Lando Norris has delivered a further negative assessment of Formula 1‘s new regulations, stating that he was reluctant to overtake Lewis Hamilton during the Japanese Grand Prix.
The new regs have polarised opinion since the season kicked off earlier this month, with the 50-50 hybrids leading to extreme energy management.
It has led to increased numbers of overtakes in races, but has led to questions about the authenticity of much of it, as cars are overtaking, but then being re-overtaken later on.
At Suzuka, it was no different, with Norris and Hamilton engaging in a fraught battle for fifth position, with the pair trading the position often.
Norris eventually came out on top and duly finished fifth with Hamilton sixth, but the reigning World Champion appears to have found a new fundamental flaw of the new ruleset.
Asked after the race at Suzuka about what he feels can be done to fix the issues that drivers are raising, Norris told media including Motorsport Week: “You have two sides of it.
“From a race point of view, we have more of the safety side, which might have been the cause of today.”
Norris highlighted the tit-for-tat style of racing by revealing he felt hesitant about even trying to overtake Hamilton.
“There’s the racing point of view, and honestly, some of the racing… I didn’t even want to overtake Lewis, it’s just the battery deploys and I don’t want it to deploy, but I can’t control it,” he said.
“So, I overtake him, and then I have no battery, so he just flies past. This is not racing. This yo-yoing, even if he says it’s not.
“When you are at the mercy of what the power unit delivers… the drivers should be in control of it, at least, and we’re not.”
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