David Coulthard worried about ‘unsettled’ Lando Norris after hearing what he said at the Chinese Grand Prix

McLaren driver Lando Norris leads the Formula 1 drivers’ championship, but he couldn’t follow up his incredible performance in Australia at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Martin Brundle called Norris’ victory in Melbourne an all-time great win, such was his performance in awful conditions.

Norris held off Max Verstappen in the last few laps of the Australian Grand Prix with a slightly damaged car to take the chequered flag after watching Oscar Piastri spin off the track.

It meant the British driver had a seven-point advantage over his closest championship rival from last season in Verstappen, and a 23-point lead over his McLaren teammate.

The Chinese Grand Prix posed a very different test for every driver, with a newly relaid track, a Sprint Race weekend format and dry conditions to contend with.

Norris suffered a brake issue during Sunday’s race that prevented him from challenging for victory, but his whole weekend didn’t go to plan compared to his younger teammate.

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David Coulthard concerned with Lando Norris comments at the Chinese Grand Prix

Norris qualified P6 for the Sprint Race and then made a mistake on the opening lap that saw him finish eighth and pick up the final point in that event.

He went on to qualify third for Sunday’s Grand Prix and said: “It’s always disappointing not to be on P1 but congratulations to Oscar on his first Grand Prix pole, he deserved it today.

“I can’t be too disappointed though because P3 is a step in the right direction after this morning’s frustrating Sprint.

“The car feels much better, and I’ve got a lot more confidence with the set-up changes.

“We worked hard to make those improvements for Quali, and I’ll continue to work hard with the team overnight in preparation for tomorrow’s race.”

Norris managed to pass George Russell during the Grand Prix and was asked after Sunday’s race whether he ever thought he could challenge Piastri and his guarded response to the question was: “It doesn’t matter now, really, does it? It doesn’t matter. He deserved the win and he drove very well all weekend. So I’m happy with second. It’s good points.

“It’s great points for us as a team with a 1-2. So a big thanks to everyone in papaya and yeah, just how we wanted the race to go, so very happy, yeah.”

Two races.
One special team.

2/24 complete 🧡 #McLaren pic.twitter.com/N0jvr0697K

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) March 26, 2025

It was put to Coulthard while working for Channel 4 that Norris was a little off the boil in China and he said: “Yeah, his whole sort of tone of voice since we were in free practice is just generally like he’s not settled.

“And you would expect a week ago winning in dominant style in Melbourne, you’d expect him to be chest out, coming in hot.

“It’s almost like during the course of the week, the reality of being the favourite has now been confirmed and he’s just now a bit unsettled.”

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Lando Norris denied chance to challenge Oscar Piastri by brake issue

Piastri had a nearly perfect race weekend in China, with one mistake in Sprint qualifying the only reason why he couldn’t win both races in Shanghai.

He managed to overtake Max Verstappen – something Norris had a lot of trouble with last year – but couldn’t chase down Lewis Hamilton to deny him his first victory at Ferrari.

Norris had to pass Russell twice during Sunday’s race, dispatching him on the opening lap before being undercut during the only round of pit stops.

While he never got close to Piastri, McLaren had to coach Norris through the final moments of the race as his brake pedal started to go long.

It’s impossible to know whether Norris had the pace to catch Piastri, as it’s unlikely the Australian was pushing to the limit to maintain his lead.

His victory proved how important qualifying is going to be this year, and Norris needs to maintain the positivity he developed in Australia across the season.