Lando Norris says he never doubted he would one day become a bona fide Grand Prix winner, even despite facing external skepticism.
The McLaren driver strategically capitalized on a mid-race safety car to take the lead and hold off the championship leader, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, proving his unwavering belief in his own potential.
Norris had headed into his Miami Grand Prix weekend with the unenviable record of being the F1 driver with the greatest number of podiums – 15 in 109 races – but not a single race win to his name.
That statistic was finally put to rest last weekend in Miami, but during its lifetime it had led many to question the 24-year-old’s ability to challenge for the top step of the podium.
In Florida, Norris silenced his doubters with a flawless performance.
"I've had my moments where we've been close and I've never been able to convert it into the win," the Briton said.
"As much as a lot of people doubted that I was going to be able to put it together and win a race, I wasn't worried.
"I've been more confident than ever this year that I've got what it takes, and the team have got what it takes and I was patient with it.
"I've just been doing my job and executing my races, executing my qualifying, and doing what I can do best. And I knew my time was coming."
Norris' maiden F1 victory was a moment of sweet vindication. But at the 2021 Russian Grand Prix in Sochi, he had come close to breaking his duck. However, a dodgy strategy call in the rain saw him lose a potential win, leaving him and the team heartbroken.
That missed opportunity, which Norris felt was unfairly criticized by some, fueled the skepticism surrounding his ability to handle the pressure of leading races.
“People like to continue to use that, even after China last weekend when I made a mistake in Turn 1 on Lewis [Hamilton],” he said.
"Anyone can say what they want. People don't need to like me. They don't need to support me.
"But when people doubt me in certain situations, you want to go out and prove them wrong.
©McLaren
"They think they know what they're talking about and when you prove that they don't, then that's a nice thing to go out and do.
"It's not a dig at anyone, but it's just nice to just go out there and do my job and show people what I'm capable of.
"I wanted to say like the Valtteri line ‘to whom it may concern’, but I was like ‘ that's copyrighted’, so I didn't want to repeat it!"
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