The Japanese Grand Prix produced some brilliant overtaking moves, fascinating tactical battles and a very predictable final result.
Red Bull Racing secured their third one-two finish of the season and extended their gap over Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship.
However, commentating on the race for Sky Sports F1, David Croft and Anthony Davidson were very impressed by a driver battling slightly further down the grid.
Suzuka isn’t well known for producing loads of overtaking, but the red flag during the first lap of the race provided an intriguing scenario.
All of a sudden, teams had the opportunity to ditch their starting tyres and move onto a new compound, meaning they didn’t have to switch during the race.
That meant drivers were catching up to rivals on different strategies all the time and had the speed to pass them.
Mercedes were often the victims of this as they attempted an ambitious one-stop strategy on the hard tyres.
Lando Norris took full advantage and David Croft enjoyed one of his moves in particular during the Japanese Grand Prix.
His colleague in the commentary box was equally impressed earlier on in the Grand Prix for a move on the other Silver Arrow.
READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from height and parents to celebration
David Croft hails Lando Norris for move during Japanese Grand Prix
Lando Norris would have gone into Sunday’s race in Japan wondering if he could add to his 14 Formula 1 podiums.
His teammate Oscar Piastri started the season on the front foot displaying his typical consistency.
However, Suzuka appeared to suit Norris’s driving style much more than his less experienced teammate.
Unfortunately, McLaren didn’t get Norris’s strategy right and he was a sitting duck in the battle for third place with the two Ferraris.
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That didn’t mean Norris couldn’t enjoy himself though and Croft loved his move on George Russell during the Japanese Grand Prix.
While Sergio Perez pulled off a couple of brilliant overtakes heading into 130R, Norris preferred going around the outside of turn one instead.
Lando Norris showed off his overtaking skills in Suzuka
Commenting on the battle between Norris and Russell, Davidson said: “This is a great fight now between the Mercedes of George Russell versus the McLaren of Lando Norris who at this point has one or two laps tyre advantage, he has to try and make this work while he can.”
Croft replied: “He wasn’t quite getting the lap times in Lando Norris that I think McLaren were expecting and maybe traffic was as a result of that.
“He’s going to get DRS here to try and clear George Russell, the McLaren has been a faster car this year.”
Davidson added: “He’s going to look to the outside because Russell has the inside covered.”
Croft was then left blown away as Norris powered around the outside of the first corner: “He might, oh he does! I didn’t expect that to come right there. I just thought he’d lost out on the momentum and the corner was coming up a bit too close.
“Well, Lando Norris proved me wrong and up into 7 place.”
Davidson concluded: “That’s a cracking move and I’m not sure that George Russell fully expected it either.”
Lando Norris on the cusp of greatness with McLaren
While Norris left Croft and Davidson impressed with his skills at the Japanese Grand Prix, he once again had to settle for a result based on the limitations of his car rather than his ability.
Even if McLaren had nailed his strategy, he might have had a sniff of a podium but the speed Carlos Sainz showed suggests even that might have been out of reach.
The Brit is still chasing his first race win but he’s going to need a lot of luck on his side for him to finally break that duck this season.
Otherwise, he’ll probably be waiting until the 2026 season when the regulations change and hope that McLaren can nail the next era of Formula 1.
Otherwise, Red Bull’s interest in his services might finally catch his eye after years of ignoring their advances.
The post ‘Didn’t expect that’: David Croft seriously impressed with 24-year-old driver who ‘proved’ him wrong in Japan appeared first on F1 Oversteer.