Lando Norris has spent his entire Formula 1 career within the McLaren family, stepping up to a race seat in 2019, and claimed his maiden podium at the start of his second campaign. Despite becoming a regular visitor to the podium through 2023 and early 2024, he was still yet to achieve his first win.  

He had always asserted how much a victory in papaya would mean to him, and ahead of 2024, having signed a fresh contract, he hoped that everything would finally click into place. Around the streets of Miami that season, it did.

After Qualifying in fifth, Lando ran a longer first stint than his front-running rivals and, when the Safety Car was deployed, he was able to pit and minimise his time loss. Lando retained the lead and kept his nerve, reeling off the remaining laps with a steely confidence to his first victory.

“We did it, Will!” he exclaimed emotionally over team radio to his long-time Race Engineer Will Joseph, ahead of the wild celebrations, which began in parc ferme and continued into the garage. It marked our first victory in two-and-a-half years, and kick-started the charge to the Constructors’ Championship.

Oscar Piastri’s maiden victory in Hungary last year firmly established his status as a front-runner, but it was his second in Azerbaijan that truly grabbed the attention. Oscar started alongside Charles Leclerc on the front row of the grid, but a slightly subdued first stint saw the deficit grow to five seconds, as he chased the Ferrari.

Oscar stopped early, while Lando, yet to pit and out of position after Qualifying further back – played the team game, holding up Sergio Perez, who looked like Oscar’s biggest threat from behind, having pitted early in an attempt to undercut the Australian.

When Leclerc emerged from his pit stop later, Oscar was just seven-tenths in arrears. Approaching Turn 1 a couple of laps later, Oscar was a chunk behind Leclerc, but opted for the full send approach. "It was a high-risk, high commitment move but that’s what I needed to do to try and win the race,” Oscar said. It worked. Oscar emerged ahead of Leclerc, and then pulled off a masterful defensive drive to ensure Leclerc was never able to counter.

Oscar’s second win would prove to be a key turning point in the Constructors’ Championship battle, as we climbed above Red Bull in the standings and assumed the lead for the first time.

Bruce McLaren’s first Grand Prix victory came in 1959, driving for Cooper, and through the following years, the Kiwi became regular front-runner, but he wasn’t content with racing alone.

In 1966, looking for a fresh challenge that would satisfy his hunger to create and race, Bruce decided to create his own team, following in the footsteps of his mentor Jack Brabham - one of two drivers to win a race in a car they had designed themselves. Bruce aimed to become the third.

It was far from a smooth path and there were several setbacks, the team finding their feet in 1968, following the introduction of the M7A. A more compliant chassis was equipped with a stronger Cosworth engine, and, more importantly, greater reliability.

At the daunting Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, which stretched out for 14km across the public roads, Bruce claimed overall honours, marking the first Grand Prix win for McLaren as a Constructor. It would sadly prove to be Bruce’s sole Formula 1 Grand Prix win in his own car, though six more podiums followed before Bruce’s untimely death during a testing accident at Goodwood in 1970.

The MCL35M was competitive around the high-speed blasts of Monza in 2021, with Lando qualifying fourth, and Daniel Ricciardo fifth. In only the second ever running of the F1 Sprint – and back when that result set the grid for Sunday’s race – Daniel sliced his way up to third, with Lando following behind in fourth.

That gave Daniel a strong position for the main affair, and he duly made a rapid getaway, slicing his way through to the lead under braking for Turn 1. Daniel managed the race expertly, while Lando took third at the expense of Lewis Hamilton. Daniel and Lando both made their pit stops without issues, while Max Verstappen was delayed, before he and Hamilton infamously collided at the first chicane.

Charles Leclerc slotted into second, but Lando passed him at the restart to reclaim the position, as Daniel preserved a lead that he would not relinquish. It proved to be Daniel’s sole win in papaya, but an exceptionally popular one, as he ended our nine-year wait for a victory.

Ayrton had never managed to claim victory on home soil in Brazil, through the Grands Prix held at Rio’s Jacarepagua, and in 1990 the event relocated to São Paulo’s Interlagos. The Paulista came close in 1990, leading until contact with the lapped Satoru Nakajima thwarted his chances, and he fell to third.

In 1991, Ayrton again led but faced a worsening gearbox problem that robbed him of several gears, until he was left with only sixth gear in operation. In spite of the mechanical challenges, and a late rain shower, Ayrton nursed the ailing car to the Chequered Flag and erupted in celebration, screaming at having finally achieved his desired home victory.

