MIAMI — Celebrations in the McLaren paddock at Hard Rock Stadium lasted until late into the night and included Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur.
There’s a good reason for that.
Sunday was the kind of day you dream of getting into a race car for the first time for Lando Norris. The McLaren driver overcame years of crisis and heartbreak to claim his first F1 win.
“It was an unbelievable feeling,” Norris said trackside after the win.
“I mean, there’s a good crowd too. The whole team is there. Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t know what to say to be honest, but just lots of smiles and lots of cheers. Today Days like this require a lot of hard work.” Norris added.
“But just being happy and just smiling, that’s not always the case. But yeah, I sometimes have dreams about these days, but you never know when they’ll come to you.” yeah.
“But today was that day.
“So, my mind was going crazy and I was thinking about a lot of things, but I was also just quiet. I was a little lonely at times, but I think about what I’ve done to get to that point. That’s a very good thing.”
The scene in McLaren’s paddock was telling.
As mentioned above, Vasseur also joined in on the fun and was just a short walk from the Ferrari paddock after speaking to the media. SB Nationto help McLaren celebrate Norris’ first F1 win:
For Norris, the win, long elusive, was met with praise across the paddock. But this Sunday, he was the ultimate winner in motorsport’s ultimate test.
Here are more winners and losers from the Miami Grand Prix.
Winner: Yuki Tsunoda
McLaren’s celebrations continued into the night at Hard Rock Stadium, but there was a similar reason to celebrate on the other side of the paddock. Visa Cash App RB For the F1 team, the entire organization could take solace in a strong weekend from start to finish.
First, Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda scored points in the F1 sprint race. Tsunoda took the final points position in 8th place, but it was Ricciardo who made an incredible drive. In his mind, the Australian driver and fan favorite had calmed some critics by jumping onto the second row in qualifying and matching that with a fourth-place finish.
“Obviously it’s very nice to be on the front line. But then it feels like we’re just holding back on what we know to be a faster car… Yeah, it’s a statement and That’s great,” Ricciardo told the media, including the media on Saturday. SB Nation. “I’m glad that dog is inside me.
“Many people like to talk trash, so it’s a good idea to subtly give them a few middle fingers.”
On Sunday, it was Tsunoda’s turn to claim glory. Ricciardo struggled in qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix, and was forced to start from the back of the pack due to the three-place grid penalty handed down at the Chinese Grand Prix. Therefore, for VCARB to get points, they need to get them from Tsunoda.
He did well, moving his RB01 to 7th place internally and steadily gaining more points.
“I’m very happy. Great job by the team!” It’s been a great week with points in both races. We had some expectations that we would perform well here, and the most important thing is that we achieved it,” Tsunoda said in the team debriefing after the race. “As a team, we stuck to our plan and didn’t make any mistakes today. For me, although I made a mistake at the start, overall I’m happy with my driving. I reset myself and didn’t make any mistakes today. However, I was able to drive by myself, especially in the last stint, and was able to achieve the same lap time as the car in front of me.
“I am very grateful to the team as they have developed a great car. The amount of push from the factory was unbelievable and in the end we were able to get the points we deserved. Now that we’ve developed it, I’m looking forward to the future. The next race in Imola is like another home race for me, so we’ll try to keep our rhythm and enjoy the home crowd, especially the factory people. We hope to achieve good results up front. Everyone is doing a great job and we will definitely keep pushing!”
VCARB added 12 points over the weekend in Miami, giving the team 19 points for the season and leaving Florida firmly in sixth place in the constructors’ championship.
There’s a long way to go, but the team can certainly be happy with the week in Miami.
Photo credit: Kym Illman/Getty Images
Loser: Haas
Meanwhile, Haas may be wondering what’s next after his week in Miami.
Nico Hulkenberg took home two points in the F1 sprint race, and teammate Kevin Magnussen acted more like an NFL left tackle than an F1 driver, holding off Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages. started off on a good note. Hulkenberg took laps to maintain his position. It wasn’t Magnussen’s first time competing in a team race this year, but the number of penalties he received, combined with his three Superlicence penalty points, made it a costly Saturday for the Haas driver.
Sunday was an even tougher day.
Hulkenberg had a strong qualifying session, finishing ninth on the grid and starting in the points. However, in the closing stages of the Miami Grand Prix, he was on the outside and was unable to catch Esteban Ocon within the final points.
