Lando Norris said his braking isssue at the Chinese Grand Prix was the realisation of his ‘worst nightmare’. The McLaren star continued closing the gap on race winner Oscar Piastri even after being instructed over the team radio to ease off.
Norris was informed that the problem would get progressively worse as the race went on but he kept on pushing until being told that it was at a ‘critical’ stage. He then finally slowed up and nursed his MCL39 home under pressure from George Russell on the final lap.
After completing a McLaren one-two behind Piastri, Norris told Sky Sports just how terrifying it was in the closing stages of the Grand Prix.
“It was scary,” he said. “It’s like my worst nightmare. If I have a nightmare it’s when the brakes are failing, and I was losing three to four seconds in the last couple of laps. So I was a bit scared, but we survived and got to the end.”
On whether he could otherwise have challenged Piastri for the victory, Norris added: “It doesn’t matter now, really, does it? It doesn’t matter. He deserved the win and he drove very well all weekend, so I’m happy with the second [place].
“It’s great points for us as a team with a one-two, so a big thanks to everyone in papaya. It’s just how we wanted the race to go, so we’re very happy.”
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella admitted that his nerves were also jangling as Norris’s braking problem worsened. “Around 15 to 20 laps before end we started to develop a problem for Lando on the brake pedal,” he told Sky Sports.
“Lando did a very good job together with the team to manage through the problem, adapting the driving style so it didn’t become a a terminal problem. So not without some tension, we brought home a P1-P2.”
Piastri has now closed the gap on Norris to 10 points after spinning out and dropping down to ninth at the Australian Grand Prix last weekend. Max Verstappen and George Russell separate them in the Drivers’ Championship standings after two weeks of action.
After an action-packed opening to 2025, F1 stars now have two weeks to rest and recover before they travel to Japan next month. There, Piastri will aim to make another dent in Norris’s title charge to set up what could be a gripping season-long battle at McLaren.
