© Jerome Miron/Imagn
Reigning Formula 1 world drivers’ champion Lando Norris has done a complete 180 on his view of the sport’s new regulations, and it comes just weeks after he criticized rival Max Verstappen over the same complaints.
Verstappen, a four-time world champion in his own right, said that the sport’s current engine regulations, which divide power supply evenly between the car’s internal combustion engine and battery power, are “Not a lot of fun, to be honest…I would say the right word is management.
“As a driver, the feeling is not very Formula 1-like. It feels a bit more like Formula E on steroids.
“But the rules are the same for everyone, so you have to deal with that. And that’s also not my problem, because I’m all for that. Equal chances, I don’t mind that.
“But as a pure driver, I enjoy driving flat out. And at the moment, you cannot drive like that. There’s a lot going on. A lot of what you do as a driver, in terms of inputs, has a massive effect on the energy side of things. For me, that’s just not Formula 1. Maybe it’s better to drive Formula E, right? Because that’s all about energy efficiency and management. That’s what they stand for.”
Lando Norris Threw Shade At Max Verstappen For Criticizing New Regs
Norris, who beat Verstappen to last season’s championship by just two points, didn’t seem to agree with the Dutch star. Instead, he suggested that Verstappen leave the sport entirely if he’s not enjoying it
“I had a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it,” Norris said during preseason testing in Bahrain. “So yeah, if he wants to retire, he can retire.
“Formula 1 changes all the time, sometimes it’s a bit better to drive, sometimes not as good to drive. But yeah, we get paid a stupid amount of money to drive so you can’t really complain at the end of the day.
Any driver can go and find something else to do, you know? It’s not like he has to be here or any driver has to be here.
“It’s a challenge but it’s a good fun challenge for the engineers, for the drivers. It’s different; you have to drive it in a different way and understand things differently and manage things differently. But you still get to drive cars and travel the world and have a lot of fun. So, no nothing to complain about.”
Suddenly, Lando Norris Has Changed His Mind!
Norris finished fifth in the 2026 season-opening race in Melbourne last weekend, almost a full minute behind race-winner George Russell of Mercedes.
Now, the McLaren driver says he’s not a fan of the new regulations prior to this weekend’s race in Shanghai.
“You’re driving the power unit, you’re not driving the car to the same limit,” Norris said on Thursday. “It’s not like, ‘go and drive the car the quickest way possible.’ That’s not how it works.
“It’s a very different style of driving that’s needed. It’s basically forget everything you’ve ever done and reset.”
Norris noted that the current rules and regulations are nothing like what he dreamed of racing as a kid.
“It’s just that’s not what any of us have ever grown up doing. Probably not something any of us grew up wanting to do either, but that’s the way it is now,” he said.
Norris clearly isn’t enamored with the current state of Formula 1. But something tells us he won’t be stepping away from the sport anytime soon as he urged Verstappen to do.