Lando Norris’ 2026 F1 Miami GP ended with a P2 finish, as he crossed the line 3.264 seconds behind race winner Kimi Antonelli. It was a weekend of genuine progress for McLaren. Norris took pole position and won the Sprint Race before pushing Antonelli hard throughout the GP.
In the end, a well-executed undercut from Mercedes proved the difference. Oscar Piastri completed the podium after Charles Leclerc’s dramatic final-lap spin. George Russell finished fourth ahead of Max Verstappen and Leclerc, with Lewis Hamilton seventh.
Norris accepts undercut cost him at the 2026 F1 Miami GP
Speaking after the race, Lando Norris was direct about what decided the outcome. He made no excuses, but was clear that McLaren had left the door open.
“I mean, a mixed bag, really. We just got undercut. There’s 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,” Norris stated.
Norris acknowledged that Antonelli had driven cleanly under pressure. There was little he could point to as a decisive error from the Mercedes driver.
“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.”
Despite the frustration of missing out on the win, Norris kept perspective. He felt the result was still a positive one for the team overall.
“I think as a team we have to be happy. I’m gutted to miss out on a win here in Miami, I think it was possible today, but yeah, not the pace to get back past him in the end, so we take it on the chin. But it’s still a positive weekend altogether,” he stated.
Norris on racing wheel-to-wheel at the 2026 F1 Miami GP
Asked about the quality of the wheel-to-wheel racing under the 2026 regulations, Lando Norris gave a measured assessment. He enjoyed it, though he stopped short of calling it a complete step forward.
“So-so. It was still good. I still enjoyed the racing, honestly. Some things have improved, some things are the same, but today was still about who could make the least mistakes, who could push in the correct areas. And it looked good, I guess.”
Energy management remained a key factor throughout the race. Norris admitted it caught him out at a crucial moment.
“If you guys enjoy it, then I’m very happy. It was tough. You still have to be tactical with how you use battery. You can easily just get caught up in the wrong running of things, and I got caught out badly. But other than that, I feel like I did a good job and the team did a good job all weekend, so I have to be proud of everyone.”
Norris reflects on a strong but imperfect weekend
In the press conference, Norris took a step back to assess his F1 Miami GP weekend as a whole. The positives were clear, though so was his self-critical streak.
“I can look at it either way, I guess. I think I’m just very happy with the situation we’re in, which is we’re fighting for wins or fighting for the win today, a pole, the Sprint win. So, I think when I look at it from that side, it’s been a very strong weekend.”
The pace McLaren showed in Miami represented a significant shift. Norris was proud of the step the team had made, while still questioning whether everything had been maximised.
“I feel like I’ve done a very good job the whole weekend too, so there’s a lot of positives. And like they just said, we’ve improved such a big amount, and the fact we’re just fighting for a win, when, if you look at our pace in the races over the last couple, even though we were fighting for podiums and wins, and Oscar was, the pace and the speed we had was certainly not there.
“So, the fact we made such a big step this weekend is great to see and I’m very proud of the team. And all the work that’s been put in has paid off immediately. But you always have to look at it and ask yourself the question, do you feel like you maximised everything today? And I’m unsure about that.”
The undercut remained the moment Norris kept returning to. He was candid that McLaren should have been more proactive in the pit stop phase.
“So, I feel like there was a chance that we could have fought better for it, just not simply letting him undercut us. I know he came and passed me on track because he had just the warmer tyres out of Turn 2, but we should have just never been in that situation in the first place.”
Norris was careful not to overstate what an earlier stop would have guaranteed. He gave Antonelli full credit for his performance on the day.
“I’m not saying we would have won the race because I think Kimi drove an excellent race and his pace was very strong, especially his pace end of stints was incredibly strong. So, he might have still passed me later on in the second stint if we boxed earlier, but at least we would have given ourselves a fighting chance, and we didn’t give that to ourselves today.”
“So, I’m a little bit disappointed by that,” Norris concluded.
Norris assesses Antonelli’s pace at the 2026 F1 Miami GP
When asked directly whether he felt faster than Antonelli on the day, Norris was candid. He acknowledged the Mercedes driver had the edge where it mattered most.
“No, I don’t think so. I think we’re talking small margins, but his pace at the end of the stint on the medium was a lot stronger than me, and it was impressive how good they were at the end of stint one.”
Lando Norris also identified a specific weakness in McLaren’s package that made attacking difficult throughout the race.
“I think we were both pushing flat out for every stint, but he could always then stay a bit closer to me when he was behind me than I could ever kind of get to him when I was behind him. I think one of the things that made it always a little bit tough was where our strengths and weaknesses lie,” he stated.
The medium speed corners proved a particular problem: “We’re not good enough in the medium speed, which is Turn 4, Turn 5, Turn 6, which is the place that leads on to the longest straight and the place where you can start to make someone defend and you can start to make something happen.
“And because we’re too weak in the high speed, it was always too difficult to start an attack or start making him do something that could give us a better chance. So, I think we’re still missing a little bit, but it can be as little as a tenth, and a tenth isn’t a lot, but a tenth is also a lot on a day like today. So, we have to keep working hard if we definitely want the wins,” he stated.
Rear wing issue adds a question mark to Norris’ F1 race
A reported rear wing concern added another layer to Norris’ afternoon. He was not entirely sure of the details at the time of speaking, but acknowledged it had affected his performance.
“I don’t know. I have to see what they said. They just said there were some issues and I had to slow down a little bit. But I was struggling with the rear the whole day today, so I don’t know what part. It kind of started to get a little bit worse. So I’m unsure. I need to go and ask the team,” Norris stated.
Norris’ Miami GP result leaves him third in the 2026 F1 Drivers’ Standings. With genuine pace now on show, the reigning champion heads into the next round with plenty to build on.
