Lando Norris qualified a disappointing third for the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday. After trying to unseat McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri from pole, he was pipped by George Russell at the end of qualifying.
Norris was less than a tenth adrift of Piastri after the runs in Q3. But he failed to improve on his second effort, and Russell strung together three green sectors to leap from fifth to second.
It’s been a tricky weekend for Norris so far, with the Englishman only collecting one point in the Sprint. He’d started sixth after a couple of mistakes in SQ3.
Lewis Hamilton was the surprise pole-sitter for the race, and he went on to win by nearly seven seconds after a controlled drive. Hamilton fell back to fifth in qualifying, but this will be seen as a milestone weekend regardless.
Lando Norris should learn from Lewis Hamilton tactic at Chinese Grand Prix
Prior to Chinese Grand Prix qualifying, Karun Chandhok analysed Hamilton’s Sprint pole lap alongside Max Verstappen’s P2 effort. Less than two-hundredths of a second separated them.
Chandhok noticed that Hamilton was ‘cautious’ for the final major braking zone at the end of the back straight. After looking at his splits on his dashboard, he was wary of spoiling his lap.
By contrast, Norris ran deep into the same corner at the end of SQ3, forcing him to abort his lap. Chandhok says he would otherwise have been on pole.
Perhaps the McLaren driver should learn from the seven-time world champion. There are moments when a driver has to prioritise a ‘clean run’, rather than chasing lap time.
“When we get to the hairpin, they’ve done a lot of the donkey work,” Chandhok said. “Hamilton’s looking at his dashboard, he knows he’s on a good lap, and he plays it a bit safe when he gets to the hairpin.
“He’s not as deep on the brakes. I think he thought to himself ‘I don’t want to throw it all away’ in the way that Lando Norris did.
“Let’s remember Norris would have been on pole if he didn’t make a mistake down at the hairpin. Lewis being a little bit cautious, getting the nose in, just getting a nice clean run.”
Max Verstappen was staggered by Lando Norris comments – maybe he was right
Some F1 drivers thought they’d already lost the title to McLaren after the Australian GP, according to Jamie Chadwick. While Piastri was on pole, this weekend has shown that it won’t necessarily be a procession.
Hamilton and Ferrari were the class of the field in the Sprint, and then a Mercedes split the two McLarens in qualifying. Ted Kravitz thinks Russell can win the title, but he arguably has to win a race before he earns contender status.
Speaking in the pre-race press conference on Thursday, Norris said the McLaren was a difficult car to drive at times. He also claimed it didn’t suit his driving style.
Max Verstappen couldn’t believe Norris’ comments, but onboard footage showed that the MCL39 wasn’t totally compliant in Shanghai. Perhaps the five-time race-winner was right after all.
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