Lando Norris

Lando Norris is leading the Formula 1 drivers’ championship for the first time in his career after his victory in Australia – but given he has now made a trio of mistakes in China it seems as though this new pressure is something he is yet to come to terms with.

McLaren clearly has the fastest car this season, as proved by Oscar Piastri taking his first-ever grand prix pole for Sunday’s race in Shanghai, where the Australian will be joined on the front row of the grid by the Merecedes of George Russell.

Norris will start third – not bad all things considered, but it was another missed opportunity for the Briton this weekend.

Never make the same mistake twice is sage advice for anyone; Norris, however, has admitted to errors in sprint qualifying, the sprint race itself and now qualifying for the grand prix.

Another opportunity to recover ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix came and went after another fault at the business end of a session.

Norris had topped the timesheets in both Q1 and Q2 but, mirroring his sprint qualifying effort, he aborted his final flying lap and had to settle for a spot on the second row.

“I’m always disappointed if I’m not on pole but Oscar deserves it today, he’s done a very good job all weekend so I’m happy for him – his first pole in Formula 1,” Norris said right after qualifying third.

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

“Just a couple of mistakes again, kind of been my case this weekend but the car is feeling a bit better today.

“I’ve got a lot more comfortable with the car, so a step in the right direction, especially from yesterday where I was struggling a lot and even this morning I was struggling a lot.

“A much better direction that we’re going in so, yeah, not too disappointed. It’s quick enough, we never doubted that it is the quickest car. It can just be a little bit feisty at times, but it is not so much that: today was just mistakes from my side, and that’s all.”

Norris candidly expanded on his troubles in the post-qualifying press conference.

“Still too many mistakes from my side and not as comfortable as I was in Australia,” he added. “Just tricky, but it is for everyone. I just haven’t done the best job and Oscar has done a very good job. Still a good result. I’m still happy with P3.

“Oscar has shown great pace. I definitely haven’t, especially from the race pace and whenever we struggle with front graining, it’s something I struggle with a lot. It’s difficult for me. It’s been a difficult weekend just trying to deal with those things.

“It’s something I’m not strong enough in. I’ve got a long night ahead of me to sit down and go through all the data and see what I can improve for tomorrow.”

While he might not be disappointed after a tough Saturday, Norris will know he needs to cut out the mistakes if he is to leave China still sitting top of the early championship standings.

Lando Norris is leading the Formula 1 drivers’ championship for the first time in his career after his victory in Australia – but given he has now made a trio of mistakes at the Chinese Grand Prix, it seems as though this new pressure is something he is yet to come to terms with.

McLaren clearly has the fastest car this season, as proved by Oscar Piastri taking his first-ever grand prix pole for Sunday’s race in Shanghai, where the Australian will be joined on the front row of the grid by the Merecedes of George Russell.

Norris will start third – not bad all things considered, but it was another missed opportunity for the Briton this weekend.

Never make the same mistake twice is sage advice for anyone; Norris, however, has admitted to errors in sprint qualifying, the sprint race itself and now qualifying for the grand prix.

Another opportunity to recover ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix came and went after another fault at the business end of a session.

Norris had topped the timesheets in both Q1 and Q2 but, mirroring his sprint qualifying effort, he aborted his final flying lap and had to settle for a spot on the second row.

“I’m always disappointed if I’m not on pole but Oscar deserves it today, he’s done a very good job all weekend so I’m happy for him – his first pole in Formula 1,” Norris said right after qualifying third.

“Just a couple of mistakes again, kind of been my case this weekend but the car is feeling a bit better today.

“I’ve got a lot more comfortable with the car, so a step in the right direction, especially from yesterday where I was struggling a lot and even this morning I was struggling a lot.

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

“A much better direction that we’re going in so, yeah, not too disappointed. It’s quick enough, we never doubted that it is the quickest car. It can just be a little bit feisty at times, but it is not so much that: today was just mistakes from my side, and that’s all.”

Norris candidly expanded on his troubles in the post-qualifying press conference.

“Still too many mistakes from my side and not as comfortable as I was in Australia,” he added. “Just tricky, but it is for everyone. I just haven’t done the best job and Oscar has done a very good job. Still a good result. I’m still happy with P3.

