If the Sunday in Suzuka had represented a partial disappointment for Lando Norris, the McLaren driver made up for it in China. The balance of the Shanghai weekend speaks of a beautiful pole position for the Sprint race secured under wet conditions, but then nullified by a mistake at the first corner, but above all of the second place in the actual race on Sunday, behind the usual Max Verstappen.
A great achievement for the British driver, who not only managed to fend off the comeback attempt from the Ferrari cars of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz but also managed to slip his MCL38 between the two Red Bull cars. It’s true that he was favored by a timely Safety Car, which allowed him to make only one stop, but it is undeniable that after the restart, he managed to keep Sergio Perez, who like him had put on new tires during the neutralization, at bay.
Just out of his car, speaking to Nico Rosberg at the end of the Chinese Grand Prix, Lando Norris didn’t hide his surprise at the course of his race, especially because in Saturday’s Sprint, despite the mistake at the first corner, his pace hadn’t been equally good. And, in addition to the Red Bulls, even the Ferrari cars seemed to have more pace.
“I’m surprised. I’m very happy for myself and for the whole team, which deserves this result because they did excellent pit stops. In fact, everything worked perfectly today. I didn’t expect to have this kind of race, but I felt comfortable and managed the tires very well. It was much easier compared to yesterday, and I was able to push to the maximum. Great day, lots of points, and another podium, so I’m very happy,” said Lando Norris, who was also voted “Driver of the Day” by the fans for his performance at the 5.451-kilometre Shanghai International Circuit.
But what surprised him more than anything else was the flop of the Ferraris, who also paid for a not-so-brilliant start: “I was surprised by many things: the lack of pace from the Ferraris, our good pace compared to the Red Bulls as well. It was surprising how fast we were, and I absolutely didn’t expect us to be this strong today. I thought I would have been overtaken much earlier and wouldn’t have made it to the podium. But it’s a pleasant surprise that shows our hard work is paying off.” – he pointed out.
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When the former world champion asked him what he would have bet on before the start, he concluded with a smile: “I expected to finish behind the Ferrari cars, estimated a gap of 35 seconds, but I was drastically wrong. But I’m really happy to be wrong about these kinds of bets.” – the McLaren driver concluded.
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