Lando Norris said a long brake pedal on his McLaren in the closing laps of the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix was “my worst nightmare”.
Norris had battled Geroge Russell twice, first at the race start and then after the round of pit-stops to clinch second and pursue eventual race winner and McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.
However, the closing laps at the Shanghai International Circuit saw Norris endure a progressively longer brake pedal on his MCL39, hampering his progress hugely.
By the final lap, the brake pedal travel was through to the floor and Norris just about held on to hold second place over Russell, seeing a 7s margin fall to just 1.3s at the chequered flag.
“It’s scary. It’s like my worst nightmare,” Norris said in parc ferme.
“When I have a nightmare, it’s when the brakes are failing and I was losing two, three, four seconds the last couple of laps so I was a bit scared, but we survived and then we made it to the end.
“We would have loved to have given it a little try and put Oscar under a little bit of pressure, but not today.
“So we’re satisfied, great result and we’ll go again next time.”
Losing Chinese GP to Piastri ‘doesn’t matter’ – Norris
Norris battled past Russell at Turn 1 at lights out and found himself having to do it all over again when the Mercedes driver undercut him and he enjoyed the fights out on track.
“[I had] a few fun moments,” Norris said.
“The start, I was kind of hoping for exactly that. So Turn 1 went to plan, but then George got me on the pit stops and I was a little bit nervous, but our pace was a lot better in the second stint.”
Norris admitted it was a “Tough race with the [tyre] management and I don’t think many people expected a one-stop today.
“Oscar drove well, he was quick the whole race. I tried to get close, but in the end, I just couldn’t.”
Asked if he felt he could challenge Piastri at any stage Norris replied, “Doesn’t matter now really, does it? It doesn’t, doesn’t matter.
“He deserved a win and he drove very well all weekend, so I’m happy with the second.
“It’s good points, It’s great points for us as a team with a 1-2.
“So a big thanks to everyone in Papaya and just how we wanted the race to go, so we’re very happy.”
Norris leads the Drivers’ standings with 44 points, eight ahead of Max Verstappen.
READ MORE – Why Lando Norris has learnt to ‘accept’ McLaren F1 car won’t suit his driving style
