Lando Norris believes he was “very fortunate” to complete the Chinese language Grand Prix in second place after encountering brake issues that slowed him considerably within the closing laps.
McLaren informed Norris he wanted to keep away from heavy braking after the championship chief reported an extended brake pedal within the last a part of the race, however he continued to try to preserve the strain on teammate Oscar Piastri. Then within the last two laps, Norris considerably diminished his tempo to restrict his brake utilization, and he misplaced round seven seconds to George Russell who crossed the road simply 1.3s adrift within the combat for second place.
“I feel they began to go fairly early,” Norris mentioned. “However you at all times get a little bit of a bent for the brakes to get a tiny bit longer. I feel the crew had been hiding it from me as a result of they noticed the issue beginning quite a bit earlier they usually knew it was going to be an issue.
“The final 10 laps, I used to be fairly nervous about simply having the ability to end the race as a result of it was noticeable how a lot worse it was getting each single lap and each braking zone. It’s actually not a pleasant feeling once you’re within the automotive and also you count on a pleasant stable pedal and there’s simply nothing and it goes to the ground. It doesn’t fill you with confidence, particularly on a quick monitor like this.
“So we had been fortunate merely to complete the race and nonetheless to complete forward of George. I feel the final couple laps had been three or 4 seconds or extra off. I might have cherished to have pushed just a little bit extra and tried to present Oscar a little bit of a run, however not immediately. [It’s] one thing we have to perceive and ensure it doesn’t occur once more.”
Norris mentioned there had been no warning that such a problem might come up through the race.
“I feel it was a problem that occurred that shouldn’t have occurred, mainly,” he mentioned. “I feel it was quickly getting worse, most likely faster than the crew had been anticipating after they noticed it. I feel they noticed it fairly a bit earlier — simply after the midway level of the race — however then it was accelerating in deterioration.”
Regardless of the late concern, Norris completed second to present McLaren a one-two end result and ends the weekend glad together with his turnaround after a tricky Dash race the place he completed eighth.
“I’m simply glad for the end result, for the crew — fiftieth one-two for McLaren is sort of an achievement, so blissful to be a part of that, to start with, and a terrific race by Oscar,” he mentioned.
“I’m blissful contemplating how unhealthy my previous few days have been and the way a lot I struggled simply to get snug and perceive learn how to drive the automotive. To go to the tempo I had immediately, which I feel was very robust… it was a a lot better race than I used to be considering I used to be going to have.
“I used to be nervous that I used to be going to wrestle simply as badly, actually. However very glad to understand how a lot I’ve improved from a driving perspective. Immediately was a a lot stronger day, so I’m extra glad to know I’ve bought solutions for my struggles and that makes me blissful.”
