When the race finally got underway after a nervy weekend for McLaren, the pressure was high after the team had endured two difficult races in the grands prix prior to this one.
A double disqualification in Las Vegas followed by a botched strategy that gave Verstappen victory in Qatar had raised the stakes for McLaren at the end of a year in which they won the constructors’ title with six races remaining.
Norris took a cautious approach at the start, not interacting with Verstappen as the Dutchman aggressively defended his lead from pole position heading into the first corner.
Halfway through the lap, Piastri went around the outside of Norris on the long left-hander at turn nine.
The move had previously been discussed in McLaren strategy meetings as a way to put the Australian in play for victory against Verstappen. Norris did not make it difficult for his teammate to pass.
Piastri was on hard tires and Verstappen and Norris were on medium tyres, so the plan was to run long and give Red Bull something to consider and reduce the risk of him falling back to a disadvantage for Norris.
Norris had to fight with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for third place, but he was always in control.
And after a second tire stop for Norris to mimic Leclerc’s two-stop strategy, the Briton closed in on Piastri in the closing laps.
“It’s amazing. It’s quite surreal, you know?” Norris said. “I’ve dreamed about this for a long, long time. Everyone does it.
“A lot goes into a season like this, a lot of ups and downs. But none of that matters as long as you’re trying to get to the top, and that’s what we’ve managed to do.
“It’s not just this year, it’s been for the last seven or eight years with McLaren, with the last 16, 17 years of my life, trying to chase this dream, and today we all did it, so I’m very happy.”
