Red Bull’s Max Verstappen suffered in the Miami Grand Prix his second defeat of the 2024 season, this time at the hands of first-time winner Lando Norris.
But the reigning world champion was genuinely happy for his McLaren rival and friend and has no doubts that more victories are in store for the Briton.
Norris managed to secure a 7-second victory over Verstappen after strategically capitalizing on a safety car period triggered by a collision between Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant.
The incident handed Norris a decisive free pitstop that allowed him to rejoin the track with a comfortable lead over the Dutchman who had completed his own pitstop before the safety car neutralisation.
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Earlier in the race, Verstappen had caused a virtual safety car after running wide and hitting a bollard at Turn 15, which he admitted affected his car's handling.
“I mean, you win, you lose,” Verstappen told Sky F1. “I think we're all used to that in racing, right?
“Today was just a bit tricky. I think already on the mediums, I didn't feel fantastic. We were pulling away but not like it should be.
“And then once we made the pitstop and I heard what lap times that McLaren were doing I thought, ‘Wow, that's pretty quick.’
“Once they also switched on to the hard tyre, they just had more pace, and especially Lando, he was flying.
“It was incredibly difficult for us on that stint. But if a bad day is P2, I’ll take it!
“And I'm very happy for Lando. It's been a long time coming. And it's not going to be his last one so yeah, he definitely deserves it today.”
McLaren kicked off its weekend in Miami with a significantly updated MCL38. Asked if McLaren’s pace was a rtue reflection of the changes, Verstappen said: “I hope not!
“I mean, they came with an upgrade. Yeah, for sure, it looks like it works. So, we have a bit of work to do from our side.
“Definitely, it wasn't our strongest weekend in terms of race pace, but we'll analyze it all and we'll try to come back.”
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