Lando Norris took his first-ever Formula 1 victory in Miami last weekend. And yet, he’ll still feel as if he could have driven better.
Norris had threatened to take pole position for the sprint race in Friday afternoon’s qualifying session after pacing the field in SQ2. However, he couldn’t switch his tyres on when it mattered and lost nearly a second as he ended up ninth, with teammate Oscar Piastri sixth.
Any hope of gaining ground in the race itself was dashed when he was taken out at the first corner, through no fault of his own. McLaren CEO Zak Brown criticised Lewis Hamilton for an ‘overly aggressive’ move that sparked a chain reaction involving Norris and the two Aston Martins.
The 24-year-old then put his car fifth on the grid for the main race on Sunday, but it felt as if he still hadn’t shown his true potential. Norris was finally able to unleash the heavily-upgraded MCL-38 over the course of the 57 laps, lapping at a truly formidable pace.
He needed a dose of luck to win as a safety car allowed him to make a ‘free’ pit stop and retain the lead. But he left Max Verstappen behind following the restart.
The championship leader initially threatened to regain the lead, but Norris held on before checking out. He admitted after the race that he could have handled the transition to green-flag running a little better.
Martin Brundle says Lando Norris was as popular a winner as Ayrton Senna
It may seem strange to say it, then, but this wasn’t actually Norris’ finest performance. And yet still, there was something about it that reminded Martin Brundle of Ayrton Senna, his teammate in the junior categories.
The late Senna is one of the greatest drivers in F1 history, having won three world championships between 1988 and 1991. He took 41 victories and 65 pole positions during his career.
Brundle, writing in his column for Sky Sports F1, says that Norris’ victory was received just as warmly as Senna’s triumph in Sao Paulo in 1991. That was the first time he’d ever won on home soil.
Norris was a long way from England in this instance, but his triumph still appeared to delight fans. Even fellow drivers like Lewis Hamilton made sure to quickly congratulate him.
“I’ve rarely witnessed a universally popular victory in Formula 1 over the decades such as we experienced with Lando Norris in Miami,” Brundle said.
“Ayrton Senna winning the 1991 Brazilian GP is right up there along with Nigel Mansell winning at Silverstone in 1992. Others would be Ferrari victories at Monza, but of course they were all home glories.”
Lando Norris sends message to Formula 1 rivals after first win
Writing on his Instagram story on Wednesday, Norris warned his competitors that he was ‘just getting started’ after breaking his duck. His confidence levels may now go up a notch.
While a championship challenge remains highly unlikely, he will at least be confident of challenging for more victories before the year is out. McLaren took a big step forward in race pace with their Miami upgrades, and further developments are no doubt in the pipeline.
In the long term, he’ll aim to be winning multiple world championships. ‘Everyone in the paddock’ regards him as one of the sport’s elite drivers, so that’s a realistic target.
Norris signed a long-term extension with McLaren over the winter, and some may have felt this was premature, particularly after Hamilton sent shockwaves through the market after joining Ferrari. But his team’s current trajectory is hugely encouraging.
Barring an unlikely move to Red Bull, it’s hard to see how Norris could make a clear step forward on the F1 grid. This looks very much like the best car McLaren have delivered since the Briton made his debut in 2019.
The post ‘I’ve rarely witnessed’: Martin Brundle says Lando Norris reminded him of Ayrton Senna in one way at Miami GP appeared first on F1 Oversteer.