Lando Norris maintained his Formula One championship lead with a "lucky" second-place finish at the Chinese Grand Prix, despite suffering critical brake issues in the closing laps where he admitted he was left terrified.
The McLaren driver, who now sits eight points ahead of Max Verstappen in the standings, described the technical problem as his "worst nightmare" as he struggled to bring his car home.
Norris finished behind teammate Oscar Piastri, who claimed victory at the Shanghai International Circuit, nearly losing his position to a fast-charging George Russell on the final lap.
"It's scary. It's like my worst nightmare. When I have a nightmare, it's when the brakes are failing," Norris said after the race.
Lando Norris admitted his brakes were failing, leaving him in a terrifying position
Reuters
The Briton revealed he was losing "two, three, four seconds over the last couple of laps" as his brake pedal began to feel "long" in the latter stages.
His race engineer Will Joseph instructed him not to brake hard and to mind the brake pressure before eventually informing him that his brakes were "critical".
"I was a bit scared but we survived and we made it to the end," Norris added.
The final lap was particularly tense as Mercedes driver Russell closed in rapidly on Norris's struggling McLaren.
"I think he [Russell] would have got me next lap. I was lucky. Lucky to finish the race which is not something that you want to be saying," Norris told Sky Sports.
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He later admitted: "Brakes are something that you hate but something you do really need. They can save you. Save your life."
The team apparently knew about the issue before informing their driver, with Norris saying: "I think the team knew about the problem much before they told me about it - they wanted to keep me calm."
Despite the brake issues, Norris believed he had the pace to challenge his teammate for the win.
"I would have loved to have challenged Oscar today but he's driven well," Norris said. "I had the pace, for sure, especially because in dirty air it's a lot more tricky."
Lando Norris finished second in Shanghai, behind team-mate Oscar Piastri
Reuters
The Briton remains at the top of the F1 drivers' championship after two rounds, eight points ahead of Verstappen.
Piastri's victory moves him to fourth in the standings, just 10 points behind his teammate.
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella revealed the brake problem emerged approximately 15-20 laps from the end of the race.
Lando Norris is the favourite to win the World Championship this season
Reuters
"Lando did a very good job together with the team to manage through the problem, adapting the driving style that it didn't become a terminal problem," Stella said.
Despite the tension, McLaren secured a one-two finish in Shanghai.
"Not without some tension we bring home a P1-P2," Stella added, highlighting the team's successful management of a potentially race-ending issue.
