win a race. Now, the 24-year-old has explained the moment he knew he could win the Miami GP.
He said, “I went across the line, the safety car came out and the safety car came out behind me. And that was it. As soon as I got out ahead of the safety car, I was like, oh God, this is it. This is my time.”
lando talking about the miami win: i was trying to just enjoy the moment, because that only happens once and i started racing when i was six or seven. so it was 16 years of wow that’s my dream and goal, is to be up there on the podium. pic.twitter.com/fS7u7bCUIa
— ray (@ln4norris) August 7, 2024
However, even during the Miami GP, Norris admitted he had made a mistake as he botched the restart. Despite the same, he managed to keep Max Verstappen behind him.
The race became a turning point for McLaren because it proved they had a competitive car. And ever since that Grand Prix, the team has proven to be a thorn in Red Bull and Verstappen’s side as they have managed to be in the hunt for the win in most of the races.
Norris and Co are aiming for the championship
Norris’ win in Miami gave McLaren a huge boost. This victory confirmed that the team’s hard work back in Woking was paying off.
In fact, the MCL38 is arguably the fastest car on the track at the moment and McLaren’s pace advantage over Red Bull has also helped them close down the gap in the Constructors’ Championship. As things stand, Red Bull only has a 42-point advantage over McLaren.
What is more important for McLaren is that both Norris and Oscar Piastri are performing exceptionally well at the moment. That’s not the case at Red Bull as Sergio Perez is struggling massively.
If Perez continues to struggle, McLaren has a fantastic chance of winning the Constructors’ Championship as long as they continue their current momentum in the remaining 10 races.
However, when it comes to the Drivers’ Championship, Verstappen seems to have a healthy 78-point lead over Norris at the moment that could prove to be too difficult to close by the end of the campaign.
