Lando Norris “lucky to finish” F1 Chinese GP after “scary” technical issue

Lando Norris admitted he was “lucky to finish” the F1 Chinese Grand Prix after a brake issue thwarted his prospects of challenging for victory.

Norris ran a few seconds behind eventual race winner Oscar Piastri before reporting that he had a “long” brake pedal.

The brake issue worsened as the race progressed, causing Norris to drop his pace by several seconds.

George Russell nearly overtook Norris on the final lap as he managed to keep second across the line.

Speaking in parc ferme after the race, Norris described his brake issue as “scary” and his “worst nightmare”.

In a later interview with Sky, Norris 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.

“Brakes are something that you hate but something you do really need. They can save you. Save your life. A sketchy last couple of laps. The brakes were getting worse and worse every lap, and the last couple of laps I was three, four seconds off.

“Quite nervous. 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.

“To finish with a 1-2 makes us very happy. It’s what we wanted to come into the weekend with and what we achieved. A very good day for the team.”

Lando Norris “had the pace” to challenge Oscar Piastri

Up until the race, Norris was on the back foot relative to Piastri.

Norris underperformed in sprint qualifying before running wide in the sprint race.

It meant that Norris could only finish eighth in the sprint.

He also struggled qualifying, only managing third on the grid, whereas Piastri was on pole.

Despite these difficulties, Norris felt he had made gains in the race and was adamant he had the pace to challenge Piastri for the win without the brake issue at the end.

“It doesn’t really matter, does it? I would have loved to have challenged Oscar today but he’s driven well,” Norris added. “I had the pace, for sure, especially because in dirty air it’s a lot more tricky.

“Like you’ve seen all weekend. I think the pace was there. Oscar deserved it completely. He took pole yesterday, wontoday. He’s driven very well. A shame about my brakes in the end. That’s life. I will take it on the chin and move on.” 

Norris remains at the top of the F1 drivers' championship after two rounds, eight points ahead of Max Verstappen.

Piastri is in fourth, 10 points off his teammate.