At the 110th time of asking, Lando Norris is finally a Grand Prix winner. He had to suffer his share of setbacks, including a heartbreaking loss at the 2021 Russian GP. However, his tweet following the events in Sochi that afternoon has now become viral after his win in Miami last Sunday.
Norris was leading the majority of the Russian GP in 2021 before rain spoiled the sport. He was still in P1 but refused to pit for wet-weather tires despite his team’s call. This mistake caused him to spin, dropping him down to P7 by the end of the race and the Briton was heartbroken, having lost out on a win.
After the race, however, Norris put up a post with the caption, “Head high, my time will come.”
Fast forward to 2024 and his time has finally arrived. His long wait for a finish on the top step of the podium is over, and he can put the failures of his past behind him.
The incident in Sochi was defining for Norris. Even after his win in Miami last Sunday, the Bristol-born driver addressed what happened almost three years ago. Per Racing News 365, he said,
“Russia 2021 was a very, very different situation, a lot of people talk cr*p about Sochi and the things that went on. Yes, I lost out on a victory. I and we. I never want to drag the team down but I didn’t do the best of jobs and as a team, we didn’t. So that happened.”
Fans, however, dug out Norris’ tweet from 2021 right after his triumph in Miami. The post, dated September 27, 2021, was a perfect foreshadowing of the McLaren driver’s bright future.
Lando Norris fans celebrate an emotional full-circle moment
Norris’ fans expressed their delight at how well his words from 2021 have aged. Now that the tweet is going rivals, everyone including his sponsors is referencing or reacting to it.
Unanimously, the entire F1 community is asking Norris to hold his head high. He is a Grand Prix winner now, and with McLaren on the ascendency, more victories are surely to follow.
McLaren came into the Miami GP with upgrades that bolstered their performance. Heading into the next race, the British outfit will be looking to maintain this level, or even get better because their nearest direct rivals, Ferrari, will bring an upgrade package to Imola.
