MIAMI GRAND PRIX: Plaudits pour in for Lando Norris following maiden GP win
May 6, 2024
McLaren driver Lando Norris has been widely praised for his winning drive on the Miami Grand Prix as he claimed his maiden Grand Prix win on Sunday.
Norris, a popular figure on the circuit drew praise from all sides, with ‘well deserved’ being the key theme that ran through everyone’s messages.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the race Norris’ father, Adam, game some insights into how his son has been building to this moment for more than a decade: “It’s probably about 900 races I’ve been to over the last 16 years, it’s been a long time, but we got there.
“As a parent how many hours you put in supporting them, and I counted about 350 weekends away, and all the races on the different weekends, it’s a lot of time but it’s brilliant, I love it, I’m so happy for him.
“He’s got one more thing now hasn’t he, world champion next.”
McLaren CEO Zak Brown added his praises saying: “This is long overdue, and this is a very popular win amongst the fans and with the drivers, and the amount of drivers who went up to him and congratulated him, he drove perfectly, the car was really fast.”
These thoughts were echoed by McLaren team principal Andrea Stella who told Sky Sports: “The victory for Lando, he deserved it so much and we always said as soon as we give him the right material he’s going to make it, and he made it.
“I know what kind of work is behind it, it’s so deserved for the McLaren team, I hope everyone enjoys this moment.”
There were plenty of other post-match soundbites and much joy in the paddock as Max Verstappen was finally beaten. The Dutchman still has a comfortable lead in the drivers’ championship with 136 points from Sergio Perez (101) in second and Leclerc (98) in third. Norris is in fifth with 83 points.
What they said post-race:
Charles Leclerc: “I’m really happy for Lando, he deserves it. Very often he has been very close for it one way of another, and he didn’t make it, but today he did an incredible job and for the whole weekend he has been on it.”
Max Verstappen: “You win, you lose. We’re all used to that in racing. Today was already quite tricky. The medium tyres didn’t feel fantastic. Once we made a pitstop, I heard the lap times the McLarens were doing and thought ‘wow, they’re quick’.
“The hard tyres had more pace. Lando was flying. It was incredibly hard for us in that stint. If a bad day is P2, I’ll take it.
“I’m very happy for Lando, it’s been a long time coming and it’s not gonna be his last one. He definitely deserves it today.”
Lando Norris: “What do I say to them huh? I’m just proud really, I mean a lot of people doubted me along the way, I’ve made a lot of mistakes over the last five years, my short career but today we put it altogether, so this is all for the team. I stuck with McLaren because I believed in them and today proved exactly that.”
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MIAMI GRAND PRIX: Plaudits pour in for Lando Norris following maiden GP win
McLaren driver Lando Norris has been widely praised for his winning drive on the Miami Grand Prix as he claimed his maiden Grand Prix win on Sunday.
Norris, a popular figure on the circuit drew praise from all sides, with ‘well deserved’ being the key theme that ran through everyone’s messages.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the race Norris’ father, Adam, game some insights into how his son has been building to this moment for more than a decade: “It’s probably about 900 races I’ve been to over the last 16 years, it’s been a long time, but we got there.
“As a parent how many hours you put in supporting them, and I counted about 350 weekends away, and all the races on the different weekends, it’s a lot of time but it’s brilliant, I love it, I’m so happy for him.
“He’s got one more thing now hasn’t he, world champion next.”
McLaren CEO Zak Brown added his praises saying: “This is long overdue, and this is a very popular win amongst the fans and with the drivers, and the amount of drivers who went up to him and congratulated him, he drove perfectly, the car was really fast.”
These thoughts were echoed by McLaren team principal Andrea Stella who told Sky Sports: “The victory for Lando, he deserved it so much and we always said as soon as we give him the right material he’s going to make it, and he made it.
“I know what kind of work is behind it, it’s so deserved for the McLaren team, I hope everyone enjoys this moment.”
There were plenty of other post-match soundbites and much joy in the paddock as Max Verstappen was finally beaten. The Dutchman still has a comfortable lead in the drivers’ championship with 136 points from Sergio Perez (101) in second and Leclerc (98) in third. Norris is in fifth with 83 points.
What they said post-race:
Charles Leclerc: “I’m really happy for Lando, he deserves it. Very often he has been very close for it one way of another, and he didn’t make it, but today he did an incredible job and for the whole weekend he has been on it.”
Max Verstappen: “You win, you lose. We’re all used to that in racing. Today was already quite tricky. The medium tyres didn’t feel fantastic. Once we made a pitstop, I heard the lap times the McLarens were doing and thought ‘wow, they’re quick’.
“The hard tyres had more pace. Lando was flying. It was incredibly hard for us in that stint. If a bad day is P2, I’ll take it.
“I’m very happy for Lando, it’s been a long time coming and it’s not gonna be his last one. He definitely deserves it today.”
Lando Norris: “What do I say to them huh? I’m just proud really, I mean a lot of people doubted me along the way, I’ve made a lot of mistakes over the last five years, my short career but today we put it altogether, so this is all for the team. I stuck with McLaren because I believed in them and today proved exactly that.”