'Dirty Air Did Him Dirty': Lando Norris On Lewis Hamilton's Subpar Performance In Chinese GP
Lewis Hamilton finished just under three-tenths off polesitter at Chinese GP after his sprint race pole.
McLaren driver Lando Norris has given his take on why Lewis Hamilton performed better in the Sprint than the main race in Shanghai. The seven-time World Champion claimed his first victory for Ferrari in the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint last week. The British racer, however, failed to keep the momentum going into the qualifying and the race. Norris believes the dip in performance occurred because of ‘dirty’ air. “As we saw yesterday, [Lewis] Hamilton in the lead was fast," he said, as per PlanetF1. “It’s easier when you’re leading because you don’t have dirty air and have more grip. That makes the race easier," concluded the Australian GP winner.
Lando Norris further explained how it did not take long before racers could feel the dragging effect of the dirty air. “It might sound far, but even at three seconds, you start to feel that effect," he said. Norris also revealed how he was worried about his car’s tyres when he raced against the polluted air. “To pull away from George I had to push in dirty air, and when you’re doing a one-stop, you wonder whether the tyres will last. I felt like my pace was really good but I couldn’t push as much as I wanted," he said.
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Lewis Hamilton took a surprise pole on Friday last week, holding off Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at the start. The British legend then managed his tyres well to cruise to a victory. It marked a stunning turnaround from his disappointing debut in Melbourne where he finished 10th in the main race. Following his Sprint pole, Hamilton finished just under three-tenths off polesitter of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri before crossing the line P6. Hamilton’s day went from bad to worse after he and his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc, were disqualified. Hamilton was removed from the results for having excessive plank wear, whereas Leclerc lost his place in the standings because his Ferrari car was 1 kg underweight.
As for Lando Norris, the McLaren driver secured the runners-up result in the 2025 Chinese GP, while his teammate Oscar Piastri finished first. Having won in Australia earlier this year, Norris remains at the top of the early Drivers’ Championship standings. He will next be seen in action when Formula 1 returns to Suzuka in April. Ferrari is currently 61 points behind McLaren in the title race. They will hope to narrow down the gap during the Japanese Grand Prix.
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