Norris reveals huge fear after McLaren struggles

Lando Norris has revealed that he was afraid of struggling during the Chinese Grand Prix after enduring a horrific sprint race. 

The Briton made the perfect start at the Shanghai International Circuit by topping free practice, before a mistake in sprint qualifying saw him start the sprint in fifth. 

A further mistake in the sprint race saw him finish in a surprise eighth, whilst he qualified in third for the grand prix. 

Norris worked hard during the second round to finish behind team-mate Oscar Piastri and secure McLaren a 50th one-two. 

He also kept the lead of the drivers' championship, with him having just an eight-point lead over Max Verstappen.

Despite the podium, Norris was not confident in the MCL39 throughout the event, leading to his fears that he would endure a bad race. 

Much to his delight, that was not the case, with the Briton having also discovered why he faced difficulties across the weekend.

"Tough race," said Norris. "I'm just satisfied for the result, for the team. 50th one-two for McLaren is quite an achievement, so happy to be part of that, first of all, and a great race by Oscar. 

"I'm happy considering how bad my last few days have been and how much I struggled just to get comfortable and understand how to drive the car. 

"To go to the pace I had, which I think was very strong, it was a much better race than I was thinking I was going to have. 

"I was not confident one bit and yeah, I was nervous that I was going to struggle just as badly, honestly. But very satisfied to know how much I've improved from a car point of view, from a driving point of view. 

"It was a much stronger day, so I'm more satisfied to know I've got answers for my struggles and yeah, that makes me happy. But I'm of course more happy for the one-two for the team."