Lando Norris earns 1st career F1 victory by ending Verstappen's dominance at Miami

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Lando Norris should take a lesson from his last big party and perhaps tone down the celebration for his first career Formula 1 victory.

His reaction following the Sunday victory in the Miami Grand Prix showed the British driver probably doesn't plan to miss a beat.

“Tonight's going to be a great time,” Norris promised. “I’m just really proud. A lot of people, I guess, doubted me along the way. I’ve made a lot of mistakes over my last five years, my short career, but today we put it all together so this is all for the team. I started with McLaren because I believe in them and today proved exactly that.”

Norris won in his 110th career start after a mistake by Max Verstappen ended Verstappen's dominance at the circuit in the parking lot surrounding Hard Rock Stadium. The 24-year-old driver sprinted down pit lane to leap into the arms of his McLaren crew, which crowd surfed Norris until he finally got to boss Zak Brown, who wrapped Norris in a bearhug.

Norris arrived in Miami with a bandage covering stitches on his nose from a cut received by broken glass while he was in Amsterdam following F1's last outing. Norris was celebrating King’s Day with DJ Martin Garrix when he cut his nose.

“I'm going to go all night," Norris promised of the post-race party. “I may have more than a bandage on my nose.”

Verstappen, who started from the pole and won Saturday's sprint race, was out front when he hit a chicane and knocked a cone out of place on the circuit. It forced the three-time reigning F1 champion to pit and gave Norris the lead.

Norris then controlled the race to give McLaren its first win since a Daniel Ricciardo victory in 2021. Ricciardo was among the handful of drivers who found Norris for a congratulatory hug following the race.

Norris is the second British driver in F1 history to be feted on the podium by “God Save the King.” George Russell in 2022 is the only other British driver to win outside of Queen Elizabeth's reign; Russell's victory in Brazil came two months after Queen Elizabeth's death.

The song seemed to affect Norris, who closed his eyes as he turned his head to the sky with a huge grin on his face. When it came time for the champagne celebration, he was doused by runner-up Verstappen and third-place finisher Charles Leclerc, who sprayed the champagne directly into Norris' eyes.

It took him a few minutes of wiping his eyes clear before he slammed his own champagne bottle to the ground to force it into a heavy stream he used to soak his McLaren team below the podium. He also tossed the winning trophy into the air, but caught it.

With about 10 laps to go, Norris realized the race was his to lose when his lead over Verstappen hit 5 seconds.

“Five seconds?” Norris radioed his team. “Am I alive?”

Indeed he was as an ecstatic McLaren squad celebrated a rare victory on a weekend in which it debuted significant upgrades on its two cars. McLaren now has 13 wins in races in the United States — tying a record with Ferrari — but it was the first on American soil since Lewis Hamilton at Circuit of the Americas in 2012.

Norris' final margin of victory was 7.6-seconds over Verstappen of Red Bull. Verstappen had been undefeated at Miami with wins in its first two races and the sprint race on Saturday.

Norris said he knew when he entered the track Sunday morning that he'd end the day atop the podium.

“Finally. I am so happy. I knew it. I knew it when I came in this morning,” Norris said. “And I nailed it.”

McLaren has now won an F1, Formula E and IndyCar race in the past two months. Norris is the first driver since Carlos Sainz Jr. to beat Verstappen this season — and Verstappen was eliminated from that race in Melbourne with a mechanical failure.

"You win. You lose. I think we're all a bit used to that in racing," Verstappen said. “Is a bad day P2? I will take it. I am happy for Lando, it's been a long time coming and there's more to come from him.”

As for his incident in the chicane, Verstappen tried to joke about it hitting the cone.

“I didn't like it. So I took it out,” he said. “And tested the front wing. So crash-test done.”

McLaren before the start of the race hosted former President Donald Trump, who chatted with F1 officials from inside the McLaren garage. When he made his way toward the starting grid, fans began chanting “USA! USA!” and Trump pumped his fist in approval.

