Lando Norris, current Formula 1 champion, has once again criticized the rules implemented in 2026 and advocated for profound changes to improve racing in the category. The Brit believes that F1 should take inspiration from karting to recover closer and more natural battles between cars.
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The 2026 rules bring a 50% power split between the combustion engine and the 350 kW batteries, a model that helped attract manufacturers like Audi, Honda, General Motors, and Ford to the category. To compensate for the power loss from the engines, the cars also have active aerodynamics.
Even so, Norris considers the ideal path would be to reduce weight, improve tires, and make it easier for cars to run close to each other: “We just have to give our honest opinion, we want the fans to have fun, we want to have fun, and we also want F1 to be what we always saw growing up, which is racing on the edge, which we haven’t had so far,” he told the press.
The McLaren driver criticized the reliance on batteries and hybrid systems to create artificial overtakes. “Having a good race doesn’t necessarily mean having someone with 100% battery and another with zero; that’s not how a real race should be.”
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Norris also compared F1 to karting, which he considers the purest form of racing. “Today, we have yo-yo races, that’s indisputable, but we want it to be more like karting in those early days, where you can follow on the bumper, you’re in the slipstream, and there are 22 cars in a long line.”
Despite the criticism, the Brit acknowledged the FIA’s (International Automobile Federation) work in trying to improve the regulations: “The FIA is doing a good job trying to make things better.”
For 2027, the federation has already announced measures, such as changing the engine power distribution, which will be 60% combustion and 40% electric.
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