“We will not fight for the podium unless there is a Safety Car. The Ferraris are strong, so I think we will be behind, fighting with Russell.” These were the words of Lando Norris before the 2024 Chinese GP race. However, although McLaren were certain they would not be able to beat the Red, the English driver managed to redeem his weekend after a disappointing Sprint in which he slipped from first to sixth place.
The race was made more favorable by the presence of the Safety Car starting from lap 23, which penalized the two Ferraris and allowed Norris to maximize his performance by making a second pit stop, thus remaining at the head of the group. Lando finished with an excellent final stint on hard tyres, maintaining a very similar pace to Verstappen, which allowed him to cross the finish line in second place, even ahead of Sergio Pérez's Red Bull.
The MVP and driver of the day he didn't hide his happiness during interviews on Sky microphones:
“I really didn't expect a race like today. It was very cold and the conditions helped us. I'm very happy. I found the rhythm right from the start. I felt much better than yesterday, we also made some small changes, but nothing drastic. The fact that I felt better made a difference.”
A McLaren that was able to make the most of a car, the MCL38, which until now had not shown similar performance, and which managed to place itself as the second force during the Grand Prix, even ahead of the Ferraris, as demonstrated by Lando Norris today in China. McLaren's other driver, Oscar Piastri, was unable to get close to the podium due to a floor problem, but still finished eighth in the points.
Norris, convinced he was behind the Ferraris
Norris was so convinced he couldn't catch the Ferraris, so much so that he had even bet with his race engineer, William Joseph, that he would accumulate up to 35 seconds behind Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. And instead, the Briton managed to finish with an advantage of ten and fifteen seconds respectively:
“I bet on how far behind the Ferraris we would be today, I thought up to 35 seconds, but I was very wrong. I was ready to go home early and not get on the podium, so it was a nice surprise. It is proof that the team has done a good job, that we are working hard and that the results are visible."
Lando also joked about getting his 15th podium in Formula 1 without ever winning and spoke about the expectations for the Miami GP, in which McLaren will bring some updates:
“In Miami, I don't think we will be particularly favored, especially considering that the upgrades are not designed for low-speed corners.”
Lando Norris to Mara Sangiorgio for Sky Sports F1
We'll have to wait for F1's first round in America in two weeks to see if Lando will prove pessimistic again and we will still see McLaren fighting with the Ferraris for the podium.
