Although McLaren clinched a 1-2 finish at the Chinese Grand Prix, the last laps of the race were extremely stressful for Lando Norris who finished just over a second ahead of George Russell. In the last few laps, Norris suffered brake issues which allowed Russell to close the gap to Norris by 3 seconds just on the last lap.
Throughout the race, McLaren showed that they were easily the fastest team on the grid. While Oscar was able to hold his lead off the start, Norris managed to get ahead of Russell during the first sector of the opening lap. This allowed both McLarens to pull away into the lead. Oscar went on to win the race while Lando just made it through to finish 2nd.
Lando Norris admits he was lucky to finish the race
After almost losing 2nd position to George Russell in Shanghai, Norris spoke to Sky Sports where he said:
“I think he [Russell] would have got me next lap. I was lucky. Lucky to finish the race which is not something that you want to be saying.”
“[…] The brakes were getting worse and worse every lap, and the last couple of laps I was three, four seconds off.”
🏁| A straightforward Chinese Grand Prix which saw McLaren achieve a 1-2!
Here’s the total results:#F1 #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/1lV1M5TLCk
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) March 23, 2025
If there was another lap or if the problem had occurred earlier, there is no doubt that George would have overtaken the McLaren driver. Until the problem occurred, Lando’s race was flawless and was hoping to challenge his teammate towards the end of the race. But his brake issues gave him other problems to worry about.
“I think the team knew about the problem much before they told me about it – they wanted to keep me calm. It’s not good at all from that side but we’re lucky to have finished the race.”
Although not confirmed, Lando thinks that his team knew about the problem with the brakes well before it impacted the car’s performance. Lando was indeed lucky to have finished the race. If the issue had become critical a couple of laps earlier, he would have been forced to retire.
Christian Horner indicates why McLaren did not inform Norris about brake issue sooner
While McLaren did inform Lando Norris about the issues with the brakes, it was not until it was going critical. But why? Here’s Zak Brown’s explanation:
“In a couple laps, it went from this is gonna be manageable to critical with two laps to go. if you don’t have confidence in your brakes or he was asking do you think the thing’s gonna go to the floor we’re like maybe but that team did a great job and managed through it so”
Confidence plays a very important role in a driver’s ability to race in Formula 1. If the driver does not have confidence in the car and himself, it could all go wrong. Brakes play a very important part in this.
Red Bull Struggles Continue as McLaren Secure 1-2 Finish at Chinese Grand Prix to Extend Lead
Until the last couple of laps, the brake issue Lando had seemed to be manageable. McLaren did not want Lando to lose his confidence in the car during the final laps. That is why the team avoided telling Lando the problem until it became critical.
Heading to the next race in Suzuka, McLaren would be looking to identify and solve this issue so they can concentrate on winning the Championships.