Further back, Magnussen collided with Logan Sargent on lap 27, and the driver was called to meet with race officials regarding the incident. He was given a further 10 second penalty and had two more points added to his superlicence.
Magnussen currently has 10 points on his superlicense and is just two points away from a one-race ban. He was given a total penalty of over one minute and five penalty points over the weekend.
Are things getting complicated? The penalty points on Magnussen’s initial license will be in March 2025, but the penalty points will continue for an entire calendar year. He picked up three penalty points at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which will be his oldest points on his superlicence.
That means Magnussen will have to stay clean for nearly a calendar year.
Winner: Alpine
Finally, Alpine had reason to celebrate on the F1 side.
They already had reason to celebrate this year, thanks to a great start to the season for F1 academy product Abi Pring, who won the season-opening weekend and followed that up with two wins in Miami.
But on Sunday it was the F1 team’s turn and Esteban Ocon made a breakthrough with a 10th place finish, giving the team their first points of the season and their hard-earned points.
“Today, maybe 10 more laps, Nico would have been close to fighting us again,” Ocon told the media, including the media. SB Nation, after the Miami Grand Prix. “I had to fight my way through that race. It was insane how many moves I had to make.”
Alpine has a long way to go to develop the A524, but the consistent message from the team throughout the week in Miami was that they are on the right track.
Sunday proved that.
Loser: Williams
After the Miami Grand Prix, Alexander Albon described the race in a media report as “one of the most challenging races I have experienced with the team”.
There’s a good reason for that.
Albon and teammate Logan Sargent finished last of the field on Sunday. Sargent’s day ended early when he made contact with Magnussen on lap 27, while Albon, like many drivers, struggled to find the right level of grip in the Miami heat.
“We struggled with grip all weekend and then tried some long runs on the track.” [tires] It didn’t work out,” Albon added.
“It was very disappointing how my home grand prix ended. It was a decent race until the incident happened,” Sargent said after the Miami Grand Prix. “As far as I can tell, both Alex and I were off a little bit of pace today, but we still kept fighting.”
However, Sargent insisted it was still a positive weekend on the garage side. including dialogue with the media, SB NationAfter Saturday’s qualifying, Sargent declared the weekend in Miami to be the most “comfortable” he had been all season. “And, I mean, jumping into FP1 this weekend is the most comfortable I’ve felt all year and I feel like I just got into it,” Sargent said. “And if you look at Australia and beyond, we can get almost everything from Japan and it feels like we’re doing relatively well.”
Despite the disappointing early finish to his home race, Sargent remained upbeat.
“Nonetheless, it was a positive weekend from the moment I got into the car in FP1,” Sargent declared in the team’s media report. “I was able to get almost everything out. There are still a few things to improve on, but overall I feel like I didn’t have much left this weekend. I feel good and ready to head into the European races. it’s finished.”
Although the driver is feeling positive, there is still work to be done at Williams.
some parting thoughts
Finally, a quick farewell message before boarding the plane home.
This week has been an incredible week.
It was a week that could only have been possible thanks to everyone.
When I stepped into the world of F1, I had no idea what to expect. However, at this point I had no idea that I would be covering the race there. Still, I was able to work there all weekend in the paddock and talk to some of the most talented people in the world about their work.
Of course, it’s not just the drivers, it’s also the team principal, the people in the garage and all the team members regardless of their role. Running an F1 team is a big undertaking and the men and women who do the job are incredibly talented.
And there are other journalists in this industry who inspire me every day. There are too many to mention and it would be scary to leave anyone out, but it was an eye-opener to see a truly international group of legends in motorsport journalism doing what they do best.
Organizing an event like this is also a tough job. I was lucky enough to speak with Tom Garfinkel on Sunday morning before the race. He is the vice chairman, president and CEO of the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium, and his partner in managing the Miami Grand Prix, and is very knowledgeable about what it takes to host an event like this and what goes on behind the scenes. He briefed me about the job. season. The men and women who make that effort are truly world class.
I’ll talk more about my discussion with Garfinkel later this week after I go to bed.
But let me say it again, dear reader. This week is made possible because of all the things you have done to read your stories, share your stories, and support me on this journey. I can’t thank you enough.
But the best I can do is keep working. I’ll be right back after a little rest.
see you soon.
