Norris confronts late brake issue in China, holds off Russell for P2

Dominika Jordan
Mar 23, 2025, 05:04 AM ET

Lando Norris faced a thrilling yet nightmarish end to the Chinese Grand Prix, contending with a late brake issue while striving to secure a second-place finish. With only a few laps to go, Norris, trailing teammate and eventual race winner Oscar Piastri, relayed via team radio that his McLaren's brake pedal was failing.

Acknowledging the critical data, the team instructed Norris, 25, to avoid hard braking and prioritize finishing the race. “The issue is critical,” came a subsequent message, prompting Norris to adopt a cautious approach, significantly slowing his pace to manage the brakes.

Despite losing up to four seconds per lap, Norris managed to hold off Mercedes’ George Russell, crossing the line just 1.3 seconds ahead to ensure a McLaren 1-2 finish. After the race, Norris described the situation: “It’s like my worst nightmare when the brakes are failing. I was losing two, three, four seconds the last couple of laps, so I was a bit scared. I survived and made it to the end.”

Norris admitted that without the brake issue, he would have relished the chance to challenge Piastri for the win: “I would have loved to have given it a little try and put Oscar under a little bit of pressure but not today. We’re satisfied, great result. We’ll go again next time.”

The race saw competitive moments between Norris and Russell, including a pit stop undercut by the Mercedes driver. Reflecting on the duel, Norris said, “The start… I was kind of hoping for exactly that so Turn 1 went to plan. Then George got me on the pit stops. I was a little bit nervous but our pace was a lot better on the second stint. Tough race just with the management.”

Norris's ability to navigate the brake issue and secure vital points underscored the resilience and strategic acumen of both the driver and the McLaren team.