Such was the energy that Ayrton had expended into his drive that he had to be aided from his car post-race. He struggled to stand on the podium during the emotional celebrations and could barely hoist the trophy into the air. But home victory, at last, was his.

The 2011 Canadian Grand Prix really had it all – certainly it did for Jenson Button. The rain-hit race was interrupted for a prolonged spell due to a deluge, which came after Jenson had already been involved in an unfortunate clash with team-mate Lewis Hamilton, leaving his compatriot sidelined.

Jenson went on to collide with Fernando Alonso in Turn 4, and the pit stop for repairs dropped him to last at mid-distance. But on a drying track, Jenson carved his way through the field and worked his way back into podium contention during the closing stages, taking Mark Webber and Michael Schumacher to run second. Jenson set the fastest lap, but long-time leader Sebastian Vettel still held an advantage of nine-tenths of a second. However, Vettel dipped a wheel onto a damp patch at Turn 6, and Jenson wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Jenson took victory, describing it as his best in Formula 1, having navigated six pit stops, and while driving at an average speed of 46mph, in what proved to be Formula 1’s longest race, at four hours, four minutes, and 39 seconds.

In 2005, drivers participated in one-lap Qualifying, with the order of their runs determined by reverse championship order. But worsening weather conditions meant the track was increasingly wet, and several of the front-runners were caught out. That left Kimi Räikkönen 17th, and Juan Pablo Montoya 18th of the 20 drivers on the grid. Not that Kimi was remotely deterred.

Kimi started his fightback throughout the course, picking off rivals one by one, until he was second to Giancarlo Fisichella after his last pit stop. At times, Kimi took seconds out of Fisichella’s advantage and, with three laps to go, was right on the tail of the Renault driver. Fisichella went defensive into the chicane at the end of the penultimate lap, and that gave Kimi a run along the pit straight. Fisichella hugged the inside, but Kimi boldly plumped for the outside line and swept around the Renault as they plunged into the downhill Turn 1.

Epic. Just epic.

Lewis Hamilton had already displayed his wet-weather prowess at a drenched Fuji Speedway in 2007, and a year later, he again laid down a marker, this time on home turf.

Lewis qualified a slightly subdued fourth at Silverstone, but in wet conditions rocketed off the line to sit second to team-mate Heikki Kovalainen by the time the field exited the first corner. Lewis shadowed Kovalainen for a few laps before diving to the inside into Stowe, before simply breezing away from the field. Lewis had a trip across the grass at the Abbey chicane when a deluge swept through, but kept the MP4-23 pointing in the right direction and reasserted his authority.

Pumping out dominant lap after dominant lap, Lewis’ advantage by the end of the race was such that he crossed the line over a minute clear of second-placed Nick Heidfeld. He had lapped all bar his fellow podium finishers as he soaked up the adulation from a rapturous Silverstone crowd. It remains one of the largest winning margins in modern Formula 1.

The 1988 campaign was a dominant one for McLaren. The refined Honda-powered MP4/4 was comfortably the class of the field, and between them, Ayrton and Alain Prost won all bar one Grand Prix.

At Suzuka, both drivers had an opportunity to clinch the world title, but Ayrton had the advantage, having qualified on Pole. However, he stalled the car when the lights went out, and the pendulum swung back in Alain’s favour. Fortunately, Ayrton was able to get going, aided by Suzuka’s downhill grid, though he had plunged to 14th place. There began a legendary fightback.

Ayrton carved his way through the order and by mid-distance was back on the tail of the sister car. With Prost baulked by lapped traffic, Ayrton sensed his opportunity and passed his team-mate along the pit straight to take back the lead of the race. Drizzly conditions added another complication through the closing laps, but Ayrton retained command of the race to take victory, and with it, clinched the first of his three world titles with McLaren.

Lewis’ unprecedented podium-laden start to his Formula 1 career in 2007 meant a win was a matter of when, not if. It arrived in Canada. Lewis thrived around the wall-lined chicane-heavy Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to take his maiden Pole position and duly converted it into the lead at the start of the race.

Montreal’s propensity for chaos duly unfolded – but only behind Lewis. In a race that was punctuated by four Safety Car periods, incidents and accidents, and unpredictable strategies, Lewis kept a cool head up front. On what was just his sixth Grand Prix start, Lewis controlled the race and claimed his maiden Formula 1 victory, the first of a record-breaking 105 and counting.