Lando Norris voted Driver of the Day in China
Lando Norris enjoyed a fine weekend at the Chinese Grand Prix. The sprint poleman finished Sunday morning's race in second place. Despite a few mistakes and the fear of the Chinese circuit, the Brit deserves his status as driver of the day.
Fourth on the starting grid this Sunday at the Chinese Grand Prix, Lando Norris had some scary moments that could have cost him dearly. But the Briton fought until the end. As a result, a nice second place on the podium alongside Max Verstappen, still leading, and Sergio Perez allowing Red Bull to take a significant lead in the championship. This Sunday morning, the Briton mainly watched the duel between Alonso and Perez before waking up. The McLaren driver preferred to wait before attacking. He waited for the Mexican to get the better of the Aston Martin driver before taking advantage himself.
A pit stop for free.
Many drivers know perfectly how to take advantage of the presence of the Safety Car. This was the case for Norris this Sunday morning on the Shanghai International Circuit. After its exit, the driver made a pit stop which would be his only one in the race. He therefore remains between the two Red Bulls. Far ahead, Verstappen with nearly a 15-second gap. But the British driver was able to maintain a good distance of five seconds with the Mexican.
A missed start in the sprint.
Lando Norris had started this race weekend off well. In pole position for the sprint, he missed his first turn. Having gone too wide after Lewis Hamilton’s attack, who started 2nd on the grid in the sprint, Norris quickly found himself in seventh place by the end of the first lap. With some difficulty in making up ground, the British driver finished 6th in this sprint in China despite a great pole position. Nonetheless, it was a successful weekend with 18 points earned, placing him fifth overall in the standings with a total of 58 points.
At the end of the race, interviewed by Nico Rosberg, Norris said he was « feeling good, a little surprised but very happy and happy for the whole team », he commented at the end of the race. « We made good stops. Everything worked well, I don’t know why, but I didn’t expect a race like this, I could manage the tires well. It was a simpler task than I thought. I could attack as I wanted to pull away. »
« I was surprised by many things, Ferrari’s lack of pace, our pace and compared to Red Bull, it was also surprising. I expected to return faster without going through the podium. We all worked hard and it paid off. I was not expecting us to finish far from Ferrari… but I’m happy to be wrong about my predictions.
