Max Verstappen lost out on a race win for only the second time in 2024, as Lando Norris’ long wait for a Grand Prix victory ended in Miami. Instead of being salty about finishing P2 behind the McLaren driver, Verstappen hails him as his successor in the years to come.
Speaking to the Dutch media (as sourced on X), Verstappen revealed that he wants Norris to compete for regular race wins moving forward.
“If someone has to beat me, it can be Lando [Norris].”
McLaren executed a perfect strategy in Miami, which was also aided by Verstappen’s misfortune. The Dutch driver entered the pits after damaging his front wing on a cone, just moments before a Safety Car came out.
The latter provided Norris with a virtually free pit-stop which also allowed him to stay ahead of Verstappen. Norris kept his cool and didn’t make any mistakes for the remainder of the race, grabbing his first-ever F1 win in the process.
“if someone has to beat me, it can be lando.”
max to viaplay pic.twitter.com/rTYQeumTF6
— nini (@SCUDERIAFEMBOY) May 5, 2024
While Verstappen was very happy for Norris and even showed his admiration for the McLaren driver on social media, his own performance did not leave him smiling.
Battling balance issues for the majority of the race, Verstappen finished in P2, 7.6 seconds behind the race winner. He conceded that it wasn’t the best of days for him or Red Bull.
A troublesome race in Miami for Max Verstappen
After the race, Verstappen revealed that he had floor damage to his RB20. He hit a cone and carried it after his incident on the turn 14/15 chicane, and this affected his pace a lot.
Verstappen: […] in which could have been picked up from hitting the cone. We also struggled with the tyres and balance of the car all weekend and I never felt too comfortable in the car.
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) May 6, 2024
Verstappen was unaware of the floor damage until his team found it out after the race. However, he did know about the problem with his front wing.
Overall, the RB20 lacked pace compared to Norris’ car, and issues with tire grip (which affected his pace all weekend), led to understeer making him uncomfortable on the track.
Regardless, Verstappen doesn’t take anything away from Norris’ win. He brought the spotlight back on the 24-year-old, insisting that he deserved to win the race.