“Oscar has shown great pace. I definitely haven’t, especially from the race pace and whenever we struggle with front graining, it’s something I struggle with a lot. It’s difficult for me. It’s been a therefore a difficult weekend just trying to deal with those things.

“It’s something I’m not strong enough in. I’ve got a long night ahead of me to sit down and go through all the data and see what I can improve for tomorrow.”

While he might not be disappointed after a tough Saturday, Norris will know he needs to cut out the mistakes if he is to leave China still sitting top of the early championship standings.

Photos from Chinese GP – Sprint Race & Qualifying

Having admitted to making a mistake that cost him in sprint qualifying on Friday, Lando Norris again took the blame for a poor outing in Saturday’s Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix sprint race.

An error on his final qualifying run meant the McLaren man started sixth on the grid for the sprint race and he ran onto the grass at Turn 6, losing three places as a result.

The mistake left him in ninth and it took him almost the rest of the 19-lap race to pass the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll to take the final point.

The sprint was dominated by Lewis Hamilton, who won from pole, but almost every other driver struggled with tyre graining – something that Norris bemoaned after the race.

“I just went in a bit hot, that’s on me, but yeah, I just struggled after that. I didn’t really have any pace,” he said about the incident on the opening lap.

“I struggle a lot in these conditions with the front graining. It’s like my worst nightmare. So I have a lot of work to do, but I was struggling a lot out there.”

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Norris remains top of the drivers’ standings having won the opening race in Australia last weekend.

He conceded his sprint qualifying run was always going to make his task harder heading into the sprint race itself and is determined to improve his Chinese GP weekend when qualifying rolls around later on Saturday.

“I mean, it certainly didn’t help,” he said of starting on the third row. “The further back you start, the harder it is. I just had a bad first lap. I started to run onto the grass into Turn 6 and I lost a couple of positions, and then it was just difficult to do a lot.

“Quali didn’t help, but I just wasn’t very good today either. [Qualifying] is just another session, I’m probably a bit more confident. But at the minute in the race, we just feel dreadful so a lot of work to do but that’s the way it is.”

Having admitted to making a mistake that cost him in sprint qualifying on Friday, Lando Norris again took the blame for a poor outing in Saturday’s Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix sprint race.

An error on his final qualifying run meant the McLaren man started sixth on the grid for the sprint race and he ran onto the grass at Turn 6, losing three places as a result.

The mistake left him in ninth and it took him almost the rest of the 19-lap race to pass the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll to take the final point.

The sprint was dominated by Lewis Hamilton, who won from pole, but almost every other driver struggled with tyre graining – something that Norris bemoaned after the race.

“I just went in a bit hot, that’s on me, but yeah, I just struggled after that. I didn’t really have any pace,” he said about the incident on the opening lap.

“I struggle a lot in these conditions with the front graining. It’s like my worst nightmare. So I have a lot of work to do, but I was struggling a lot out there.”

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Norris remains top of the drivers’ standings having won the opening race in Australia last weekend.

He conceded his sprint qualifying run was always going to make his task harder heading into the sprint race itself and is determined to improve his Chinese GP weekend when qualifying rolls around later on Saturday.

“I mean, it certainly didn’t help,” he said of starting on the third row. “The further back you start, the harder it is. I just had a bad first lap. I started to run onto the grass into Turn 6 and I lost a couple of positions, and then it was just difficult to do a lot.

“Quali didn’t help, but I just wasn’t very good today either. [Qualifying] is just another session, I’m probably a bit more confident. But at the minute in the race, we just feel dreadful so a lot of work to do but that’s the way it is.”

Photos from Chinese GP – Sprint Race

Lando Norris seemed to roll a grenade under the door during a press conference ahead of the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix when he said he had effectively given up persuading his McLaren team to design a car which flatters his preferred attacking style.

Since the MCL39 was the benchmark car at the season opener – Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri would likely have finished 1-2 had Piastri not spun – this might sound counter-intuitive, but Norris added important context.

