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'It's been a long time coming': F1 drivers react to Norris’ maiden win in Miami

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'It's been a long time coming': F1 drivers react to Norris’ maiden win in Miami

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — A smile kept creeping onto Lando Norris’s face throughout post-race media sessions.

His maiden Formula One victory has been a long-time coming. He’s come close a couple of times, only to be foiled by small errors, like in Qatar 2023, and things out of his control, like the rain and strategy calls from Sochi 2021. He joined the F1 grid in 2019 with McLaren as a 19-year-old, and now in his sixth season and heading into the Miami Grand Prix weekend, the Briton had secured one pole position, stood on the podium 15 times, and driven over 6,000 laps.

As each driver stopped in the media pen for interviews, nearly every one touched on the same point: It’s about time.


Fernando Alonso predicted this would be “the first of many wins” for Lando Norris. (Kym Illman/Getty Images)

“Well done to Lando,” Fernando Alonso said. “First win after so many podiums. I’m really happy for him. Hopefully he (remembers) this day — the first of many wins.” The Aston Martin driver wasn’t the only one who indicated that this wouldn’t be the final victory for the 24-year-old. Max Verstappen said, “I’m very happy for Lando. It’s been a long time coming. And it’s not going to be his last. He deserves it today.”

The victory came at a crucial moment in the sport. Over the last 28 grands prix, Red Bull has topped all but two races, Singapore 2023 and Australia 2024, both won by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. Verstappen has gone largely unchallenged, building a fairly decent lead race after race. But in Miami this weekend, McLaren took advantage of the chance it got to beat Red Bull in a straight fight. As Norris pulled ahead from Verstappen after the safety cars, it became a matter of fresh tires and clean air beating a wickedly fast car.

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McLaren's British driver Lando Norris (R) is congratulated by Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen after winning the 2024 Miami Formula One Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens, Florida, on May 5, 2024. (Photo by Giorgio Viera / AFP)

“I’m very happy for Lando. It’s been a long time coming. And it’s not going to be his last. He deserves it today,” Max Verstappen (left) said of Lando Norris (right). (Giorgio Viera / AFP)

“He’s deserving of a race victory probably many, many years ago,” Mercedes’ George Russell said. “And I think for all the drivers in Formula One in this era of dominance from one team and one driver, it’s always great to see somebody get that chance to score a victory.”

Norris started last year’s Miami GP 16th and finished P17 for a struggling McLaren, which turned its season around in the second half of 2023. Now, it has its first win in three years. Oscar Piastri said he was “very happy for (Norris) and for the whole team, and I think we deserve it. Our trajectory in the last 12 months has been towards this moment.”

Lewis Hamilton reminisced about his first F1 victory, which also was with McLaren, back in 2007. The team still has “a big part of my heart,” he said, and was happy to see them win again. The Woking-based crew’s last F1 victory was with Daniel Ricciardo at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.

Before doing post-race interviews, it’s traditional for drivers to chat with their team briefly, crew members patting them on the helmet or back. Norris, though, launched himself over the barrier in joy, McLaren crew members equally as happy to embrace their new race winner. The emotion was overflowing.

“I’m just really happy for Lando. As much as we all want to beat each other and to come out on top, it’s always emotional to see so many emotions in one of your competitors,” Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc said. “We have all grown up together. I remember looking at Lando when he was in KF3, and we all had this same dream of being a Formula One driver someday.”

Norris is no a stranger to hate, memes and nicknames like “Lando No Wins” popping up on social media as people discuss his record. But the Briton says the words from those closest to him hold more meaning, and thanked his competitors for their praise and support. In parc ferme and the media pen, different drivers embraced Norris, congratulating him on this moment he’ll likely remember forever.

“As much as when you put the helmet on, you hate them, and you want to beat them, and you don’t care who’s who, I’ve always had respect for the people I’ve raced against. So when anyone comes up [to me], especially people who have achieved a lot, because it always means a little bit more,” Norris said. “So when Lewis, Fernando, Max, Charles, Carlos, whenever they come up to you or people have good words for you, I appreciate those things a lot. Because from these people, it means something. Maybe from others, it doesn’t.

“From these people, they’re the people who know what it takes to achieve these types of things for the work, the time, the effort that goes into doing something like this.”

(Lead photo of Lando Norris and George Russell: Giorgio Viera / AFP)

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Tiger Woods released from jail after DUI arrest; eyes appear bloodshot in booking photo

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Tiger Woods released from jail after DUI arrest; eyes appear bloodshot in booking photo

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Tiger Woods was released from jail Friday night after he was arrested earlier in the day on a DUI charge following a car crash in Florida.

