Former World Champion 'very proud' after Norris' maiden victory

After 110 races in Formula 1, Lando Norris finally earned himself a race win at the Miami Grand Prix with a stellar performance. It has been a long time coming for the 24-year-old, who had a fantastic junior career before joining F1 in 2019, and he garnered praise from nay drivers, pundits and former champions after his victory. One of those was 2009 World Champion Jenson Button, who said he was "very proud" of Norris and his performance.

Button: 'Lovely to see Norris on the top step'

Button, a former McLaren driver from 2010-2017, knows what it is like to wait for a first-ever victory in F1. It took the now 44-year-old 113 races to reach the top step of the podium, with his first win coming in the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix for Honda. Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, the Brit said that he was "very proud of him [Norris].

"It has been a long time coming. It feels like forever when you are in the sport and you haven't won a race. He's had a couple of opportunities, but it hasn't gone his way, so it's lovely to see him on the top step."

One of those races where Lando Norris was close to victory was the 2021 Russian Grand Prix where he lost control of his McLaren in the wet conditions after staying out on dry tyres, meaning he was forced to pit and dropped down to seventh at the race's end after leading.

However, that race will no longer haunt Norris now after taking victory at the Miami International Autodrome, and Button continued by saying that the winning feeling "sticks with you forever.

"But it doesn't change the way he's going to go racing. He's a confident driver, he's very skilled and he's a team player. So I expect to see them winning more over the years to come and I just hope it's sooner rather than later so we can have this fight between Red Bull and McLaren, which would be amazing.

"You still need the car to perform and get that result again. For me, it took three years [between the first and second win], hopefully, it won't take him that long to win his second race."