McLaren Concealed Norris Brake Issues

Lando Norris admitted his McLaren team kept him in the dark about serious brake problems that nearly ended his race in China.

The British driver finished second behind teammate Oscar Piastri at the Shanghai International Circuit, but it was far from the comfortable one-two finish it appeared to be from the outside.

“I think the team was hiding it from me because they saw the problem starting a lot earlier and they knew it was going to be a problem,” Norris revealed after the race.

What looked like a straightforward drive to the podium turned into a nail-biter in the final laps.

Norris was fighting a failing brake system that got worse with each lap. His brake pedal gradually lost resistance and started sinking to the floor – a terrifying sensation for any driver, especially on a high-speed track like Shanghai.

“The last 10 laps, I was pretty nervous about just being able to finish the race,” he said. “It was noticeable how much worse it was getting every single braking zone.”

The championship leader described the frightening feeling of pressing the brake pedal and finding “just nothing” as it went to the floor.

“Doesn’t fill you with confidence, especially on a fast track like this.”

What made matters worse was Mercedes driver George Russell rapidly closing the gap in the final laps as Norris was forced to dramatically slow his pace.

“We were very lucky. I think the last couple laps were 3 or 4 seconds or more off,” Norris admitted.

The 10-second cushion he had built up over Russell nearly vanished completely.

Norris had hoped to challenge Piastri, who was enjoying his first career pole position, but the brake issues made that impossible. Instead, he found himself desperately trying just to make it to the finish line.

“We were lucky simply to finish the race and still to finish ahead of George,” he said.

The team now faces urgent questions about what caused the brake failure and how to prevent it happening again as they look ahead to the next race.

“Something we need to understand and make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Norris emphasized.