2024 F1 Round 6, Miami GP: Norris Takes Maiden Win in His 110th Grand Prix, Beating Verstappen by 7.612s After Safety-Car Stop, Leclerc Third

The 2024 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, round six of the season, concluded after 57 laps at the Miami International Autodrome in the early hours of 6 May Beijing time. McLaren’s Lando Norris, starting fifth, claimed his first Grand Prix victory in his 110th appearance, becoming the 114th race winner in F1 history.

The turning point came on lap 28, when Haas driver Kevin Magnussen collided with Williams’s Logan Sargeant, bringing out the safety car. Norris had yet to pit and seized the opportunity to make his only stop, emerging at the head of the field, ahead of the rivals who had already stopped. After the restart, his pace astonished the field. Rather than allowing Max Verstappen to close in, Norris steadily extended his advantage and took the chequered flag with a commanding margin of 7.612 seconds.

“Finally, the day has come!” Norris said, unable to hide his emotion after the race. “It was a great race. I have waited so long for this moment, and finally I can bring a win back to the team. Our pace has been good all weekend, and today the perfect strategy made it all happen. Thank you to everyone at McLaren, and of course to my mum and dad. I have made a lot of mistakes over the past few years and faced plenty of doubts, but I have always believed in this team. Everything today shows that sticking with it was worthwhile.”

Pole-sitter Verstappen struggled with poor balance during his hard-tyre stint. On lap 22, he hit a trackside marker in the Turn 13–14 complex and asked the team over the radio to check for front-wing damage. He had already stopped when the safety car appeared and could only watch Norris make his effectively “free” tyre change before pulling away. “The car simply would not turn. It is the worst feeling,” the Dutchman said afterwards. He finished second, while Charles Leclerc secured third to give the blue-liveried Ferrari a podium finish.

Fourth place changed hands after the race. Carlos Sainz crossed the line fourth and Sergio Pérez fifth, but the stewards judged Sainz predominantly responsible for his collision with Oscar Piastri with 18 laps remaining and added five seconds to his time. Sainz had locked up while attacking on the inside at Turn 17, his right-rear wheel hitting Piastri’s front wing. The damaged upgraded wing forced Piastri to pit for a replacement, leaving him only 13th. Pérez therefore moved up to fourth, Sainz dropped to fifth and Lewis Hamilton was sixth.

RB’s Yuki Tsunoda enjoyed a season-best race. Starting on medium tyres, he combined strong pace with careful tyre management through his opening stint. He took advantage of the safety car to change tyres, emerged ahead of both Mercedes cars and defended seventh. Hamilton later passed him on softer tyres, but the battle between Ferrari and McLaren opened up space for Tsunoda again. He ultimately finished seventh, matching his best result of the season and collecting six points, less than ten seconds behind Hamilton.

George Russell finished eighth. Fernando Alonso climbed from 15th on the grid to ninth, and Esteban Ocon earned Alpine its first point of the season in tenth. Zhou Guanyu finished 14th, Daniel Ricciardo 15th and Lance Stroll 17th. Alexander Albon, the earliest driver to pit, and Magnussen, who received a ten-second penalty, were 18th and 19th respectively. Sargeant did not finish after his accident.

Miami was sunny, with an air temperature of 28°C and a track temperature of 45°C at the start. Most drivers chose the conventional strategy of starting on mediums and making one stop for hard tyres. Hamilton, Alonso, Magnussen and Ricciardo started on hards, while Valtteri Bottas was the only driver to start on softs.