Lando Norris made a bold promise to swim in front of the McLaren HQ long before winning the Miami GP last Sunday. Now, that the dust has settled on his maiden victory in F1, the McLaren driver may have to fulfill his vow.
In an unearthed video, Norris is seen walking through McLaren Technology Centre’s halls. He takes a glance outside the large windows, and sees the huge artificial lake, adjoining the campus. The man filming this video asks Norris if he would ever consider swimming there, to which Norris says no without hesitation.
However, upon learning that Lewis Hamilton too, took a dip in the pool during his McLaren days, Norris changed his answer. The 24-year-old said,
“I guess when I get my first win, then.”
We believe someone has a promise to keep @McLarenF1@LandoNorris pic.twitter.com/jptlP97kQm
— McLaren News | (@McLarenF1_News) May 5, 2024
It took 110 attempts, but Norris is finally a race winner. He won the 2024 Miami GP, finishing 7.6 seconds ahead of second-placed Max Verstappen. After a timely safety car that allowed him to pit and retain the lead of the race, the Briton did not look back and cruised to the chequered flag.
Labeled as one of F1’s most talented drivers today, Norris’ win was a long time coming and he may now have to jump into the lake in front of his team’s base.
The man who jumped into the pool before, Lewis Hamilton, was one of the first to congratulate Norris after his incredible victory in Florida last weekend.
Lewis Hamilton delighted with Lando Norris and McLaren
Hamilton, a former McLaren driver, admitted that he was happy to see the Woking-based outfit on top again. The last race they won was back in 2021, and Norris brought that wait to an end.
After the race, Hamilton told the media that he urged Norris not to fly out of Miami on Sunday evening like he was initially scheduled to. “I honestly feel so happy for Lando. I just told him, he needs to stay tonight,” said Hamilton.
Party time
There’s a flight back from Miami tonight that now has a lot of empty seats #F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/bxco2jGN29
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 6, 2024
Thankfully for Norris and McLaren, the team’s CEO Zak Brown had good news for them. He told Norris during the latter’s interview that the whole team would stay back in Miami to partake in celebrations.
Norris made the best use of McLaren’s upgrades at the Miami GP. With Ferrari too, ready to bring changes to the next race in Imola, the battle for P2 (potentially P1), could turn out to be more exciting than witnessed in recent years.
