LEWIS HAMILTON had a short five-word piece of advice for Lando Norris after his maiden Formula One win at the Miami Grand Prix.
Norris, 24, capitalised on a rare off day for the reigning world champion Max Verstappen to win the thriller at the Hard Rock Stadium.
And Hamilton – who finished sixth – was there to congratulate his countryman and urge him to party the night away.
He told Sky Sports: “Honestly, I feel really happy for Lando. Yeah, I just told him he needs to stay tonight!”
Hamilton, 39, was asked: “Has he changed his flight? You can fly him home.”
He replied: “He’s going to try and change his flight, he’s got to, he’s just won a race!
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“But, such a special moment to win your first Grand Prix and obviously I started at McLaren so I’m really happy to see them back at the top, it’s been a long time.”
Norris finished second eight times before and had come agonisingly close to breaking his duck.
In the 2021 Russian GP he slid off in the wet on the final few laps while leading. And he squandered the chance of victory in Qatar last year.
But likeable Norris finally ended his wait for a win in Miami as he finished ahead of Verstappen and Charles Leclerc who completed the podium.
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Norris signed a new deal with McLaren earlier this season in a bid to fend off interest from rival teams.
He joined McLaren’s young driver programme in February 2017 after a successful junior career.
He has built himself a reputation as a brilliantly quick and smooth racing driver and his personality has made him a hit with fans and was a popular winner.
Norris, who was interviewed by Jenson Button, said: “Ahhh. About time huh? F***! – Sorry.
“It has been a long time coming but finally, I managed to do it for the whole team. I finally delivered for them.
“It was a long race but finally on top, I am over the moon. The whole weekend has been good.
“I have had some little setbacks along the way, but I knew on Friday we had the pace but we put it all together.
“Thanks to everybody at McLaren and thanks to my mum and dad too. I am just proud.
“A lot of people doubted me along the way and I made some mistakes over the past five years but also I stuck with McLaren because I believed in them.”
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
