Norris beat Verstappen by 7 seconds, doing his single lap under the safety car – unlike his rivals – after a collision between Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargent took advantage.
Verstappen won both previous Miami GPs but pitted when the safety car was needed. Earlier on lap 15, he hit a bollard and was displaced, bringing on his Virtual Safety Car and saying he had to struggle to turn the car around.
It was the second time he beat Verstappen in 2024, with Carlos Sainz retiring from the Australian GP with brake problems.
“You win, you lose,” Verstappen told Sky. “I think we’re all used to that in racing, right?
“Today was a bit difficult. I think before, in the intersections, I didn’t feel great. We were pulling but it wasn’t as it should be.
“And once we made the pitstop and I heard what McLaren was doing, I thought, ‘Wow, that’s really fast.’ Once they switched to the hard tyre, they had more speed, and Lando in particular was flying. It was incredibly difficult for us at that time.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, with a bollard on the curb
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motor sports images
“But if it’s a bad day P2, I’ll take it. And I’m very happy for Lando. It’s been a long time. And it won’t be his last, yes, he definitely deserves it today.
When asked if McLaren’s updated car reflects real speed, he replied: “I don’t!
“I mean, they came up with an update. Yes, sure, it seems to work. So, we have a little work on our side.
“For sure, it wasn’t the strongest weekend in terms of race pace, but we’ll analyze everything and try to come back.”
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who finished third behind Verstappen, also praised Norris for an “amazing job”.
“I’m so happy for Lando,” LeClair said. “He deserves it. Usually he’s very close to it, but for one reason or another it doesn’t work, but today he did an incredible job.
“He’s been on it all weekend and already in Q2 I think there’s a lap where I’m like, ‘OK, they’re very, very strong.’
“And we were expecting them to be strong, maybe not as strong as they showed today. But he totally deserves it.