MIAMI GARDENS, Florida.- Lando Norris He said the taunts on social media never really irritated him during his first five seasons in which victory eluded him in the Formula Oneeven after he became one of the sport’s rising stars due to the phenomenon of a Netflix series (Drive To Survive).
It was a long wait, when the McLaren team assembled its program and worked on cars capable of competing with Red Bull, Ferrari y Mercedes. Norris, 24, spent his time on social media, searching motivation among his detractors.
His moment came on Sunday when in his 110th race he obtained his first victory by beating Max Verstappen, the reigning three-time F1 champion, at the Miami Grand Prix. Verstappen won the first two races in Miami and the sprint on Saturday, before hitting a cone early on Sunday, opening the door for Norris.
“I never thought about what I could do, so I’m glad to get it over with and prove a lot of these people wrong,” Norris said. “I go on Instagram and I like all the comments from people who rant at me. It’s something that fascinates me. It makes me smile more than anything, especially the “Lando No-Wins” (Lando Doesn’t Win). “That’s what it all boils down to.”
“For me, to finally be able to prove those people wrong and prove those people who didn’t think I could do it, it brings a bigger smile to my face. My total gratitude to everyone”, he added, with a very British touch of irony.
Norris appeared at the post-race press conference with his uniform soaked in champagne. Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton began the congratulatory hugs for the brand new winner. Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, third in the race, splashed champagne on Norris’s face on the podium.
He closed his eyes and raised his smiling face towards the sky as he heard “God save the king”, and cuddled the winning trophy as if it were a baby, the AP agency quotes. He was carried by his McLaren teammates and when he saw the boss approaching Zack BrownHe warned “Don’t break my ribs.”in anticipation of the big hug.
“I’m shaking really hard, because I wanted to keep all the champagne on me,” Norris said, laughing… “And now I’m super cold.”
“I’m very happy to have been beaten by Lando today,” Verstappen said. “He definitely deserved it. In the end he was a few kilometers faster. It’s great, winning your first race is always very emotional. Brings you back to all the days you worked for Formula Oneand then you dream of being on the podium and then climbing to the highest step,” added the Dutchman.
Norris had 24 laps to maintain his lead, which he did with absolute control, putting in a series of fast laps to comfortably overtake Verstappen near the flag and take a memorable victory. He paid tribute to the support he had received from his mother and father and explained why he had dedicated the victory to his grandmother.
“My parents have been very supportive, they are the ones who have been with me from the beginning,” Norris said. “They allowed everything to happen. They are the ones who took me to the races, supported me and allowed me to reach Formula One, achieve my dream and doing what I loved since I was a child,” he commented. “And to my grandmother, because she hasn’t been feeling very well lately. I saw her last week and I told him I was going to win a race. I didn’t say when, I just said I was going to win a race. I didn’t think it would come so soon, so I’m very happy that I was able to do it as quickly as I did,” she warned.
“It’s a great celebration. It is interesting to know, As a parent, how many hours do you spend supporting him?, I counted 350 weekends and all races on different weekends. “He’s brilliant, I’m very happy for him,” he told her. Adam Norris to Sky Sports. “I was calculating that I probably attended about 900 races in the last 16 years“added the father, who is a mechanical engineer, but built a fortune as a pension administration advisor.
It is doubtful there has been a more popular winner of a Formula One race in recent years than Norris, who since Sunday was celebrated by everyone from Max Verstappen to Donald Trump after his victory in the Miami Grand Prix.
It was a long-awaited triumph, especially as he held the record for most podium finishes without a win (15), including eight agonizing second places. Even Verstappen, the three-time Red Bull world champion who hates losing and who was denied by the McLaren driver a hat-trick of victories in Miamiwas one of the first to congratulate Norris.
The former American president Donald Trumpwho visited the McLaren garage before the race, was delighted to back the winner and later told Norris that it was your lucky charm. “She saw me later and came to congratulate me. He (Trump) said it was my lucky charm for my victory, but I don’t know if he will come to more races,” Norris said.
Anthony Hamilton, another father instrumental in the success of his son, seven-time world champion Lewis, also sent a text message to Norris congratulating him. Although Norris had long needed a first victory, his wait was not the longest.
The world champions Jenson Button y Nico Rosberg they needed 113 and 111 runs, respectively, before their first victory. Sergio Perezfrom Red Bull, has the record of 190 races before his visit to the top of the podium, it took Carlos Sainz, from Ferrari, 150, and Mark Webber, 130.
Norris was still finalizing plans on how he was going to celebrate his victory, but he is already thinking about a second. “This only happens once.” when you get your first victory. “Tonight will be a good night,” Norris had promised, confirming that team boss Zak Brown had delayed the flight home until a day later, so there could be a proper celebration.