Norris clear on Verstappen's charge in Melbourne: 'Lucky due to Safety Car'
F1 News
Ahead of the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix, Lando Norris has effectively landed a tough blow to Red Bull Racing, Ferrari and Mercedes's hopes to challenge McLaren for the win at the Shanghai International Circuit, claiming he expects winning the race in China to be a bit easier than his at times dominant drive in Australia, whilst at the same time, refers to Verstappen's late charge in Melbourne, as a matter of sheer luck.
So, second round of the Formula One world championship, second win on the trot for the Brit? "I'm hoping we can do better and I'm hoping it can be a bit easier," said Norris in the FIA Drivers' press conference on Thursday, putting his competitors' hopes to challenge him on ice. "I think we had a great race. Our gap to our competitors [in the race was 15 seconds or something."
Verstappen's late charge, 'a matter of luck'
In the late instances of the race, a late safety car prompted Verstappen to get on the hunt of Norris for the win, something the McLaren driver attributed to a matter of luck. "[Verstappen was] more lucky that there was some safety cars, that kind of brought them back into the race. But we're hopeful. It's another race, it's a different weekend, so I wouldn't say we're confident that things are going to be exactly like they were," advised the McLaren driver ahead of the race weekend.
"I expect, again, a bit more competition from Ferrari this weekend. We saw how quick Red Bull have been. So clearly, they're not out of it. They're just as fast. I think when things are perfect, like they were in qualifying, we have an advantage. But they're certainly not far behind," concluded Norris.
Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels too!