Lando Norris has doubled down on his damning take on Formula 1‘s new regulations, offering suggestions for changes that he thinks could make them “very exciting”.
The Briton has been one of the biggest public opponents of the new ruleset, saying after qualifying for the opening round in Australia that “we’ve come from the best cars ever made in Formula 1, and the nicest to drive to probably the worst”.
Increased electrification within the new cars have brought some polarising takedowns from many other drivers, most notably Max Verstappen.
With the counter-intutive driving it requires, as well as the safety implications – brought on by Oliver Bearman’s Suzuka shunt – the regulations have come under further scrutiny across the sport’s five-week break.
Norris has been back behind the wheel again this week, however, as part of another Pirelli tyre test, this time taking place at the Nurburgring.
And the reigning World Champion has been talking about the new rules once again, and has offered ideas to improve the current level of racing, “for the good of the sport.”
“I’ll re-emphasise my point about these cars – they’re fun to drive, and some of these challenges can be solved with software changes,” Norris said.
“Once we get that balance right, I think we have a very exciting regulation set. Starts, energy management, harvesting, lift and coast, are all topics of discussion and areas where I’m hoping we can bring improvements for the good of the sport.”
Lando Norris explains what is holding back ‘real positives’ of new F1 regulations
One aspect of the new cars that has generally received more favourable feedback has been their overall size. Smaller and therefore more nimble, this particular change has been almost universally accepted as beneficial.
Norris made this point, too, explaining that ‘pushing’ the cars do not come with the same cost if done wrong.
“You really need a different approach when it comes to driving style,” he said. “You can push these cars, find the edge and still recover, whereas last year, it was very hard to recover the car when you pass the edge of grip.
“This is one of the real positives of these regulations. In this sense, the skill of the driver, the ability to hold on through a corner and get the best exit right on the edge, is what becomes the difference in performance.”
But the McLaren driver believes that the power units are holding this back, as the balancing act of harvesting in the right places ensures a better lap.
“However, this is at odds with what we need to do on the power unit, because going flat out in one corner might mean you get through that sector quicker, but by the time you get to the next straight, you lose time because you have no battery, as it’s been deploying through the corners, and that is a shame.
“Qualifying is very different to in previous years. In the past, the driver who could extract the most grip from the car, get on throttle earliest and accelerate out of the corner quickest could usually unlock more lap time and would be rewarded for it.
“Now, you have to be much more careful about when you get the battery to deploy, not using too much in the corner, as it could cost you further on in the lap.”
Norris’ profile as World Champion, along with Verstappen, could prove to be a big swing towards changes being made, if pressure is applied.
With the GPDA brainstorming, it will be interesting to see how such suggestions play out with the FIA.
READ MORE – Why Lando Norris fears one aspect driving the 2026 F1 cars
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