Confident Lando Norris eyes China success as first F1 sprint beckons

SHANGHAI – Early Formula One championship leader Lando Norris knows he will face a new series of challenges at this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, including the first sprint race of the season.

Warm and dry weather is forecast for the March 22 sprint and the second grand prix of the year a day later on the 5.451km Shanghai International Circuit, where long turns and heavy braking zones are notoriously punishing on tyres.

The conditions will be a marked contrast to the wet and wild season-opener on March 16 in Melbourne, a race run almost entirely on intermediate wet tyres and punctuated by long stints under the safety car.

McLaren’s Norris survived a late slither onto gravel, damaging his car’s floor, before holding off a charging Max Verstappen of Red Bull to take the chequered flag.

It is a fast turnaround to China, where teams will have just 60 minutes of practice on March 21 morning to fine-tune their set-ups before the afternoon’s sprint qualifying shoot-out. The 19-lap sprint race is on March 22 morning before grand prix qualifying later the same day. March 23 sees the main race over 56 laps.

Norris finished a distant second behind Verstappen when Formula One returned to China last April after a four-year absence due to Covid-19, but the Briton is now the man to beat.

“I’m confident that when we go to China we can be very strong because we were strong there last year with not a very good car,” he said after his Melbourne victory.

Verstappen’s success in Shanghai a year ago was his fourth in five races as he dominated the early season before going on to win his fourth world championship.

However, in Australia last weekend, he was easily dropped by the McLarens once Oscar Piastri passed him for