Lando Norris Reveals “Special” Celebrations at Miami, Before “Real Party” With Max Verstappen Began

Lando Norris was partying hard on Sunday night after the Miami GP. After snatching his first F1 victory from under Max Verstappen‘s nose, he became Britain’s 21st Grand Prix winner. The duo was later seen celebrating at the exclusive E11EVEN nightclub with some of the USA’s most-loved sports stars. Now, Norris has finally disclosed the entire lead-up to this afterparty.

Norris’ party plans began with Lewis Hamilton‘s golden words of wisdom. “I just told him he needs to stay tonight. He is going to try and change his flight. He has got to [stay], he has just won a race,” the 7-time champion revealed. But between this and the party with Verstappen, NBA stars Lebron James and Kevin Durant, and NFL’s Tyreek Hill, Patrick Mahomes, and Travis Kelce, the 24-year-old made sure to revel in his success with all of McLaren’s employees.

“I just spent some time with my friends,” Norris said on ‘The Fast and the Curious’ podcast. “Obviously, I had a good night out and a nice dinner. I went to spend some time with the team. We went back to the Hilton, everybody’s having a few drinks and celebrating. It was just nice to see all of the team there a bit more relaxed and celebrating.”

“I’ve been with the team for 6 years,” he added, sharing his love for the team. “For the majority of them, we’ve been on this whole journey together. We’ve had some ups, we’ve had some downs. And to celebrate it with them, because they have been just as much a part of it as I have, made it even more special…We had a couple of drinks together and had a good time, and then the real party began.”

Norris partied the entire night without a second of sleep before taking the flight out of Miami. It was a well-earned victory with a comprehensive team effort. But a rival Team Principal indicated that luck played a big part in Norris’ victory.

Ferrari Boss Frederic Vasseur claims Lando Norris got “lucky” with Miami win

With fresh upgrades, Lando Norris’ MCL38 was much quicker in Miami, but Max Verstappen’s RB20 still had the edge. However, the Dutchman colliding with a bollard at Turn 15, and a timely safety car for McLaren helped Norris not only secure but extend his lead. Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur believes that if not for that Logan Sargeant-induced safety car, the story would’ve been different.

“I would say that probably Lando [Norris] was a bit lucky because he was the only one on track (when the safety car came out),” Vasseur said post-race. “But more than this, I think it’s the fact that they put the safety car in front of [Max] Verstappen. They are so used to having Verstappen leading the pack that they sent the safety car in front of him and the safety car was quite slow and it was a very good move at the end for Lando,” he added.

Despite this luck factor, judging by McLaren’s performance graph, they could catch Red Bull off guard in 2025. If this happens, and Norris believes it will, the downfall of F1’s most dominant team and the ascension of one of F1’s oldest teams will begin simultaneously.