In a mugshot released hours after his arrest, Woods’ eyes appeared bloodshot, as he donned a blue polo inside the Martin County Jail in Florida.

Woods was seen leaving the jail in the passenger seat of a black SUV after his release on bail late Friday, according to The Associated Press.

Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek confirmed in a news conference that Woods was traveling at “a high rate of speed” when his vehicle collided with another car, resulting in his vehicle rolling over onto the driver’s side. 

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Tiger Woods was booked into Martin County, Florida, jail on March 27, 2026. (AP)

Authorities said Woods “exemplified signs of impairment.” He blew “triple-zeroes” for alcohol but refused a urine test.

“DUI investigators came to the scene here, and Mr. Woods did exemplify signs of impairment. They did several tests on him. Of course, he did explain the injuries and the surgeries that he had. We did take that into account, but they did do some in-depth roadside tests,” Budensiek added. 

“We really weren’t suspicious of alcohol being involved in this case, and that proved to be true at the jail. … But when it came time for us to ask for a urinalysis test, he refused. And, so, he’s been charged with DUI, with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test.”

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Woods was spotted on the phone after the crash, wearing navy blue shorts.

Woods was charged with DUI, property damage and refusal to submit to a test, all misdemeanor charges. No one was injured, authorities said. Woods was alone in the car and crawled out of the passenger door after the crash.

Tiger Woods was driven from the Martin County Jail after being arrested for driving under the influence following a car crash on March 27, 2026, in Stuart, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

VANESSA, KAI TRUMP TAKE IN TIGER WOODS’ RETURN TO GOLF AT TGL FINALS

“This could’ve been a lot worse,” Budensiek noted. 

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President Donald Trump commented on the arrest of his “very close friend.”

“I feel so badly. He’s got some difficulty,” Trump said. “There was an accident, and that’s all I know. Very close friend of mine. He’s an amazing person, an amazing man, but some difficulty.”

Woods has not commented on the arrest.

Tiger Woods was arrested on a DUI charge after getting into a car crash on Friday. (Associated Press)

Woods currently is dating Trump’s ex-daughter-in-law, Vanessa, whose daughter, Kai, is set to play college golf in Miami next week.

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This is Woods’ second DUI arrest within the last decade. In 2017, he was taken into custody, also in Jupiter Island, after taking prescription drugs and being asleep behind the wheel of a running car at 3 a.m. 

In 2021, he got into a wreck that resulted in serious leg injuries that kept him off the golf course for the entire year.

Golfer Tiger Woods stands by his overturned vehicle in Jupiter Island, Fla., Friday, March 27, 2026.  (Jason Oteri/AP)

Woods made his return to competitive golf earlier this week in the TGL championship after rupturing his Achilles just before last year’s Masters (this year’s tournament is in less than two weeks). Woods has not appeared on the links since the 2024 PGA Championship, in which he missed the cut.

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Lakers beat Nets, but Luka Doncic is facing suspension again after 16th technical

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Lakers beat Nets, but Luka Doncic is facing suspension again after 16th technical

For the second time in less than a week, Luka Doncic faces a one-game suspension because of technical foul accumulation.

Only a week after Doncic’s 16th technical foul was rescinded by the NBA, the Lakers superstar picked up another one in a 116-99 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday and is in line to miss the Lakers’ next game against the Washington Wizards on Monday.

In the third quarter with the Lakers trailing by one against the lowly Nets (17-57), Doncic was called for an offensive foul against Nic Claxton as the Lakers (48-26) were trying to inbound the ball after a dunk by Ziaire Williams. After the Lakers turnover, Williams and Doncic appeared to exchange words with Doncic pushing Williams aside with one hand. Williams then flailed his arms behind him and slapped Doncic in the throat.

“He was yelling in my face three times,” said Doncic, who finished with 41 points, eight rebounds and three assists in the win. “I just wanted to get out of there. … I didn’t even talk. I just wanted to get out of there. And they said I pushed. My push was exaggerated, which was obviously not [the case].”

Both were assessed technical fouls with 5:12 remaining in the third quarter, and Williams’ hit was reviewed for a possible flagrant, although it was not upgraded.

