Norris: Knew my time would come

Across five years, 109 races at McLaren and some close calls, some thought it may not arrive, but Lando Norris never lost faith and finally stood on the top step in Miami.

Despite starting sixth and Aussie McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri initially being Max Verstappen’s biggest threat, it was Norris, who made the most of the fully upgraded MCL3 and a well-timed Safety Car to gloriously drive to a famous first Formula 1 win.

There was not a single person who was not happy to see the young, bubbly and quick Brit get the win he craved and his celebrations were some of the most joyous in recent memory.

This is due in part to his personality, popularity, speed and fighting spirit behind the wheel.

When Norris arrived at McLaren in 2019, it was a team just starting to emerge from the dark days with Honda and he had grown with the team to become a force.

However, as Norris crept closer to the long waits for maiden wins endured by Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button, some wondered if he would go all the way.

In 2021 he finished second best to Daniel Ricciardo at Monza and then one race later he was leading in the closing stages at Sochi, only to slip off on slicks on a wet track. Last year alone he finished second on six occasions.

Some suggested he needed to leave McLaren, but he has stuck with the famous Woking team and that persistence was rewarded on one special afternoon racing around Hard Rock Stadium.

But even when the #4 emerged in the lead, it seemed too tough of a task to keep Verstappen at bay for the final 25 laps.

However, Norris had no dramas and blazed to a 7.6s win as the 24-year-old knew one day time would come.

“To get that first victory is always incredible,” he said.

“Of course I have had moments where we’ve been close, and I’ve never been able to convert it into a win, but I wasn’t worried.

“As much as a lot of people doubted that I was going to be able to put it together and win a race, I’ve kind of been more confident than ever this year that I’ve got what it takes and the team have got what it takes.

“I was patient with it. I’ve just been doing my job and executing my races, executing my qualis, and doing what I can do best.

“I knew my time was coming. I said it this morning it’s not often that I’m optimistic about things, but actually, all weekend, there’s been something.

“I mean, a lot of people, I guess, doubted me along the way. 

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes over my last five years, my short career, but today we put it all together, so this is all for the team. 

“I stuck with McLaren because I could believe in them, and I did believe in them, and today proved exactly that.”

Norris continued stating that whilst ‘a lot of people talk crap about Sochi’ there are other close calls that stood out more such as Qatar 2023 and most recently at China.

“There was one opportunity at Qatar last year,” he said.

“To win the main race was maybe a bit more of an ask against Max, but the Sprint race was the loss.

“There’s a couple of times when I’ve been blocked by those opportunities. One was Singapore last year, and Carlos took it and another one was Australia this year, where the two Ferraris were ahead. 

“A lot of people talk crap about Sochi and the things which went on. Yes, I potentially lost out on a victory. I never want to drag the team down but I didn’t do the best of jobs and as a team we didn’t.

“Even after China last weekend when I made a mistake in Turn 1 on Lewis (Hamilton) a lot of people doubted that I could go out and win races and perform under the pressure of leading the race, especially with Max behind you and those types of things.

“But really this year I felt more confident than ever and wasn’t thinking of these things.”

With McLaren beating Red Bull on genuine pace in Miami, there is a renewed sense of excitement as the European season dawns at Imola.

Photo by Steven Tee / LAT Images

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