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 instructed Norris he wanted to keep away from heavy braking after the championship chief reported an extended brake pedal within the remaining a part of the race, however he continued to attempt to maintain the stress on teammate Oscar Piastri. Then within the remaining 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 battle for second place.
“I believe 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 believe the crew have been hiding it from me as a result of they noticed the issue beginning lots earlier and so they 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 anticipate 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 observe like this.
“So we have been fortunate merely to complete the race and nonetheless to complete forward of George. I believe the final couple laps have been three or 4 seconds or extra off. I’d have beloved to have pushed just a little bit extra and tried to provide Oscar a little bit of a run, however not at this time. [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 may come up throughout the race.
“I believe it was a problem that occurred that shouldn’t have occurred, mainly,” he mentioned. “I believe it was quickly getting worse, most likely faster than the crew have been anticipating once they noticed it. I believe 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 provide McLaren a one-two consequence and ends the weekend happy together with his turnaround after a tricky Dash race the place he completed eighth.
“I’m simply happy for the consequence, for the crew — fiftieth one-two for McLaren is kind of an achievement, so blissful to be a part of that, to begin with, and a terrific race by Oscar,” he mentioned.
“I’m blissful contemplating how dangerous my previous few days have been and the way a lot I struggled simply to get comfy and perceive how you can drive the automotive. To go to the tempo I had at this time, which I believe was very sturdy… it was a significantly better race than I used to be pondering I used to be going to have.
“I used to be nervous that I used to be going to battle simply as badly, actually. However very happy to understand how a lot I’ve improved from a driving standpoint. As we speak was a a lot stronger day, so I’m extra happy to know I’ve bought solutions for my struggles and that makes me blissful.”
