Lando Norris surprised by McLaren pace after finishing second in Miami GP
Lando Norris expressed his satisfaction after a strong Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, where he finished second behind Kimi Antonelli, following his victory in the Sprint race the day before. The McLaren driver once again demonstrated competitive pace, confirming the team’s progress over the race weekend.
McLaren had a particularly strong outing in Miami, managing to place both cars on the podium in the main race. While Norris secured second position, Oscar Piastri completed the top three, although his podium was partly influenced by Charles Leclerc’s late-race mistake. Even so, the result highlighted McLaren’s growing consistency at the front of the grid.
Strong McLaren progress across the Miami weekend
The Miami Grand Prix weekend marked a significant step forward for McLaren, especially after a relatively quiet start to the season. For Lando Norris, the performance came as something of a surprise, as the team had not previously been in the top three during the opening rounds of the championship.
The British driver acknowledged the impact of the upgrades introduced by McLaren, which appeared to improve overall race performance and consistency. However, he also admitted that Mercedes, currently leading both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ standings with Kimi Antonelli, still holds an advantage in several key areas.
Lando Norris on McLaren’s unexpected fight at the front
Speaking after the race, Lando Norris shared his thoughts on McLaren’s sudden competitiveness and the team’s progress compared to earlier rounds of the season.
“I think nobody expected us to win this weekend,” said Lando Norris. “In Japan we were about a second slower in race pace. The fact that now we are fighting for wins is a huge surprise. Maybe this track suits us better, and now we are going to Canada, where Mercedes is incredibly strong, so we cannot get carried away.”
He continued by stressing that McLaren must remain realistic despite the encouraging result in Miami, especially with different circuits ahead in the calendar.
“We have made a lot of improvements, but we didn’t expect to be fighting with Mercedes, and that should make us very happy. We need to take each weekend as it comes. Today we could have done a better job and even fought for the win, but we will see what we can improve next time.”
McLaren closing the gap but still chasing Mercedes
While the Miami result confirms McLaren’s upward trend, Norris was careful to underline that the team is still in pursuit of Mercedes in terms of overall performance.
The combination of race pace, tyre management, and strategic execution has allowed McLaren to close the gap, but consistency across different circuits remains the next key challenge.
With the championship now moving to Canada, Norris and McLaren are expected to face a very different test, particularly on a circuit where Mercedes has historically performed strongly. Despite this, McLaren leaves Miami with renewed confidence and clear evidence of progress.
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