Ferrari drivers Leclerc and Sainz finished third and fourth and were followed by Sergio Perez of Red Bull.

Hamilton was sixth for Mercedes, Yuki Tsunoda of Red Bull's junior team was seventh and Russell was eighth for Mercedes. Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and Esteban Ocon of Alpine rounded out the top 10. Ocon did it with team investors Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs in attendance.

About halfway through the race, Logan Sargeant crashed and brought out the safety car that forced the Pompano Beach native out of his car. The 23-year-old and only American driver on the F1 grid is clinging to his seat with Williams as speculation is rampant he could be replaced before the end of his second season.

It marked Sargeant's second consecutive last-place finish at his home race.

The Sargeant crash handed control of race strategy to McLaren, who held the lead with Norris at the time of the caution. Norris had taken over the lead when Verstappen was forced to pit from the lead after hitting a chicane that knocked a cone onto the racing surface.

As Red Bull was looking for any damage to Verstappen's front wing, a race marshal entered the circuit and scooped up the cone as F1 avoided having to use the safety car for the incident. But just moments later, Kevin Magnussen made contact with Sargeant and it gave McLaren the chance to strategize a victory over Verstappen.

For Magnussen, it marked another bad day in a long weekend in which the Haas driver was accused of unsportsmanlike conduct for his strategy in Saturday's sprint race.

AP F1: https://apnews.com/hub/formula-one

McLaren CEO Zak Brown, left, hugs McLaren driver Lando Norris, right, of Britain, after Norris won the Miami Formula One Grand Prix auto race, Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

McLaren driver Lando Norris, of Britain, celebrates as he is introduced after winning the Formula One Miami Grand Prix auto race at the Miami International Autodrome, Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, right, talks with McLaren driver Lando Norris, left, of Britain, after Norris won the Miami Formula One Grand Prix auto race Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

McLaren driver Lando Norris, of Britain, celebrates after winning the Formula One Miami Grand Prix auto race at the Miami International Autodrome, Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

McLaren driver Lando Norris, left, of Britain, shakes hands with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, of Monaco, after winning the Miami Formula One Grand Prix auto race Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Drivers steer their cars during the Miami Formula One Grand Prix auto race Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, of the Netherlands, steers his car during the Miami Formula One Grand Prix auto race Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Kansas City Chiefs NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes prepares to throw a football outside of the Alpine hospitality area at the Miami Formula One Grand Prix auto race Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, of the Netherlands, sits in his car before the start of the Miami Formula One Grand Prix auto race Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

McLaren driver Lando Norris, of Britain, center, holds up his trophy after winning the Formula One Miami Grand Prix auto race at the Miami International Autodrome, Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Second place winner, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, of the Netherlands, left, and third place winner Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, of Monaco, stands at right. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump, left, gestures as he arrives at the Miami Formula One Grand Prix auto race Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

McLaren driver Lando Norris, of Britain, waves to the crowd after winning the Miami Formula One Grand Prix auto race Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Second place winner, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, of the Netherlands, left, and third place winner Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, of Monaco, right, spray champagne on winner, McLaren driver Lando Norris, of Britain, after the Formula One Miami Grand Prix auto race at the Miami International Autodrome, Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

McLaren driver Lando Norris, of Britain, is lifted after winning the Miami Formula One Grand Prix auto race Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler’s arrest and prompt release from a Louisville jail Friday that let him play in a high-profile tournament after being booked on charges including felony assault has sparked questions over whether he was given preferential treatment because of his fame.

Some social media users raised the issue of malfeasance by the Louisville police department, which a national report last year found has used excessive force and invalid search warrants.

Police are continuing their investigation, but here's a look at the incident and policing in Louisville:

Officers were redirecting traffic after a fatal accident near the Valhalla Golf Club when Scheffler allegedly disobeyed an officer's command. His car accelerated forward and dragged the officer to the ground, according to a police report, and the officer suffered injuries to his wrist and was taken to the hospital.

