Formula 1 has been dominated by Max Verstappen and Red Bull for the past 2 years now. However, hope has emerged on the horizon as Lando Norris took his first race victory in Miami. Not only did he beat Verstappen, but his McLaren was able to build a 7-second gap to the Dutch driver behind him. The McLaren we saw in Miami was consistently faster than Max Verstappen and his Red Bull lap after lap.
Coming into the Miami GP, McLaren did have a number of major upgrades coming up. It was even understood that the car would be completely different from what we saw in previous races this season. But the most important question is, what upgrades did McLaren bring to Miami?
McLaren gave Lando Norris an almost entirely new car
Here is the list of the upgrades McLaren brought to the Miami Grand Prix
- A completely revised front-wing
- Revised front and rear brake ducts
- Revised sidepod inlet
- Updated louvre range
- New front suspension geometry
- New floor
- New engine cover
- Updated rear suspension
- New bodywork
- New winglets
- Beam Wings (Miami-specific)
All of these upgrades were installed in Lando Norris‘ car. However, only half of them were installed in Oscar Piastri’s car as the team was not able to manufacture all the upgrades for both cars. However, this did not prevent Piastri from showing a strong pace during the race. He was on track for a podium finish until an incident with Carlos Sainz. Following the incident, Piastri had to pit again to change his damaged front wing.
“This one’s for my grandma” 🥹#F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/wPSZvEWN66
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 5, 2024
Coming back to McLaren’s upgrades and Lando’s win, there is no doubt that the team is looking to be a strong contender for race wins going forwards. They can now be considered a credible threat to Red Bull.
Going to Imola, both the McLaren drivers will have the upgrades. This should increase their chances to win more races this season. After the race, Jenson Button asked Max if he thought this was the true pace of McLaren’s updated car. To this, he replied: “I hope not”. Red Bull and Max will now be looking over their shoulder as they begin the European leg of the season.
If they are able to build on this momentum, we could even see Lando and McLaren compete for the Championships this season. Do you think this is a possibility, or are we all just hyped up about Lando’s first win? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
Rohit Kumar 
Sara Chavan