Max Verstappen hails rival Lando Norris for first Formula One victory

Verstappen dominated the early parts of Sunday’s race but lost the lead to Norris due to a mid-race safety car, with the Dutchman stopping before his deployment and the Briton changing tires underneath him.

Norris was under pressure from Verstappen when the race resumed, but held on to first place and put in a solid effort on the final laps to take the checkered flag.

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“You win, you lose. We’re all used to that in racing, aren’t we? Today was a bit difficult. I think already on medium. [tyres] It didn’t feel fantastic, we were pulling away but not as it should be. Then once we closed the pit I heard what McLaren was doing and I thought, ‘Well, that’s too fast!'” Verstappen said, as quoted by Formula 1.

“Once they also switched to the hard tyre, they just had more pace, especially Lando who was flying. It was incredibly difficult for us at the time but if it’s a bad day, P2 I’ll take it. I’m for Lando. Very happy. , it’s been a long time coming and it’s not his last, so he definitely deserves it today,” he added.

When asked if McLaren were showing their ‘real pace’ after upgrading their vehicles at the Miami International Autodrome, Verstappen said, “I hope not! They came with the upgrade, for sure it seems to work so We have a bit of work to do on our side.

“I think it was definitely not our strongest weekend in terms of race pace, but we’ll analyze it all and we’ll try to come back strong,” he added.

Despite missing out on victory, Verstappen extended his lead in the drivers’ standings to 35 points, with nearest championship rival and team-mate Sergio Perez in fifth.

Date of first publication: 07 May 2024, 07:01 AM IST