The championship leader likes to be aggressive under braking and on corner entries, which requires the car to have a front end willing to cope with a driver taking such liberties. Norris described the MCL39 as ‘pretty weak’ in those areas and said he had adjusted his style to suit – and that seemed to be the case last weekend in Melbourne, where our GPS analysis suggested he was asking less of the car on the brakes and focusing more on exit speed.

Neil Houldey, technical director of engineering at McLaren, suggests that Norris’s feeling is closely linked to the choice for pure performance with the new car.

“I think, like [Norris] said, he stopped asking for what he likes and we’ve produced a faster car,” he said when asked by Motorsport.com to clarify Norris’s comments.

“We just try and generate the fastest car that we possibly can, and he is good enough to manage that and change his driving style to suit.

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

“If we focused on trying to make the car work for his driving style, then we may well end up with a slower car. I think so far it looks like we’ve taken the right route.

“And luckily Lando is awesome enough to cope with that and to find a fast way of driving it.”

As the current ground-effect ruleset matures, teams are finding it harder to unlock more performance from their cars without inducing bothersome quirks. The underfloor is the hardest-working element in terms of downforce creation, but to maximise its potential it has to run close to the track surface – and maintain a steady position despite braking, acceleration and cornering forces, and bumps.

This is a difficult balancing act to accomplish. Many of the teams which have pushed hardest to achieve peak downforce have found small floor movements cause vicious changes in balance through corners: super-hard braking naturally induces dive, where the rear of the car rises as the weight transfers to the front axle.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown underlined the choice for pure performance over the past winter, but still wants to make the MCL39 a bit ‘more compliant’ before the design team pivots fully towards the 2026 car project.

“I think you’re always trying to make the car a little bit easier for the drivers,” he said in China.

Zak Brown, McLaren

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

“Someone said to me yesterday it didn’t look like we put a lap time down in Bahrain testing – we tried, we just didn’t put one down. So I think we need to make the car a little bit more compliant. 

“It’s clearly very quick, but when you get it up on its nose, so to speak, and you’re flinging it around at ten-tenths, then yes, the drivers want to make it a little bit more compliant.”

In doing so, McLaren has to strike a balance between improving the feeling for its drivers and not giving up pure potential.

“We have some innovations on the car that give it a different feel, so clearly Lando did adapt to it pretty well in Australia,” Brown added. “We are trying to get it more compliant, but we certainly don’t want to make it slower.”

Brown thinks the solution is partly in the experience that the drivers will gain with the 2025 car, as the McLaren CEO feels his drivers will get more comfortable with the ‘tricky’ McLaren as the season progresses.

“Keep in mind that in testing you only have three days, and the drivers split it. Then in Australia you had tricky conditions in the race.”

“I’m sure he’s still getting used to it.”

Photos from Chinese GP – Practice & Sprint QU

Lando Norris seemed to roll a grenade under the door during a press conference ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix when he said he had effectively given up persuading his McLaren team to design a car which suits his preferred attacking style.

Since the MCL39 was the benchmark car at the season opener – Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri would likely have finished 1-2 had Piastri not spun – this might sound counter-intuitive, but Norris added important context.

The championship leader likes to be aggressive under braking and on corner entries, which requires the car to have a front end willing to cope with a driver taking such liberties. Norris described the MCL39 as ‘pretty weak’ in those areas and said he had adjusted his style to suit – and that seemed to be the case last weekend in Melbourne, where our GPS analysis suggested he was asking less of the car on the brakes and focusing more on exit speed.

Neil Houldey, technical director of engineering at McLaren, suggests that Norris’s feeling is closely linked to the choice for pure performance with the new car.

“I think, like [Norris] said, he stopped asking for what he likes and we’ve produced a faster car,” he said, when asked by Autosport to clarify Norris’s comments. “We just try and generate the fastest car that we possibly can, and he is good enough to manage that and change his driving style to suit.

“If we focused on trying to make the car work for his driving style, then we may well end up with a slower car. I think so far it looks like we’ve taken the right route. Luckily Lando is awesome enough to cope with that and to find a fast way of driving it.”

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Mark Thompson

As the current ground effect ruleset matures, teams are finding it harder to unlock more performance from their cars without inducing bothersome quirks. The underfloor is the hardest-working element in terms of downforce creation, but to maximise its potential it has to run close to the track surface – and maintain a steady position despite braking, acceleration and cornering forces, and bumps.

