Verstappen had no answer for Norris as McLaren star wins first Grand Prix

Max Verstappen was beaten on track for the first time since the Singapore Grand Prix last year as Lando Norris picked up his first F1 victory in Miami.

The popular McLaren ace capitalised by staying out longer on his first set of tyres, pouncing on a safety car period to change and emerge in front of Verstappen, who had until that stage led comfortably.

From there, Norris pulled away from the Red Bull Racing man, with the world championship leader having no answer for the McLaren, while keeping Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at bay behind him.

It could have been disaster for Red Bull at the first corner though, when Sergio Perez misjudged his braking point and nearly speared into the back of his team-mate. Perez was only able to claim fifth place by the chequered flag after the lucky escape.

The weekend got off to a flyer for the team from Tilbrook though. While reeling from the announcement that chief technical officer Adrian Newey would be leaving the team in early 2025, Verstappen was the class of the field in the Sprint race, cruising to victory ahead of Leclerc and Perez.

But come the Grand Prix, Verstappen was pleased to see his friend Norris claim his first career victory, even though it was only the second time in the last 24 races he has been bettered on track.

“I am happy for Lando,” he said. “Your first win is always emotional and he drove a great race: it was a long time coming and he deserved it today.

“It wasn’t our best weekend and it really shows that everything needs to work well to win races and it is not as easy as people might think.

“We also struggled with the tyres and balance of the car all weekend and I never felt too comfortable in the car. In the high speed I was understeering and we also struggled a lot with the grip with the tyres.”

Perez, who held off a spirited Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes to claim fifth spot, added: “Overall it was quite a tricky race, especially at the start when I went down the inside and ended up narrowly avoiding Max.

“There was no grip at all, which we hadn’t expected and I ended up losing a place to Piastri and damaged my tyres for the first stint. Basically, everything was running a little too hot and I was struggling to get through the people ahead as we lacked pace today.”