Rand Norris has revealed he is “lucky” to finish the Chinese Grand Prix after finishing a “nightmare” brake issue on the way to second place behind winner Oscar Piastri.
Norris was a drift of just three seconds in the Piastri and his car wasn’t slowing down properly, as he could have missed the opportunity to put his McLaren teammates under pressure when the brake pedal went “long.”
He crossed the line just 1.3 seconds before Mercedes’ George Russell and thinks he’d retired if the race had been a few laps.
“The last four, five, six laps were horrifying,” Norris said. Sky Sports F1.
“I don’t advise that! It’s like turning around a roundabout without the brakes. It wasn’t good. I don’t think we knew exactly what it was or what was going on.
“We were lucky enough to finish the race. George was only one second behind in the end. It was the driver’s worst nightmare and the brakes failed. Pushing the brakes and nothing happened, and it’s the worst feeling when your feet go to the floor.
“I was just enough to finish, but one more lap or two laps and I don’t think I have it.”
Stella: Brake issues are not accepted
Shanghai International Circuit has one of the biggest braking zones in the calendar at the straight end of the long back, and a complete braking failure can have great consequences.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella didn’t refrain from this issue, which could lead to a major accident for Norris.
“I’m happy with the One Two. We’re nervous on the pitwall because the whole team and the fans had one problem with the Rand car with brake pedals that we need to manage in the last 20 laps,” Stella said.
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Sky F1’s Ted Kravitz reflects all the big topics from China’s Grand Prix
“Rand and the team did a very good job of getting into the loop on how to adapt their driving style to these kinds of issues, which got worse throughout the race and put the entire outcome at risk.
“We need to do better. This is definitely one of the points we’ll highlight to the whole team that has worked at an incredibly high level, but there’s no problem putting this kind of outcome at stake.”
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Highlights from the 2025 China Grand Prix from Shanghai International Circuit
Norris praises “a great team” for building the best cars
Norris is an eight-point lead over the Formula 1 drivers’ championship over Max Verstappen, who finished fourth on Sunday.
McLaren highlighted why they were leading Mercedes with an early 25-point lead in defending the constructors title from last year. Red Bull is a 42-point drift between McLaren and Ferrari, already 61 points behind after Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclair were disqualified.
Norris added: “The team does an amazing job of keeping their cars as strong as they used to be. It’s another year of the same regulations and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to make cars faster.
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Norris, Russell and Lance walked in a three-way battle over their position from laps 16-18 of the Chinese Grand Prix
“The team did that kind of work in the winter, credit them with giving us the kind of cars they have. It’s not easy, so everyone at MTC is very grateful.
“We’re always complaining, but we’re being made to do that! So, we believe we have the best cars, so all our trust in the team, that’s true. We know it’s difficult to drive.
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