Lando Norris thinks he was “very lucky” to finish the Chinese Grand Prix in second place after encountering brake issues that were significantly slower on a closure lap.
McLaren told Norris that he needed to avoid heavy brakes after the championship leader reported long brake pedals in the final part of the race, but he continued to try and put pressure on his teammate Oscar Piastri. Then, on the final two laps, Norris drastically reduced his pace to limit brake use, losing for about seven seconds to George Russell, who crossed the line with a 1.3-second drift in the second place fight.
“I think they started moving pretty quickly,” Norris said. “But you always tend to have a bit longer brakes, and I think the team was hiding it from me.
“It was pretty nervous about being able to finish the race because it was noticeable how bad it was getting all the laps and all the brake zones in the final 10 laps. You’re in the car and expecting a nice solid pedal and nothing, so you’re not confident in a high-speed track like this.
“So we were lucky enough to just finish the race and go ahead of George. I think the last couple’s lap was over three or four seconds. We tried to push a little more and run to Oscar.
Norris said there was no warning that such issues could occur during the race.
“I think it was basically a problem that shouldn’t have happened,” he said. “I think it was getting worse quickly. It was probably faster than the team expected when they saw it. I think they saw it pretty quickly – just after the halfway point of the race – but it was accelerating to degradation.”
Despite the delay in concerns, Norris finished second to give McLaren a 1-2 result, finishing the weekend after a tough sprint race that ended in 8th place.
“I’m happy with the results. For the team, McLaren’s 50th One Two was a huge achievement and I’m pleased that it’s a great race by Oscars,” he said.
“I’m happy considering how bad my last few days were, and how much I struggled to just get comfortable and understand how to drive a car. To get to the pace I think it’s very strong… It was a much better race than I thought I’d have thought.
“I was just as bad and honestly nervous about struggling, but I’m very pleased to know how much I’ve improved from a driving perspective. Today was a much stronger day.