Lando Norris has conceded that he was “lucky” to finish second in Formula 1‘s Chinese Grand Prix with the “critical” brake pedal issue that developed on his McLaren.
Norris trailed team-mate Oscar Piastri home to land McLaren’s 50th 1-2 in the sport, but what had seemed a straightforward result was threatened in the closing laps.
The Briton, who lined up third, was still pursuing the win in Shanghai when he reported that the brake pedal on his McLaren was going long with seven laps remaining.
That caused his lap times to dwindle as he was told to control the deteriorating problem, culminating in him crossing the line with George Russell 1.3 seconds behind.
Norris admitted he was fortunate to make it to the chequered flag amid the revelation that the team spotted trouble on the horizon with his MCL39 earlier than he did.
“I think they started to go quite early,” Norris, the championship leader with an eight-point lead over Max Verstappen, told media including Motorsport Week post-race.
“But, you know, you always get a bit of a tendency for the brakes to get a tiny bit longer.
“I think the team were hiding it from me because they saw the problem starting a lot earlier and they knew it was going to be a problem.
“But the last 10 laps, I was pretty nervous about just being able to finish the race because it was noticeable how much worse it was getting every single lap and every braking zone.
“It’s really not a nice feeling when you’re in the car and you expect a nice solid pedal and there’s just nothing and it goes to the floor.
“Doesn’t fill you with confidence, especially on a fast track like this. So we were lucky simply to finish the race and still to finish ahead of George. We were very lucky.
“I think the last couple laps were three or four seconds or more off.
“So we had a difficult ending and I would have loved to have pushed a little bit more and tried to give Oscar a bit of a run, but not today.
“So something we need to understand and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Norris not concerned about repeat problem
Norris denied that he is concerned the issue might become a regular occurrence as he backed McLaren to ensure the snag doesn’t arise again next time out in Japan.
Asked whether he was concerned the gremlin could rear its end again in the coming races, Norris responded: “I really hope not! No, no expectation of it.
“I think it was an issue that happened that shouldn’t have happened, basically.
“I think it was rapidly getting worse, probably quicker than the team were anticipating when they saw it.
“I think they saw it quite a bit earlier – just after the halfway point of the race – but then it was accelerating in deterioration.
“So whatever it was, I’m not sure, but it got critical in the last five laps.
“So I think it’s a problem that shouldn’t happen, basically. And I’m sure they’ll try and understand it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
READ MORE – Lando Norris suffered ‘my worst nightmare’ in F1 Chinese GP
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