Lewis Hamilton will still remember his first Formula 1 victory in 2007 at the Canadian Grand Prix; now McLaren driver Lando Norris has finally experienced the same feeling at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix.
A well-timed safety car handed Lando Norris the lead halfway through the race, but he showed he had the pace to earn his maiden victory by driving away from Max Verstappen after the restart.
Speaking after the race to Sky Sports F1, Lewis Hamilton shared what he told Norris after the Grand Prix about enjoying his first trip to the top step of the podium.
Lewis Hamilton shares Lando Norris message after Miami Grand Prix
The Miami Grand Prix appeared to have the potential to be another race of what could have been for Lando Norris.
He looked supremely fast on the medium tyres in Sprint qualifying, but the switch to the softs for SQ3 didn’t suit him and he started further back than he would have liked.
Despite doing everything possible on the outside of the first corner to avoid any trouble, a three-way collision between Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll and Lewis Hamilton ended up taking him out of the race.
He didn’t hook up his quickest lap in qualifying for the main race either, starting 5 after splitting his strategy in Q3.
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And it was his teammate Oscar Piastri who benefitted most from an extraordinary lunge from Sergio Perez that somehow didn’t end any of his rival’s races.
However, Norris was extremely quick and McLaren gambled that something was going to happen that changed the course of the race.
And it was their former driver Kevin Magnussen that they had to thank for that, as his collision with Logan Sargeant brought out a perfectly timed safety car.
Lewis Hamilton and his colleagues on the Miami grid then watched on as Norris drove off into the distance after the race restarted and looked as cool as anyone for the final 20 laps despite the pressure that would have been mounting inside his cockpit.
There were jubilant scenes in the crowd and the paddock when the 24-year-old stepped out of the car on the main straight and celebrated with those dressed in papaya.
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Lando Norris finally ends long wait for first F1 victory
Speaking after the Miami Grand Prix about his own performance, Hamilton went on a tangent and said about Norris: “Honestly, I feel really happy for Lando [Norris].
“Yeah, I just told him he needs to stay tonight!”
Sky Sports journalist Natalie Pinkham asked: “Has he changed his flight? You can fly him home!”
Hamilton replied: “He’s going to try and change his flight, he’s got to, he’s just won a race!
“But, such a special moment to win your first Grand Prix and obviously I started at McLaren so I’m really happy to see them back at the top, it’s been a long time.”
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Lando Norris admitted in his post-race press conference that he was unlikely to be going to sleep on Sunday night and wouldn’t be surprised if he added to the cut on his nose that he was sporting before the race.
Norris has always been a driver with the potential to win races but has never had the McLaren car to do so.
He’s come close on several occasions and in any other era where there wasn’t an extremely dominant Red Bull on the grid he would probably have already broken that duck.
However, after 110 races, Lando Norris can finally join Hamilton and 11 of his colleagues on the grid by saying he’s a Grand Prix winner.
His close friend and championship leader Max Verstappen echoed Hamilton’s thoughts after the race.
The post ‘I just told him’: Lewis Hamilton shares what he said to Lando Norris after maiden F1 win at the Miami GP appeared first on F1 Oversteer.