Lando Norris made his feelings clear over the team radio immediately after the Miami Grand Prix, insisting the victory should have been his rather than Kimi Antonelli's. The reigning world champion crossed the line in second place, 3.264 seconds behind the early championship leader.
Antonelli's Dominance Continues
Kimi Antonelli, aged 19, stretched his championship lead to 20 points with a third successive race win. The teenager kept Norris at bay after overtaking the Brit in a wheel-to-wheel battle as they exited the pits following a well-executed undercut during their pit stops. He then held firm at Hard Rock Stadium, keeping Mercedes' unbeaten run intact. They have won every race this season.
Norris's Frustration
Norris could not hide his frustration at what he considered a golden opportunity squandered after crossing the finishing line. He said over the McLaren team radio: "How did we not win this? We should have won, guys. Good try, good effort. Nice to see the progress. Well done, let's keep pushing, guys. We can get back to winning, we can make it easier for ourselves."
Reflecting on the race afterward, Norris struck a more measured tone when speaking to the media, saying: "We just got undercut - no excuses other than that. We got undercut; we should have boxed first. Kimi did a good job. Hats off to Merc and Kimi, they drove a good race. Easy to make mistakes out there with the big braking zones and with these cars, but he didn't make any big enough for me to capitalise on. So I have to be happy, I think, as a team, I think we have to be happy. I'm gutted to miss out on a win here in Miami, I think it was possible today. But not the pace to get past him in the end, so we take it on the chin, but it's still a positive weekend altogether."
Reviewing the Race-Winning Moment
Reviewing the race-winning moment with Antonelli and team-mate Oscar Piastri, who came third, Norris asked the Mercedes driver: "Where were you when I came out of the pits? I couldn't see you." After indicating they were side-by-side, the teenager said: "I almost crashed into you."
McLaren Team Principal's View
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella also shared Norris's view. He told Sky Sports: "We had an opportunity to win, 100 per cent. We were chased by a car (Antonelli) that was a little bit faster than us. We were monitoring the weather at the same time, and when Kimi pitted, his out lap was just mega. We couldn't match it with our performance in the in-lap; we lost possibly a little bit of time in the execution. We could have done better, but we are very happy. We take all the positives out of this weekend. We are there, there is some new stuff coming for the coming races, so an exciting time ahead of us."
