Lando Norris, the British driver for McLaren, was leading the pack in the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, even before the Safety Car came into play. McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella is confident that Norris would have had a strong chance of winning the race, even without the intervention of the Safety Car. Norris took advantage of the Safety Car on Lap 29 to make a pit stop without losing much time and maintained his lead, ultimately securing his first-ever F1 victory in his 110th race. Despite starting in sixth place, Norris strategically extended his first stint and maintained a competitive pace on worn-out tires while his competitors ahead made their pit stops. The crash involving Logan Sargeant and Kevin Magnussen at Turn 3 prompted the Safety Car intervention, allowing Norris to pit and change his tires without losing his position. Stella believes that Norris’ impressive pace towards the end of his stint, combined with the advantage he would have gained after his pit stop, would have made him a strong contender for victory, even without the Safety Car. Stella had observed early on that Norris had the potential for success, noting that he had seen Oscar Piastri overtaking a Ferrari and Max Verstappen opening a gap, although not as fast as usual. Stella also mentioned that when the cars ahead of Norris pitted, they noticed the impressive lap times Norris was able to achieve. This further reinforced their belief that if they kept Norris out and built a good gap, he would be fast at the end with fresh tires. Stella acknowledged that the Safety Car did provide some assistance in securing the victory, but he emphasized that they were already in a strong position due to the car’s strong pace. When asked about the plan for Norris before the Safety Car, Stella revealed that McLaren was content to keep him out as long as he continued to set personal best times. Norris himself remained calm and reassured the team that his tires were in good condition. The team had no plans to pit him as long as he continued to achieve competitive lap times and green sectors. They were willing to push the stint as long as possible, taking advantage of the benefits of potentially finding a Safety Car and having much younger tires to attack the cars ahead, even if overtaking was challenging.
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