Lando Norris admitted that he probably spent too much time fighting Max Verstappen during the Miami Grand Prix.
Norris had dropped out of the top five at the start after duelling with Verstappen into the first corners, resulting in the McLaren driver taking to the escape road.
Damon Hill was left ‘surprised’ by how Verstappen defended without getting a penalty, believing he forced Norris off with his aggressive steering inputs.
The McLaren driver then spent several laps behind Verstappen attempting to overtake him for second, with his Red Bull team telling him to defend due to the threat of rain.
Analysing the race on Sky Sports, Anthony Davidson spotted one piece of information that the team gave to Norris, which eventually helped him pass Verstappen.
McLaren coaching Lando Norris on how to pass Max Verstappen
As Norris approached Verstappen on track, his engineer Will Joseph relayed details of how Piastri managed to overtake by utilising the inside line according to Davidson.
“They’re telling Lando how Oscar overtook Max Verstappen. They’re saying every move that Oscar made, Max just covered inside line and pushed him wide,” said Davidson.
“Not easy because Verstappen now knows where the McLaren is faster throughout the lap, so he’s wiser to the move.”
Verstappen was also coping with brake problems in his Red Bull, but managed to fend off Norris for a few laps before the McLaren driver made his way past.
How Lando Norris and Max Verstappen’s battle played out on team radio
Knowing the history between Verstappen and Norris on track, Joseph was quick to give his driver information on how Piastri managed to make the move stick on the Red Bull.
| Lando Norris Team Radio | Max Verstappen Team Radio |
| Joseph: “Lando, every move Oscar made, Max just covered the inside line and pushed him wide. Max is complaining about his brakes. Try and force him to fuck up his braking.” | [Norris tries a move on the outside at Turn 1] Verstappen: “He was not ahead.” |
| Lambaise: “All good. And 0.6. When you can Max, front flap offset for the next stint.” | |
| Verstappen: “Yeah. I mean everything is just everywhere. It’s all over the shop.” |
Norris had initially got past Verstappen at Turn 11, but both drivers ran wide and off the track. As he completed the overtake having gone beyond the white lines, Norris elected to give the position back at Turn 17.
Verstappen then pointed out over team radio that his rival was now allowed to re-pass him at the following corner.
| McLaren Team Radio | Red Bull Team Radio |
| Norris: “That was hard to see, I think I was completely ahead, but I didn’t know if I went off the track or not.” | Verstappen: “He went off the track. Can’t drive me off the track, so I need a position back.” |
| [Norris hands position back at Turn 17] Joseph: “That was the right thing to do, we’re going to get it back.” |
[Norris hands position back at Turn 17] “If he passes me now, that’s illegal.” |
Norris would eventually make it past, but by this stage, Piastri was ahead by eight seconds. With the help of a late Virtual Safety Car because of Gabriel Bortoleto, Piastri could make a pit stop and retain this gap to Norris and go on to win the race.
