A year after his first F1 victory in Miami, Lando Norris shares how that moment reshaped his mindset and fueled his ambition.
It was at the Miami Grand Prix that Lando Norris secured his first-ever Formula 1 victory. Fast in his upgraded McLaren, Norris also had a bit of luck on his side with the safety car coming out at the perfect moment to block Max Verstappen’s charge.
That win in Florida felt like a huge release for Norris, a moment that unlocked something mentally after so many close calls.
“It still puts a smile on my face,” he said in a recent interview with FOM, looking back on that special Miami weekend.
“The joy, the relief… I’m someone who has to actually see something to truly believe it. Did I think I could win a race? Yes. But did I show up to a race really believing I would win? No.”
“So after winning, it gave me a lot more confidence, like, ‘Okay, I can win a Formula 1 race, and I can beat Max.'”
“Was I a little lucky with the safety car? Sure. But that’s racing. Sometimes things go your way, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes races are just boring and you have to focus on qualifying well. In the end, it doesn’t matter how it happened. I won a Formula 1 race.”
Did that win really help Norris relax, especially considering how tense and under pressure he has seemed this season?
“It helps you breathe a bit more. It’s no longer ‘Will today be the day? Can I actually do it?’ It’s more like ‘I’ve done it before, I can do it again.’ It gives you a better feeling going into weekends when a similar opportunity might come.”
“You get rid of that little voice telling you ‘Don’t screw it up.’ It’s not a huge change, but when you’re leading a race or starting on pole, it helps you stay focused just that little bit more.”
Family, Memories, and Dreams of Two Wheels
That day in Miami also brought back a flood of memories for Norris. He thought about his parents, Adam and Cisca, and how much they sacrificed during his karting years to help him chase his dreams.
“I had flashbacks to karting, to my very first days racing,” he shared.
“My dad would drive my brother Oliver and me to the tracks, traveling with us when we started racing across Europe. He made it to 99% of my races — maybe missed three races over the first seven years. He still comes to a lot of them.”
“We all went through the F1 journey together. Of course, my dad was the one traveling with me at first, while my mom stayed with my two sisters and my older brother. They all made sacrifices, not just financially but personally, giving up time together so I could chase this dream.”
“Being able to share that first win with them was incredible. They gave up so much for me and it made that moment even more special.”
Norris also laughed about his earliest racing memories — even before organized karting.
“Before I even started racing properly, we had karts at home. I had a little Bambino kart. I remember setting up cones in a parking lot and there’s a video on YouTube of me doing donuts with soap and water poured all over the tarmac. It’s amazing to think about how far back the journey really goes.”
Back then, Formula 1 wasn’t even a goal.
“At that time, F1 felt a million miles away. I started karting just because I loved it. I didn’t even know what F1 really was. I didn’t know you could get paid to race. I just thought it was fun.”
Interestingly, Norris originally had dreams that went beyond four wheels.
“My first love was MotoGP and bikes. Valentino Rossi was my hero,” he revealed.
“It took a few years, around seven to ten years old, for my focus to shift toward Formula 1 and cars. Reaching F1, achieving these milestones… it’s been a long journey, but an amazing one.”
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Lando Norris Reflects on Breakthrough Miami Win and Growth Lando Norris Reflects on Breakthrough Miami Win and Growth