Lando Norris unquestionably stole the show at the Miami Grand Prix last weekend. The British driver scored his first-ever F1 victory around the Hard Rock Stadium complex.
Maiden wins are always big stories, but especially so for Norris. He held the record for the most podium finishes without a first place at 15.
There was an element of luck as his moment finally arrived, with a mid-race safety car playing perfectly into his hands. But Norris had to put himself in a position to benefit, and he streaked clear of Max Verstappen when the track went green.
This was only the third time in the last year that the Dutchman has failed to win. Defeating Red Bull has been one of the hardest tasks in Formula 1 history.
As such, Norris has raked in the plaudits. Damon Hill dubbed him a ‘class driver’ in an Instagram message, while Lewis Hamilton congratulated him on a ‘special’ moment.
The danger with the Briton grabbing the headlines, of course, is that other strong performances go unnoticed. And that’s what might have happened in Miami.
Martin Brundle enjoys Oscar Piastri showing in Miami
Writing in his post-race column for Sky Sports F1, Martin Brundle called attention to the efforts of Oscar Piastri. The Australian was running with only around half of an ‘astonishing’ McLaren upgrade package.
The Woking outfit didn’t have duplicates of every part ready for the race and, as the more senior driver with a better record this season, Norris received priority. But Piastri still performed well.
He out-qualified his teammate for the sprint race (sixth vs ninth) and was less than a tenth slower in Grand Prix qualifying as McLaren locked out the third row. In a different world, this could have been his first win.
Piastri made a magnificent start, capitalising on a near-miss involving Sergio Perez and the two Ferraris to climb to third. He then passed Charles Leclerc to grab P2.
But he pitted just before the race-defining safety car, costing him ground, and then sustained damage in a clash with Carlos Sainz. Sainz received a five-second penalty for the incident, which demoted Piastri out of the points.
Brundle, however, was impressed by what Piastri managed to do in what was, compared to Norris, inferior machinery. It certainly augurs well for the coming races.
He said: “Norris had tremendous pace with his upgraded McLaren, as did his team-mate Oscar Piastri in the sister car which had some of the new parts, and who was running in second place and keeping Verstappen well in sight and both Ferraris behind initially.”
What did Oscar Piastri say about Lando Norris win?
It would no doubt have been difficult for a fierce competitor like Piastri to see Norris secure the first win of their partnership. The Englishman is vastly more experienced, but racing drivers are simply wired to measure themselves against their teammates.
Piastri admitted after the race that he had mixed emotions. While he was delighted for the team and encouraged by their performance, he felt they ‘deserved’ a big result with both cars.
| RACE | NOR | PIA |
| BAH Q | 7 | 8 |
| BAH R | 6 | 8 |
| SAU Q | 6 | 5 |
| SAU R | 8 | 4 |
| AUS Q | 4 | 6 |
| AUS R | 3 | 4 |
| JPN Q | 3 | 6 |
| JPN R | 5 | 8 |
| CHN SPR Q | 1 | 8 |
| CHN SPR R | 6 | 7 |
| CHN Q | 4 | 5 |
| CHN R | 2 | 8 |
| MIA SPR Q | 9 | 6 |
| MIA SPR R | DNF | 6 |
| MIA Q | 5 | 6 |
| MIA R | 1 | 13 |
While the 23-year-old has only scored two podiums so far in his career, and none yet this season, the team have absolutely no doubts over his potential. CEO Zak Brown believes he’s a future world champion.
Mark Webber, who manages Piastri, said he’d produced a ‘totally magical drive’ in Miami until the safety car worked against him. He ultimately crossed the line in 13th place.
Aside from back-to-back fourth-place finishes in Saudi Arabia and Australia, he hasn’t come home higher than eighth in any race this season. He’ll hope and expect his results go up a notch in a fully-upgraded MCL38 from Imola onwards.