Max Verstappen heaps praise on rival Lando Norris for maiden Formula One win

Max Verstappen praised Lando Norris for a "deserved" Formula One victory, as the Red Bull driver conceded defeat to his McLaren adversary at the end of a thrilling Miami Grand Prix.

Verstappen dominated the early portions of Sunday's race but lost the lead to Norris due to a mid-race Safety Car, with the Dutchman stopping just before it was deployed and the Briton changing tyres beneath it.

When the race resumed, Norris was under pressure from Verstappen, but he held on to first place and performed a solid effort over the final laps to capture the checkered flag.

"You win, you lose. We're all used to that in racing, right? Today was a bit tricky. I think already on the medium [tyres] it didn't feel fantastic, we were pulling away but not like it should be. Then once we made a pit stop I heard what the lap times McLaren were doing and I was like, 'Well, that's pretty quick!'" Verstappen said as quoted by Formula 1.

"Once then they also switched onto the hard tyre, they just had more pace, especially Lando he was flying. It was incredibly difficult for us on that stint but if a bad day is P2 I take it. I'm very happy for Lando, it's been a long time coming and it's not going to be his last one, so he definitely deserves it today," he added.

When asked if McLaren is showcasing their 'real pace' after a spate of upgrades to their vehicles at the Miami International Autodrome, Verstappen said, "I hope not! They came with an upgrade, for sure it looks like it works so we have a bit of work to do from our side.

"I think definitely it wasn't our strongest weekend in terms of race pace, but we'll analyse it all and we'll try to come back stronger," he added.

Despite losing out on victory, Verstappen has increased his lead in the drivers' standings to 35 points, with nearest championship opponent and teammate Sergio Perez finishing fifth.