Norris Surprised By Ferrari's 'Lack Of Pace' In China

F1
Sunday, 21 April 2024 at 15:30
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Lando Norris, who scored a P2 during the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix, shares his thoughts with the media right after the race, expressing his pleasant surprise.
Lando Norris's Sunday race at Shanghai International Circuit wasn't his first. He already had a chance to score big during the Saturday Sprint race, which he started from pole.
In the end, he finished the sprint race in P6, both due to his mistake and the lack of pace in his McLaren. Consequently, the 24-year-old didn't have huge expectations going into the Sunday Grand Prix.
However, he was able to ultimately climb up the order rather than fall lower, and he finished the race in second place. He said:

"Yeah, I'm surprised, I'm very happy. I'm happy for the whole team. They deserve it, good pit stops, just today worked out."

"I don't know why. I really wasn't expecting it to be the kind of race that we had today, but I was comfortable. I could manage the tires a lot, which was much easier than what I had yesterday. I could just push, the car felt great. Good day, good points and aanother podium so I feel very happy."

Nico Rosberg, who conducted the interview, then asked about the race pace of the Papaya driver, who was at times faster than Sergio Perez on Red Bull, and Norris responded:

"I was surprised by many things today, the lack of pace from Ferrari, our good pace, and I guess more us comparing to the Red Bull, which was so surprising."

"I just wasn't expecting today at all. I got ready to go home early and not be on the podium, so it's a pleasant surprise. It shows the team have done a good job, have been working very hard, and it's paying off."

To further illustrate how much he didn't expect to have the pace that he had, Norris confessed he actually made a bet as to how far behind Ferrari he would finish.

"I made a bet as to how far behind Ferrari we would finish today, and I thought 35 seconds, and I was very wrong right there."