Why Norris finally won in Miami

Lando Norris took his maiden F1 victory at Miami on May 5, 2024. McLaren's first win since 2021. The narrative will say Verstappen lost it. The data says McLaren beat him.

The safety car was lucky, the pace was real The lap 28 safety car after Magnussen and Sargeant tangled was a gift. Norris was in P3 and pitted under it. Verstappen had pitted the lap before, lost track position, and then could not get past Norris on harder tyres.

But the pace mattered more In the post-restart 30 lap stint, Norris's average lap was 1:32.8. Verstappen averaged 1:33.2. Norris pulled away by about 7 seconds across that stint without doing anything special.

What changed at McLaren The MCL38 update package brought to Miami: new floor, new sidepod inlets, refined diffuser. Stella is now describing it as a 0.4-0.5s gain in qualifying trim, more in race trim.

What this means for the championship Verstappen still leads by a comfortable 33 points. But McLaren now have the second-best car (probably the best car in race trim) and Norris has tasted the top step.

Imola in two weeks Is the real test. Imola has tow-sensitive corners that flatter the car-with-most-downforce. If Norris is on the front row, the championship gets interesting.