Did McLaren try to sabotage Lando Norris? Backstory of the brake issue in China. Lando Norris experienced a tense final few laps of the Chinese GP due to a brake issue. .

Should McLaren be worried ahead of Japan? After the conclusion of the Chinese GP, Lando Norris revealed more details about the brake problem that nearly cost the Woking team its double podium finish.

The Chinese GP ended with Oscar Piastri in first place and Lando Norris completing the first 1-2 of the season. The British driver had a slightly more challenging weekend compared to his teammate. These difficulties reached their peak towards the end of the race, when Norris took a big risk by continuing to race with a brake failure.

Lando Norris explained that his intention was to put pressure on his teammate and try to claim his second victory of 2025. However, due to the issue with his MCL39, he began losing several seconds per lap, nearly risking losing second place.

McLaren underestimated the problem
The papaya driver continued by describing when he first suspected something was wrong, revealing a particular detail. “The brakes started having problems quite early on. I think the team noticed it right away but kept it from me,” Lando Norris explained.

In later statements, he added the reason why the engineers didn’t inform him immediately about the issue. “I think it was getting worse quickly, probably faster than the team expected when they saw it. I think they noticed it shortly after the halfway point of the race, but then the damage accelerated.”

In the final laps, the situation became critical for the number 4 driver, who shared his feelings in the post-race press conference. “You could feel how much worse it got with every lap and every braking point. It’s not a nice feeling when you’re in the car and expect a solid pedal, but instead, it goes down as if there’s nothing there. It doesn’t fill you with confidence, especially on a fast track like this.”

Lando Norris concluded by explaining that the team had not anticipated this issue before it happened. McLaren will try to identify the source of the problem to ensure it doesn’t happen again, as issues like this pose a significant risk to the drivers.