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The NBA requires players to sit out for one game without pay after their 16th technical foul of the season. But Doncic avoided that fate after the NBA rescinded the foul that would have forced him to the bench for a critical road game last week. Lakers coach JJ Redick said the Lakers will try to appeal Doncic’s latest foul but he did not see what happened on the play.

Last week, Doncic avoided a suspension after the NBA rescinded the foul that would have forced him to the bench for a critical road game against the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons. Doncic is slated to miss Monday’s game against the Wizards, who have lost 17 of their last 18 games and have the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference (17-56).

Lakers star Luka Doncic reacts to a referee’s call during the second half Friday against the Brooklyn Nets at Crypto.com Arena.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Doncic picked up his first 16th technical foul last week against the Orlando Magic after getting into an argument with Orlando forward Goga Bitadze. Doncic claimed Bitadze directed a vulgar comment about Doncic’s family in Serbian toward the Lakers star guard. Bitadze refuted the story, saying it was actually Doncic who said the curse word out loud first and that he was only repeating what he heard.

The NBA rescinded both fouls upon review the following day.

Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer, has scored 30 points or more in 12 consecutive games, the longest such streak in his career. He has 43 30-point games this season, tying Elgin Baylor and Jerry West for sixth-most in a season by a Lakers player. He has scored 40 points or more in the last 12 games.

Against the Nets, Austin Reaves finished with 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists and LeBron James had 14 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

Before the game, Redick said the Nets game would be like playing on the road since the Lakers had spent almost two weeks away from Crypto.com Arena and had returned home in the wee hours of Thursday morning from Indianapolis.

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Lakers guard Austin Reaves celebrates after shooting a three-pointer against the Nets in the second half Friday.

Lakers guard Austin Reaves celebrates after shooting a three-pointer against the Nets in the second half Friday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The challenge was to find the energy to play, which wasn’t a problem for Doncic, who had 24 points in the first half. Doncic was nine for 15 from the field in the first half and four for six from three-point range in 20 minutes. He finished shooting 15 for 25 from the field as the Lakers shot 54% from the floor. They shot 44% (11 for 25) from three-point range.

That the Lakers were facing a Nets team with the second-worst record in the NBA didn’t matter.

That the Lakers were facing a Nets team had lost nine of its last 10 games didn’t matter.

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That the Lakers were facing a Nets team that’s last in the league in scoring (106.3 points per game) didn’t matter.

Lakers center Deandre Ayton, left, blocks a shot by Brooklyn Nets guard Nolan Traore.

Lakers center Deandre Ayton, left, blocks a shot by Brooklyn Nets guard Nolan Traore in the first half Friday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

What mattered to the Lakers was finding a way to win as the regular season winds down.

“I felt like we were a step slow,” Redick said. “And I told the guys at halftime, ‘This is our seventh game of the road trip. Anytime you come back, there’s a day in between, that’s just you’re in another city until you can get adjusted to the time zone and you get a couple days break.’ So the next two [off] days will be good for us.”

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Notes: Lakers broadcast analyst Stu Lantz missed Friday night’s game against the Nets because of health issues. Derek Fisher, who won five NBA titles with the Lakers, took over Lantz’s role for the game. Public address announcer Lawrence Tanter also missed the game because of a health matter. Jason Barquero filled in for Lantz. “The entire Lakers organization is wishing Lawrence all the best in his recovery, and we look forward to welcoming him back soon,” the team said in a statement.

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Tiger Woods involved in rollover crash in Florida less than 2 weeks before Masters: reports

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Tiger Woods involved in rollover crash in Florida less than 2 weeks before Masters: reports

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Tiger Woods was involved in a car crash on Jupiter Island in Florida on Friday, according to multiple reports. 

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office told ESPN that the crash happened on Jupiter Island. Woods’ condition was not immediately known. 

Woods competed in the TGL championship earlier this week with his girlfriend, Vanessa Trump, and her daughter, Kai, in the stands. It was his return to competitive golf after rupturing his Achilles last year, just ahead of the Masters.

Tiger Woods of Jupiter Links Golf Club looks on before the match against the Los Angeles Golf Club at SoFi Center on March 23, 2026, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.  (Adam Glanzman/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images)

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The 15-time major winner, five of which have come at Augusta, was noncommittal about playing at this year’s Masters. President Donald Trump said on “The Five” on Thursday that he would be at Augusta but not play.

Woods has had trouble behind the wheel in the past. In 2021, he got into a wreck that resulted in serious leg injuries that kept him off the golf course for months.

This is a breaking story. Check back for more updates.

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