Lando Norris points out what he believes is the biggest problem with the 2026 regulations. The McLaren driver thinks that the new cars themselves are not the problem – ‘It’s a very exciting car to drive,’ says the world champion – but rather the power unit. ‘For me, this takes too much control away from the driver,’ Norris explains.
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Lando Norris already indicated after the Japanese GP that the new power unit – which under the 2026 regulations consists of fifty percent electric energy and fifty percent internal combustion engine – sometimes causes unintended overtaking maneuvers. “I didn’t want to overtake Lewis (Hamilton, ed.) at that moment at all. It’s just that my battery then kicks in. I don’t want that, but I have no control over it,” Norris said at the time.
On McLaren’s official website, the reigning world champion further analyzes the 2026 cars and compares them to last season’s cars. “Last year we had a lot of downforce; cars that really felt like they were on rails once we had them properly set up, and a speed that seemed endless,” Norris explains. “But as soon as you lost grip, it was over: at best you lost time or ended up in the gravel.”
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“This year the cars have much less downforce and they drive much more on the limit,” the driver continues. “You can catch slides more easily, and due to the slightly lower grip it’s a very exciting car to drive.” According to Norris, the car itself is therefore not the problem, but rather the power unit.
‘Power unit takes too much control away’
The world champion uses the earlier example of his unwanted overtaking move on Lewis Hamilton to underline his point. “For me, (the power unit, ed.) takes too much control away from the driver,” Norris says. “But I know that the FIA and all stakeholders in the sport are addressing this: there has been a good dialogue with the FIA on this subject. I have every confidence that something will be done by the time we race in Miami again.”
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