Why Norris deserved his win
Yes, you could say Norris probably owes Kevin Magnussen a beer, after the former McLaren driver clumsily sent Logan Sargeant’s Williams into the barrier. That triggered the safety car which allowed the long-running Norris to pit and return to the track with a lead he would not lose. But while a heavy slice of luck was at play, McLaren’s ace fully earned his first Formula 1 victory at the same time, on a couple of counts.
First and most importantly, he was the quickest driver on track at crucial stages of the race. After a messy start, Norris found himself bottled up behind Sergio Pérez’s Red Bull. But when the Mexican pitted on lap 17, Norris was free to unleash his true pace and proved faster than anyone. The subsequent laps were the foundation of his victory because they put him in place to benefit when luck kindly fell his way.
Once racing resumed after the safety car, Norris now had a charging Max Verstappen hot on his tail. The triple world champion was determined to claim back the lead he’d lost and looked to make a move at Turn One. But Norris calmly kept to his line, accelerated hard out of the corner and began to build a gap, convincingly. His final winning margin of 7.6 seconds is another indicator that this was more than just a lucky win.
It was a hugely popular one too, as Norris’ peers took time to offer heartfelt congratulations. The ‘most podiums without a win’ tag can now be forgotten, the Briton banishing that stat on his 110th grand prix start. Wonderful, for the young driver, for McLaren which this time last year looked sunk in a mire of poor form – and for F1 itself.