McLaren driver Lando Norris is feeling a mix of excitement and frustration after the team’s major upgrade package delivered impressive results at the Miami Grand Prix—but not quite the victory he craved.
Norris clinched the sprint race win and finished second in the main event at Hard Rock Stadium, marking a significant leap forward for McLaren after a challenging start to the season. The team’s latest upgrade package turned heads, with rookie Oscar Piastri also securing third place, giving McLaren two of the top three spots and putting pressure on Kimi Antonelli for the win.
McLaren has traditionally performed well in Miami, and this weekend continued that trend. While Mercedes initially dominated the grid and Ferrari looked like the strongest challenger, McLaren’s upgrades quickly made them the biggest threat to the leaders.
“I think I’m just very happy with the situation we’re in,” Norris said. “We’re fighting for wins—a pole, the sprint win. When I look at it from that side, it’s been a very strong weekend. I feel like I’ve done a very good job the whole weekend too. There are a lot of positives, and we’ve improved such a big amount.”
However, Norris couldn’t shake the feeling that a race win was within reach. He pointed to Antonelli’s undercut pass as a key moment that turned a potential P1 into a P2 finish. “The fact we made such a big step this weekend is great to see,” Norris added. “But you always have to ask yourself, ‘Did you maximize everything today?’ I’m unsure about that. I feel like there was a chance we could have fought better for it.”
Team principal Andrea Stella echoed Norris’s sentiment, acknowledging that the result was a team effort with both highs and lows. “It’s a combination of the driver stopping, the pitstop itself, and the in-lap,” Stella explained. “We lost some time in the in-lap as well. It shows we’re close, but there’s still room to improve.”
For McLaren fans, this weekend was a thrilling glimpse of what’s possible—and a reminder that the team is hungry for more. With upgrades paying off and drivers pushing hard, the next race could be the one where Norris finally gets that win he’s after.