Donald Trump last attended a Formula 1 race in 2024 when he was present at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix.
The United States now holds more F1 events than any other country, with Miami, Austin and Las Vegas all hosting Grand Prix as part of the 24-race calendar.
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The Miami Grand Prix made its F1 debut in 2022, with Max Verstappen winning the first two editions.
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri won the most recent race in 2025, but the year before, it was Lando Norris who secured the first victory of his F1 career.
Norris had to wait 110 races before he finally got to stand on the top step of the podium in Formula 1.
In an interview after winning in Miami, he shared that Donald Trump suggested he was Norris’ lucky charm, after being a guest in their garage during the race.
Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images
Donald Trump once called himself Lando Norris’ ‘lucky charm’ after 2024 Miami Grand Prix win
Norris was asked about Trump’s presence in the garage that weekend, via Autosport, and he said: “I didn’t see him in the garage, to be honest. I was busy prepping for the race. But he saw me after, and he came up to congratulate me.
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“So I guess an honour, because whenever you have someone like this, it has to be an honour for them to come up to you, to take time out of their life, to pay their respect for what you’ve done.
“He said he was my lucky charm because it’s my win. So I don’t know if he’s going to come to more races now.
“But yeah, there’s a lot of special people or cool people that have been here this weekend. Donald is someone that you got to have a lot of respect for in many ways.
“And yeah, for anyone like that who acknowledges what you can go out and do, and acknowledges the work ethic that goes into things, you’ve got to be thankful for that. And I was. So yeah, a cool moment.”
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McLaren released an official statement after Trump was spotted with the team, and explained: “McLaren is a non-political organisation; however, we recognise and respect the office of President of the United States.
“So when the request was made to visit our garage on race day, we accepted alongside the president of the FIA and the CEO’s of Liberty Media and Formula 1.
“We were honoured that McLaren Racing was chosen as the representative of F1, which gave us the opportunity to showcase the world-class engineering that we bring to motorsport.”
McLaren declined a public Lando Norris celebration after 2025 Formula 1 championship win
Trump was on the campaign trail in 2024 and hoped to speak to prospective voters and backers with his appearance in Miami.
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He didn’t attend either race in Austin or Las Vegas that year and wasn’t seen at any of the trio of races held in the United States in 2025.
Norris completed an impressive campaign last year to win his first championship, beating Verstappen by two points, with Piastri still in contention heading into the final race.
However, McLaren declined a public celebration for Norris outside of their factory in Woking, as the team instead focuses on preparations for 2026.
Formula 1 will introduce a brand-new ruleset this year, which could mean McLaren lose their advantage over the rest of the grid.
There’s an additional reason for American fans to get excited about the new F1 season starting in March, with Cadillac making their debut in the sport, with Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez their chosen drivers.
READ MORE: Five things you probably didn’t know about Lando Norris