Lando Norris: Donald Trump told me he was my ‘lucky charm’ after first F1 win

Donald Trump told Lando Norris that he was his “lucky charm” following the British driver’s maiden victory at the Miami Grand Prix.

In his 110th attempt, Norris captured the Formula One win that had so far proved elusive until Sunday’s star-studded race at the Hard Rock Stadium in Florida.

The 24-year-old Bristolian rearranged his travel plans to stay in Miami an extra night and celebrate becoming the 21st British driver to enter the F1 winner’s circle.

Norris’ triumph came three-and-a-half hours after former United States president Trump was given a guided tour of the car which would carry him to glory by McLaren’s chief executive Zak Brown.

“I didn’t see him (Trump) in the garage ahead of the race because I was busy preparing, but he came and saw me after to congratulate me,” said Norris.

“He said he was my lucky charm because it was my first win so I don’t know if he’s going to come to more races now.

“Donald is someone you have to have respect for in many ways, and I guess it was an honour for him to come up to me and to take the time out of his life to acknowledge what I’ve done. It was a cool moment.”

Norris had started to earn the reputation as F1’s nearly man prior to his victory in the Sunshine State.

A fan heckled Norris in Australia in March after the McLaren man became the first driver in the sport’s history to stand on the podium as many as 14 times without taking to the top step.

“When are you going to win a race Lando?” yelled the punter. Norris replied with the middle finger and the unsavoury exchange was splattered all over social media.

Norris said after his Miami success: “I never lost the faith. I never lost the belief that I could go out there and do it.

“I go on Instagram and I like all the comments of people abusing me. I love it. More than anything, it makes me smile – especially (the meme) ‘Lando No-wins’.

“So to prove those people wrong and to prove to people that didn’t think I could go out and do it, and then go out and do it, has put an even bigger smile on my face. I thank all of them.”

Norris was propelled on to the road to glory when Kevin Magnussen punted Logan Sargeant off the track and a safety car was deployed, allowing the British driver to stop for new tyres.

And Norris – boosted by a significant McLaren upgrade – held his nerve at the restart to keep title favourite Max Verstappen behind before finishing nearly eight seconds clear to provide hope that he could yet offer a challenge to the Dutchman in his all-conquering Red Bull machine.

“I said at the beginning of the year we could win a race and lot of people doubted that,” added Norris, who will be back in action at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola on May 19.

“I am not sure I would have won today without the upgrades and without the hard work that the team has been putting in. But I would like to say it’s the start.

“Now I’m already hungry for more. We’ll keep our heads down, we’ll keep pushing, and I’m sure we can be here a lot more often.”