Chinese GP Practice: Norris Fastest for McLaren

Lando Norris demonstrated incredible speed, finishing first in practice for McLaren at the Chinese Grand Prix. This strong performance comes just before the Sprint Qualifying session on Friday.

The British driver, currently leading the Drivers` Championship after his win in Australia, clocked a time of 1:31.504. This put him almost half a second ahead of Ferrari`s Charles Leclerc in the single practice session before the first Sprint event of the season.

Oscar Piastri, Norris`s McLaren teammate, was also very quick and looked set to match Norris`s time. However, he went wide on the final corner, ending up third.

Lewis Hamilton showed a more promising performance for Ferrari, especially after their difficulties in Melbourne. He finished fourth in the practice session.

Hamilton was about 0.7 seconds slower than Norris. Unlike the top three drivers, he did not attempt a second qualifying simulation run in the session`s final moments, which were slightly rushed due to a red flag. The red flag was caused by a technical problem on Jack Doohan`s Alpine car.

George Russell initially topped the timesheets using medium tyres. He eventually finished fifth after not improving his time when using soft tyres.

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen had a difficult session, ending up 16th for Red Bull. He had to abandon his only attempt at a fast lap.

McLaren Shows Impressive Form

Norris`s fastest lap was more than two seconds quicker than Verstappen`s pole position time from last year`s Chinese Grand Prix. This improvement is partly due to the completely resurfaced track at the Shanghai International Circuit.

While the new surface has increased grip for all teams, McLaren seems to have a significant advantage.

George Russell had previously suggested that McLaren might have a bigger advantage over the competition than Red Bull had during their dominant 2023 season. He even speculated that McLaren could potentially win every race this season.

While winning every race in a 24-race season seems unlikely, this practice session strongly suggests that McLaren currently has a considerable lead over their rivals – Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes. These were the teams closest to McLaren at the end of last season.

Although Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes are likely disappointed by the gap to McLaren, Ferrari can take some comfort from their improved performance compared to Australia.

After Melbourne, where Ferrari struggled, they appear to be back in contention for podium finishes. Hamilton`s pace, being close to Leclerc`s on their initial runs, is also a positive sign after his challenges in the previous race.

McLaren`s strong showing also dismisses any concerns that the recent tightening of regulations regarding flexible rear wings might negatively affect their performance.

Norris mentioned that McLaren did not need to make any adjustments due to the rule changes. However, Alpine and Haas confirmed that they had to modify their cars to comply with the updated regulations.

Chinese GP Practice Timesheet