Lando Norris will never forget the 2024 Miami Grand Prix but admits he can still improve on his performance despite finally ending his wait for a win.
The 24-year-old McLaren driver benefitted from a timely safety car, but when the opportunity arose to lead the race he drove off into the distance ahead of Max Verstappen.
Speaking to Martin Brundle on Sky Sports F1, Norris shared his thoughts on how his race went.
Lando Norris shares the one thing he can improve after Miami Grand Prix win
It was a weekend that looked like it could be full of promise for Lando Norris without delivering.
He was the fastest driver in Sprint qualifying, but couldn’t deliver on that potential on the soft tyres in SQ3.
Not that it mattered, as he was taken out of the race despite doing his best to avoid a collision heading into turn one.
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A solid qualifying session for the main Grand Prix saw him line up alongside Oscar Piastri, but the impressive Australian was in the right place at the right time when Sergio Perez dived down the inside forcing several drivers to take avoiding action.
Norris’s luck finally started to change when the safety car came out but that shouldn’t take anything away from how quick he was during the first stint.
The upgraded McLaren looked fast and while Verstappen couldn’t pull away from Piastri in a semi-upgraded car, Norris opened up a considerable gap on the three-time world champion after the safety car.
Verstappen was pleased for Norris after the race, while Lewis Hamilton also offered him some advice on how to celebrate.
Norris will be over the moon with how the race went in Miami but admitted there’s still something he needs to improve on moving forward.
The 24-year-old has been self-deprecating throughout his 110 Grand Prix in Formula 1.
It might be time for him to vocalise the inner belief he clearly has in his ability.
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Almost the perfect first win for Lando Norris in Formula 1
Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle was talking through the race with Norris and said: “The restart was a bit touch-and-go wasn’t it?”
Norris replied: “I know, I didn’t do the best of jobs!
“I’m not at the front often so I’ll practice that a bit more for next time but I defended into [turn] one and from that point on it was fairly straightforward.”
Norris does have a lack of experience when it comes to leading Formula 1 restarts and it’s something he’ll hope he needs to improve beyond Miami as it’ll mean he’s challenging for race wins more often.
The Miami circuit doesn’t lend itself very well to safety car restarts.
The long straight leading to turn 17 is too far away from the start line to allow a driver to try and break away from the pack.
It means relying on a good launch out of the corner, although Verstappen was always up the inside of Norris at this point.
The Brit did try and get away heading into the final set of corners, but Verstappen read his move perfectly and Norris was immediately on the defensive.
However, just a couple of laps later he was more than a second ahead of his nearest rival and drove beautifully from that point.
The post ‘Didn’t do the best’: Lando Norris explains what he can still improve despite maiden Miami GP victory appeared first on F1 Oversteer.