Lando Norris admitted that he was “surprised” to have secured a podium finish by taking second place in the Chinese Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver took advantage of the first Safety Car deployment mid-race to switch onto hard tyres and gain track position over Sergio Perez, finishing between the two Red Bulls.Norris admitted he was “surprised” to have ended up on the podium and was unsure where McLaren had found their performance from.
“I’m very happy. I’m happy for the whole team. They deserved it, good pit stops” Norris said. “Just today worked out – I don’t know why.
“I really wasn’t expecting it to be the kind of race we had today, but got comfortable. I could manage the tyres a lot, which was a much easier task than what I had yesterday. And I could just push. The car felt great and felt comfortable. So good day, good points, and another podium – very happy.”
Norris joked that he had insisted to his team before the race that he would finish well behind the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jnr. However, he would actually finish ten seconds ahead of Leclerc, who crossed the line in fourth.
“I made a bet how far behind the Ferraris we would finish today,” Norris said. “I thought 35 seconds and I was very wrong by that. So I’m happy to be wrong with myself and my own bets, but a good day for everyone.”
Norris said that McLaren’s result shows the progress that his team are making as they look to close the gap to Ferrari and Red Bull on the track and in the championship.
“I’m surprised by many things – the lack of pace from Ferrari today, our good pace and, I guess, more us comparing to the Red Bulls, which was so surprising,” he said.
“I just wasn’t expecting today at all. I got everything ready to go home early and I’ll be on the podium, so it’s a pleasant surprise, but it shows the team have done a good job. We’re working hard and it’s paying off.”
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