How McLaren Stole Miami F1

McLaren Racing's Lando Norris has finally broken his curse: The British driver is now a Formula 1 race winner thanks to his commanding performance at the 2024 Miami F1 Grand Prix. Of course, Norris didn't achieve that feat entirely on his own, which is why today, we're delving into what it took for Norris to achieve that triumph.

First and foremost, McLaren brought a truly extensive upgrade package to Miami. Norris' MCL36 received the full slate of upgrades while teammate Oscar Piastri only received about half of the components. Norris had to work out a few kinks throughout the weekend; the machine was ultra-fast on Friday but faded a bit on Saturday. Then came Sunday, when the MCL36 was back in fine form.

In its effort to find more speed, McLaren implemented a massive slate of updates designed primarily to improve airflow and cooling management. The front wing was all new, while the front suspension geometry, front brake ducts, and winglets better directed airflow as it left the front wing. The floor had to be updated to accommodate these changes, as did the sidepod inlets and various aspects of bodywork. In the rear came updated suspension, brake ducts, and winglets. 

Sometimes, those sweeping changes can backfire on teams trying to find a little bit more speed. In Norris' case, though, McLaren had created the perfect formula for a speedy car in Miami.

You could perhaps argue that Lando Norris wouldn't have won the Miami Grand Prix had it not been for the deployment of a safety car, which effectively cleared the board of any best-laid strategy plans. In a perfect, incident-free race, perhaps Norris wouldn't have stuck it out for that top step of the podium—but since when has racing ever been done under perfect conditions? 

The fact of the matter is, Norris and his team were perfectly poised to take advantage of the safety car deployment. A significant part of motorsport success depends on one's ability to react and respond to incidents as they happen, and when Norris emerged at the head of the field after his rivals cycled through their pit stops, he was able to make the most of that safety car for a «free» pit stop that maintained his first position. Norris