Intro to the Race
On Sunday May 5th, an incredible race took place in Miami, Florida where history was made in Formula One. The most notable highlight of the race was for the first time in his Formula One career Lando Norris took first place in the race. This was a shocker to all Formula One fans who believed that Max Verstappen was going to win since he has won every other race this season. There were also some other highlights of the race that I will share, but first, let me explain what the race actually is, then some highlights of the race, and then public reaction to the race.
What is the Miami Grand Prix Race?
The Miami Grand Prix Race is one of the 23 races that take place during the Formula One season. It takes place at the Miami International Autodrome where the track was specially built for the race two years ago making it one of newest race tracks in America. The race takes 57 laps, each lap is around 3.3 miles making the total race 191.5 miles. 20 racers competed this year all from different racing companies like Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren, and more. Some of the top racers this year were Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez who drove for Red Bull, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz who drove for Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell who drove for Mercades, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastro who drove for McLaren, and more (formula1). Over 275,000 fans were in attendance this year and some of the most prominent celebrities in attendance were former President Donald Trump, famous musician Ed Sheeran, former football star Tom Brady, model Kendall Jenner, and singer Camilla Cabello (f1miamigp). 
photo via .sportsbusinessjournal
What happened at the race?
The most notable highlight of the race was the fact that Lando Norris won his first Formula One race in his career. This came as an exciting shock to all Formula One fans who thought that Max Verstappen would win, but no, Lando Norris took the race and won! Throughout the race, Norris kept in around sixth place, but through a combination of strategic driving with a flawless execution, he was able to make his way up the ranks (espn). He kept at a consistent pace while being able to conserve his tires which allowed him to stay within a distance where he could then overtake those in the lead. Both his overtakes and his one well-timed pit stop allowed Norris to take every opportunity he could to move. In his closing laps, he showed his high speed as well as precision in overtaking Verstappen and being first to cross the checkered flag in a memorable victory with a time of 1:30:49.876 (formula1). Max Verstappen came in second, Charles Leclerc placed third, Sergio Perez came in fourth, and Carlos Sainz finished fifth.
There was a major collision that happened halfway in the race between Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant. At lap 29, Magnussen started to slow down and Sargeant started to turn the corner, which caused the cars to make contact at Turn 3 (formula1). A Safety Car was able to get out there as soon as possible and neither of the racers were seriously injured. However Sargeant was unable to continue racing due to the damage on his car which is heartbreaking considering this was his home race. A ten second penalty was given to Magnussen once it was clear that he was at fault for the accident. Although there was this unfortunate accident the rest of the race went smoothly and it was a memorable and incredible race all around.
Public Reaction to the race
The majority of Formula One fans were not only shocked, but also ecstatic for Lando Norris’s win at the race being that it is his first win in Formula One and it had become an ongoing joke that he never wins. Although there was a joyous feeling for Lando, there were also fans that were heartbroken for Logan Sargeant not being able to finish a race in his hometown. A Local Formula One fan reacted to the racing stating, “I’m surprised that Norris pulled the win off and I was expecting Verstappen to win and he didn’t pull it off. I thought that Leclerc looked really good in this race and so did Perez. I was pretty upset that Sargeant was unable to finish but glad that no one was seriously hurt. Overall, a great and memorable race. I wish I could’ve been there.” For me, the race was exhilarating, and I was very happy to see Norris win and to see him celebrating with his team after how hard they have all worked was incredibly heartwarming. I loved seeing all the behind the scenes footage of the race on the drivers’ social media and I thought it was a great race that will go down in history for Formula One.
photo via.newsweek.
