After dominating in Melbourne, Lando Norris struggled much more in China, but in the end, he managed to salvage a strong result from a challenging weekend. He had no answer for an impeccable Oscar Piastri, who led the race from start to finish. However, the Briton still secured second place, delivering a valuable one-two finish for the Woking-based team.
Norris built his second-place finish right from the start, executing a move around the outside of George Russell’s Mercedes at Turn 1 before switching back at Turn 3 to complete the overtake. His compatriot didn’t give up easily, reclaiming the position through an undercut. However, the MCL39’s pace was simply too strong, and Norris easily overtook him again in the second stint of what turned out to be a surprising one-stop race. Still, he never had the pace to challenge his teammate’s lead.
“Everything went according to plan at Turn 1, then George got ahead with the pit stop, and I was a bit nervous, but our pace was much better in the second stint. It was a tough race that required a lot of management. I don’t think many expected a one-stop strategy, and that worked in our favor. Oscar was fast and drove well all race. I tried to close the gap, but in the end, I just couldn’t,” Lando Norris said just before stepping onto the podium.
When asked whether he could have done more to challenge Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris appeared frustrated and responded, “It doesn’t matter right now. He deserved the win because he drove very well all weekend. I’m happy with second place because, in the end, these are good points. Great for the team, too, since we secured a one-two. This race went as we wanted, so we’re very happy.” His reasoning holds up, as he now leads the championship with 44 points, eight ahead of Verstappen, who finished fourth and remains his closest challenger.
Norris was also unable to fight Oscar Piastri until the end due to a late-race scare when his brake pedal extended, shifting the car’s braking balance toward the front. “It was terrifying. A driver’s worst nightmare is having brake issues. In the final laps, I had to slow down a lot, but we made it to the finish. I would have liked to put Oscar under more pressure, but today it was impossible. We’re happy with the result, and we’ll try again next time,” he concluded.
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