This is a difficult balancing act to accomplish. Many of the teams which have pushed hardest to achieve peak downforce have found small floor movements cause vicious changes in balance through corners: super-hard braking naturally induces dive, where the rear of the car rises as the weight transfers to the front axle.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown underlined the choice for pure performance over the past winter, but still wants to make the MCL39 a bit ‘more compliant’ before the design team pivots fully towards the 2026 car project.

“I think you’re always trying to make the car a little bit easier for the drivers,” he said in China. “Someone said to me yesterday it didn’t look like we put a lap time down in Bahrain testing – we tried, we just didn’t put one down. So I think we need to make the car a little bit more compliant. 

“It’s clearly very quick, but when you get it up on its nose, so to speak, and you’re flinging it around at ten-tenths, then yes, the drivers want to make it a little bit more compliant.”

Zak Brown, McLaren

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

In doing so, McLaren has to strike a balance between improving the feeling for its drivers and not giving up pure potential.

“We have some innovations on the car that give it a different feel, so clearly Lando did adapt to it pretty well in Australia,” Brown added. “We are trying to get it more compliant, but we certainly don’t want to make it slower.”

Brown thinks the solution is partly in the experience that the drivers will gain with the 2025 car, as the McLaren CEO feels his drivers will get more comfortable with the ‘tricky’ McLaren as the season progresses.

“Keep in mind that in testing you only have three days, and the drivers split it,” he said. “Then in Australia you had tricky conditions in the race. I’m sure he’s still getting used to it.”

Lando Norris admitted his own mistakes left the early Formula 1 championship leader qualifying down in sixth for the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix.

After winning in Australia last weekend, Norris had been towing a fine line between admitting McLaren was the team to beat while also attempting to temper expectations of just how quick its car is.

Norris, whose team-mate Oscar Piastri will start the sprint from third, discussed on Thursday how the car does not suit his driving style, but in Shanghai it was two small mistakes on both runs that left him off the pace in sprint qualifying.

“I made a mistake – I locked up in the last corner,” he said. “But we’re just struggling a bit more now. Just not quick enough, simply. Struggling a lot with the car.

“It’s more on me rather than the car. I can’t make the car perfect. But, no, this was me just trying to just push a bit too much.

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Mark Thompson

“So [I] just need to back off a little bit and not try to push too much. I think the car’s still good and in a good window, maybe not good enough for pole. But we can definitely go forward.”

Norris pointed to the windy conditions across the Shanghai International Circuit as making the McLaren more difficult to drive.

“Our difficulties that we’ve been struggling with showed a lot more today, so nothing more than that, honestly. Just too many mistakes, it is just too difficult a car to drive,” he added.

“I think just throughout the day we’ve been struggling a bit with the front locking and struggling a lot in the last corner with all the tailwinds, so it is kind of a lot more aligned with Bahrain [pre-season testing]. Just a lot windier – when the wind’s blowing, then we struggle a lot more.

“So I think both myself and Oscar struggled more, clearly me more than him. So, yeah, just pushing a bit hard to try and make up for not quite being quick enough.”

Having looked by far the quickest squad, neither McLaren could hook up a fast enough lap in SQ3 as Lewis Hamilton took pole position for Ferrari with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen joining him on the front row.

Piastri bemoaned the strategy to run earlier than their rivals in SQ3 but is still hopeful of a strong showing in Saturday’s sprint race.

“I think we were probably quick at the wrong points of it, unfortunately,” he said.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

“SQ1 and SQ2 felt good, and then SQ3, we tried something a bit different and went out much earlier and tried two laps, which I’m not sure was the best thing in the end, but I think it’s something we need to have a look at.

“I think the pace in the car is still very strong and I’m still confident to fight from third. It has been difficult, I think, with the track surface, it’s got a lot of grip, but it’s very peaky and it’s been pretty tough all day to just keep on top of the car.

“I honestly think we did a good job of trying to tame it for sprint qualifying, just maybe got the run plan a bit wrong.

“So it’s been an interesting challenge. The grip has been a lot better than last season, which is nice, and I think there’s some things we can do better tomorrow.”