The 27-year-old Scheffler, who lives in Texas, was arrested outside the club just after 6 a.m., taken to jail, dressed in an orange jumpsuit and had his mug shot taken. The Louisville Metro Police Department said he was booked on four charges, including second-degree assault of a police officer.

But by 10:08 a.m., he was on the other side of the city and teeing off at the PGA Championship. Scheffler had been released on his own recognizance, without posting bond, after agreeing that he would make all his court dates in Louisville.

Scheffler and his attorney have said he didn't intentionally do anything wrong, and he misunderstood police commands and simply was trying to get to the course. His lawyer previously represented the boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by police in 2020, in a civil suit against the city a few years ago.

Scheffler was greeted with cheers by fans when he arrived at the golf course, but some in Louisville with memories of a turbulent past took a dim view of the incident.

“A man drags a cop with his vehicle and hospitalizes him. He’s arrested ... charged with a felony ... and then immediately released so he can make his tee time? Did I get that right?” said Ricky L. Jones, a University of Louisville professor of pan-African studies, on the social platform X.

Bill Miller, a local golf fan who was at the course Friday, said it cast Louisville and the police in a negative light.

“It’s just another bad look for the city,” Miller said. “I’d want to understand what the cop was trying to do. But it’s sad.”

A spokesperson for Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said Saturday there is no police body camera video of the initial encounter between Scheffler and the officer. The officer was directing traffic at the time, and the department’s officers typically don’t record video with their body cameras while directing traffic, Kevin Trager, the mayor’s press secretary, wrote in a text message to an Associated Press reporter.

Elsewhere, the incident drew reaction from an Atlanta-area pastor who hosted a funeral for Roger Fortson, a young Black senior airman who was shot by a Florida sheriff’s deputy at his home this month.

“Something is wrong in America,” said Jamal Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. “You have respect for a golfer, but you don’t have respect for (Fortson) and for a person who has given their life to this nation. You cannot remain silent in the face of injustice.”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear took heat on X for a post encouraging people to welcome golf tournament fans “with the kindness and hospitality we’re known for.” One commenter replied with Scheffler's mug shot and observed that Beshear's post had not aged well.

The department has attracted negative national attention in recent years after the fatal shooting of Taylor in 2020 and a federal investigation into its policing practices. It has also been the subject of protests over its policing.

A Department of Justice report released last year said Louisville officers use excessive force and conduct searches based on invalid warrants. It also said Black motorists in the city were more likely to be searched during traffic stops, and officers used neck restraints, police dogs and stun guns against people who posed no imminent threat.

Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was shot by officers who came to her apartment with a warrant that federal officials later said was falsified.

The police department was lauded, however, for its response to a mass shooting at a bank in 2023, when the shooter armed with an AR-15 was quickly killed before he could hurt more people. One officer who had just joined the force was struck in the head by a bullet, sustaining a brain injury.

Last year the department hired as its new police chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel, the first Black woman to hold the position. The city continues to negotiate a consent decree with federal officials that will stipulate what policing reforms should take place.

Associated Press Writers Aaron Morrison in New York and Eddie Pells in Louisville contributed to this report.

In this still image made from video provided by ESPN, Masters champion Scottie Scheffler is put into a police car after being handcuffed near Valhalla Golf Club, site of the PGA Championship golf tournament, early Friday, May 17, 2024. (ESPN via AP)

In this mug shot provided by the Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections Friday, May 17, 2024, Scott Scheffler is shown. Masters champion Scottie Scheffler was detained by police Friday morning on his way to the PGA Championship, with stunning images showing him handcuffed as he was led to a police car. (Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections via AP)

Scottie Scheffler walks to the tee on the 11th hole during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Friday, May 17, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Scottie Scheffler celebrates after a birdie on the 12th hole during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Friday, May 17, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)