Lando Norris was left deeply disappointed with his second-place finish in Miami, especially on a track where he had claimed his maiden Formula 1 victory back in 2024 and was hoping to repeat that success. McLaren proved to be the fastest car over the course of the weekend, even though it ultimately failed to secure the win, partly due to what was effectively a flawless performance from championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
Despite missing out on victory, the performance delivered by the Woking-based team in Miami remains highly positive, particularly when considering a far-from-ideal start to the season. It is worth remembering that in China both Norris and Oscar Piastri were forced to watch the race from the garage due to technical issues with the MCL40. The overall impression is that McLaren is now fully back in contention for the world championship, especially given how long the season still is and the level the British team has demonstrated in recent years. Not by chance, the last two world titles have ended up in the hands of the Woking outfit.
Norris’ disappointment after the Miami Grand Prix
After winning the Sprint Race on Saturday, Lando Norris was determined to replicate that result in Sunday’s main event. At one stage, the race lead seemed firmly in his grasp, but the situation changed due to the pit stop phase — something he openly acknowledged.
“I mean, it was a bit of an unclear situation, really. We were simply beaten by the competition, there are no excuses beyond that. We were beaten by the competition. We should have boxed first. Kimi did a good job, and credit to Mercedes and to Kimi, they did a great race, and it was easy to make mistakes out there with the heavy braking zones and with these cars, but he didn’t make enough mistakes for me to take advantage.”
According to Norris, the key error was the delayed pit call compared to Antonelli, who managed to undercut the British driver during that phase and then used the track position advantage to maintain the lead until the chequered flag.
Norris then shifted the focus back onto Mercedes’ performance:
“No one expected us to win this race. In Japan we were one second slower in the race, and the fact that we are now fighting for victory is a big surprise. Maybe this track suits us more. Now we go to Canada, and it’s a circuit where Mercedes is incredible. We shouldn’t get too carried away; we didn’t think we would be fighting Mercedes, and the fact that we were in that fight makes us very happy. We need to take each weekend as it comes — we could have had a better weekend. Even so, we were fighting for the win, and we’ll see what we can do next.”
The British driver once again underlined his frustration at missing out on victory:
“I have to be happy, but I’m gutted to have missed the win here in Miami. The victory was possible, but in the end I didn’t have the pace to pass him, so we’ll take it.”
On his race analysis, Norris added:
“Today it was about who made fewer mistakes, who pushed in the right areas, and it was tough. You have to be tactical with battery usage, and it’s easy to get caught out and end up in a bad position. But I did a good job, and the team did a good job throughout the whole weekend, so I have to be proud of everyone.”
As mentioned, McLaren can be fully satisfied with what it showed over the course of the Miami weekend. The first set of updates introduced this season worked very well, and from this point forward the British team looks ready to play a major role in the fight for both world championships.
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