Norris took pole for the sprint and although he started at the start and struggled with tire wear throughout the 19-lap event, the Briton excelled in Sunday’s grand prix.
Aided by the timing of a mid-race safety car to allow him to fit hard tyres, Norris comfortably held off the Red Bull of Sergio Perez to take second behind Max Verstappen, securing his 15th career podium.
McLaren’s form was a positive surprise as the team expected the weekend to be an exercise in damage limitation, given the Shanghai circuit’s tendency to favor slow, long corners at the top of a long straight line – all elements for which the MCL38 is not particularly strong.
Norris said the team was still as surprised as anyone with their pace in China, with no indication that the weekend would be much better than initially thought.
“We were just quicker than we thought we would be. The limitations, the places where we expected to probably have a lot more difficulty, we didn’t have as much difficulty,” Norris said.
“These longer corners, like Turn 1, have always been a big weakness for us and part of Turn 1 was probably better than we expected. We’re still learning more about the car and the tarmac is quite strange, maybe that played a role in our hands a little more.
“We’re not making it up. We’re giving our honest opinion about where we want to be. I think if we had to go into a weekend and we knew we were going to be strong, we would say that.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“But all year we’ve been behind Red Bull and Ferrari, so there’s no reason for us to suddenly think we should be in front. There was nothing really pointing to an incredible race today.”
Unlike Verstappen and Perez, Norris was not yet in the pits when Valtteri Bottas stopped in his Sauber on lap 20. But as race control delayed issuing a virtual safety car, Norris briefly feared he had missed his opportunity to make a pit stop as the VSC exited just after passing the pit entrance.
“There were some F-words and S-words and stuff,” Norris said. “It was obvious it was going to be a VSC, but it didn’t come out.
“I was like, ‘I bet it’s going to come out as soon as I round the last corner,’ and it literally did!”
However, a lengthy delay in getting Bottas’ stalled car out, which required a full safety car procedure, ultimately allowed Norris to gain track position over Perez, with the Mexican also having to pass Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on reboot.
“Things obviously went our way because it forced the Red Bulls to stop again. That obviously put me in front of Checo with the Ferrari between us. That probably saved me a bit.”
Norris took pole for the sprint and although he started at the start and struggled with tire wear throughout the 19-lap event, the Briton excelled in Sunday’s grand prix.
Aided by the timing of a mid-race safety car to allow him to fit hard tyres, Norris comfortably held off the Red Bull of Sergio Perez to take second behind Max Verstappen, securing his 15th career podium.
McLaren’s form was a positive surprise as the team expected the weekend to be an exercise in damage limitation, given the Shanghai circuit’s tendency to favor slow, long corners at the top of a long straight line – all elements for which the MCL38 is not particularly strong.
Norris said the team was still as surprised as anyone with their pace in China, with no indication that the weekend would be much better than initially thought.
“We were just quicker than we thought we would be. The limitations, the places where we expected to probably have a lot more difficulty, we didn’t have as much difficulty,” Norris said.
“These longer corners, like Turn 1, have always been a big weakness for us and part of Turn 1 was probably better than we expected. We’re still learning more about the car and the tarmac is quite strange, maybe that played a role in our hands a little more.
“We’re not making it up. We’re giving our honest opinion about where we want to be. I think if we had to go into a weekend and we knew we were going to be strong, we would say that.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“But all year we’ve been behind Red Bull and Ferrari, so there’s no reason for us to suddenly think we should be in front. There was nothing really pointing to an incredible race today.”
Unlike Verstappen and Perez, Norris was not yet in the pits when Valtteri Bottas stopped in his Sauber on lap 20. But as race control delayed issuing a virtual safety car, Norris briefly feared he had missed his opportunity to make a pit stop as the VSC exited just after passing the pit entrance.
“There were some F-words and S-words and stuff,” Norris said. “It was obvious it was going to be a VSC, but it didn’t come out.
“I was like, ‘I bet it’s going to come out as soon as I round the last corner,’ and it literally did!”
However, a lengthy delay in getting Bottas’ stalled car out, which required a full safety car procedure, ultimately allowed Norris to gain track position over Perez, with the Mexican also having to pass Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on reboot.
“Things obviously went our way because it forced the Red Bulls to stop again. That obviously put me in front of Checo with the Ferrari between us. That probably saved me a bit.”