Lando Norris takes responsibility for Sprint Qualifying disaster at Chinese GP
Lando Norris didn't hesitate to accept his shortcomings at the Chinese GP Sprint Qualifying which caused him to finish in only P6.
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Lando Norris (via RacingNews365)
Lando Norris couldn’t achieve a front-row start for the Chinese GP Sprint despite driving the arguably superior McLaren chassis. The Briton seemed lost in the battle with Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton for the Pole Position. Woking still seems promising for a victory contention against the improving performances of the rivals. Now, Norris has accepted his shortcomings in the qualifying session and took responsibility for the failed shot at securing the Pole Position.
Lando Norris‘ performance seemed extremely positive during his first outing in the Australian GP. The Briton secured the race win in Australia despite coming close to bottling the lead to Max Verstappen. However, speaking upon the mistakes committed in the Chinese GP Sprint Qualifying, Norris took full accountability. Teammate Oscar Piastri clinched the P3 start after coming close to toppling Verstappen from P2.
Norris acknowledged that he committed a mistake during his out-lap that caused him to lose positions desperately. The Briton ‘locked up’ his wheels heading into the last corner which saw him fall down the pecking order. The 25-year-old surprisingly asserted that McLaren was struggling a bit more as compared to the previous race weekend as the car wasn’t fast enough. Moreover, he pointed out that he struggled more with the car and couldn’t remain at the forefront.
I made a mistake. I locked up in the last corner, But we’re just struggling a bit more now. Just not quick enough, simply. Struggling a lot with the car.
Lando Norris told motorsport.com
Lando Norris asserted that his qualifying in just P6 was more his fault than the disappointing performance of the challenger. The 25-year-old insisted that he couldn’t make the car any more perfect that could help him achieve better results. Norris revealed that the issue was in him trying to push a bit too much than he could handle, ultimately sabotaging his results. Still, the Briton believed that the MCL39 was in a ‘good window’ as he needed to back off a bit and not push too much.
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. 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.
Lando Norris added
Lando Norris claims McLaren’s difficulties ‘more prevalent’ in China
Lando Norris had previously pointed out that McLaren’s challenger wasn’t suited to him as he couldn’t perform to the best of his capabilities. The Briton hinted towards the factors in and around the Shanghai International Circuit that caused him to ultimately fall down the pecking order. Moreover, the 25-year-old reiterated that he committed mistakes and failed to perform at his best to achieve the pole position.
Norris emphasized that McLaren’s struggles were visible more at the Chinese weekend. The Briton pinpointed the issues in the challenger which made it too difficult of a car to drive. Moreover, the 25-year-old explained that the tailwinds in the final corner caused further issues for the car to perform well against the rivals at the forefront. He highlighted that the windier track caused the chassis to further struggle to perform well despite the positive-looking pace on the first weekend.
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 of a car to drive, 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. Just a lot windier when the wind’s blowing, then we struggle a lot more.
Lando Norris noted
Oscar Piastri ‘still very confident’ in MCL39
Oscar Piastri who suffered from a woeful outing in his home race in Australia remains confident of his chances at the Chinese Sprint Race. Piastri double-downed on Lando Norris’ claims and ushered faith in the MCL39 chassis. The Aussie achieved a much better qualifying position than his British counterpart and looks promising of at least a podium finish in the Sprint race.
Piastri claimed that the pace in the car remained strong as he was confident of his chances starting from P3. Still, the 24-year-old noted that the challenger had been difficult to manage, especially with the newly resurfaced track. The Aussie believed that there were still some issues present in the MCL39 chassis despite the grip being high at the track. Finally, he mentioned that he did a good job in ‘taming’ the Sprint qualifying even with the run plan being a bit wrong.
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 I think 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.
Lando Norris explained
The rivals still believe McLaren to remain at the forefront in terms of performance against them. Norris must not commit any mistakes in the race in order to gain positions on the track during the upcoming sessions. Piastri on the other hand has to maintain a consistent performance and make sure that he does not make similar mistakes as his previous outing in Australia.
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