Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc were followed by Lando Norris.
Ex-Formula 1 driver turned pundit Martin Brundle analysed what he saw as a botched restart for Lando Norris that could have derailed his drive to a first F1 victory at the Miami Grand Prix.
Norris, driving the extensively upgraded McLaren MCL38 in Miami, witnessed his teammate Oscar Piastri’s impressive performance with the partially upgraded challenger. Piastri secured the P2 position during the initial phase of the race, exerting pressure on Max Verstappen, the race leader from Red Bull.
Martin Brundle picks out ‘only’ Lando Norris Miami GP error
Nonetheless, Norris strategically extended his initial stint, which proved to be advantageous when the Safety Car was deployed following the collision between Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant. This fortunate turn of events enabled Norris to make a pit stop and rejoin the race still holding onto the lead position.
After the restart, he managed to distance himself from Verstappen and achieved his first victory in F1. Verstappen’s only opportunity to pass him occurred during that restart, where Brundle suggests that Norris had two choices to make a successful move, but he opted for a compromise somewhere in between. Luckily, this decision did not have any significant consequences for him.
Writing in his Sky Sports column, Brundle claimed: “Once the Safety Car eventually picked up the new leader, Lando’s only mistake on the day was on the restart.
“He had two options: either take off from the apex of the almost concluding Turn 17, or proceed cautiously towards the finish line and then accelerate from there, considering the limited distance to the initial braking area.”
“Choosing a middle ground, he made his move while Verstappen was pushing him forward, resulting in a nail-biting race to determine who would take the lead after the first corner.”
Norris demonstrated exceptional late braking, skillfully kept the car on track, and proceeded to exhibit a remarkable display of confidence, securing a victory with a staggering lead of 7.6 seconds by the completion of lap 57. The team believes they possessed sufficient race pace to emerge victorious even without the intervention of the Safety Car, although we can only speculate about the outcome.
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Max had a disappointing day, but still managed to secure second place, so it wasn’t a complete surprise. Despite missing the only practice session of the weekend and having a clumsy early spin, Charles Leclerc showed great resilience and ended up on the podium in third place for the blue highlighted scarlet Ferrari.
Piastri is anticipated to be equipped with the complete McLaren upgrades for the forthcoming Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. This race is highly anticipated as all attention will be directed towards McLaren, to witness if they can once again challenge Red Bull.
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