Max Verstappen finishes second behind Lando Norris in the Miami Grand Prix

Max Verstappen had to accept a second spot in the Miami Grand Prix in the F1 as British driver Lando Norris won the race. The 24-year-old McLaren driver got his first Grand Prix, having finished twice on eight occasions and third on seven occasions. Verstappen finished second in the Red Bull, and Charles Leclerc finished third in his Ferrari.

It is McLaren’s first win in a Grand Prix since Daniel Ricciardo in 2021 won in Monza. Norris finished second in that race. That was the first McLaren victory since 2012.

Norris had been given updates for his McLaren before the race, but he hardly profited from it in qualification and the sprint race in Miami. His sprint race ended on the first corner because he was forced off the road. He stayed in fifth place during qualification.

Verstappen was lucky at the start that Sergio Pérez missed him by a hair after the Mexican overshot at the first corner. Because of this, the race leader had a gap of more than a second to the competition.

The pit stops ensured that Verstappen gave the lead to Oscar Piastri in the McLaren. Norris took the lead when the Australian entered the pits with Carlos Sainz.

A safety car came onto the track after a crash between Logan Sergeant and Kevin Magnussen. Norris profited from his pitstop and stayed in the lead.

After the restart, Norris was able to keep Verstappen behind. The Red Bull driver struggled to keep Leclerc behind him in the Ferrari, which resulted in Norris getting a two-second lead on the Limburg driver and continuing to increase his lead.

Verstappen had hit a pole in the chicane earlier in the race but seemed to have only minor damage to the car. He did tell his team that he had understeer in several corners.

Verstappen saw the gap to Norris continue to grow, but he was eventually unable to win his third Miami Grand Prix in a row. Norris took home the win in his 110th race.