Lando Norris warns power unit rules ‘take too much control’ from drivers

The F1 world champion is currently in Germany with teammate Oscar Piastri as McLaren take part in a Pirelli tyre test along with championship leaders Mercedes at the Nürburgring.

Norris, as well as Max Verstappen, has been one of the more vocal critics of the 2026 regulations, calling the new cars "probably the worst" ever made in F1 upon the season's start, and suggesting that drivers' opinions "don't matter" as long as fans enjoy the racing.

Taking part in a McLaren Q&A alongside Piastri at the Nürburgring, Norris seemed more hopeful that change could arrive as soon as the Miami GP, but still let his grudges against the new rules be known.

Currently P5 in the Drivers' standings, Norris was asked to reflect on the new era of cars after the first three races of the season

He said: "These cars are certainly very different to the cars from last year, and the differences are quite complex. Some of which I enjoy, some of which I’ve found a bit more difficult so far."

Norris clarified that he actually enjoys driving the car itself, but specifically honed in on the power unit as to where his biggest frustrations lie this year.

"This year the cars are much much lower downforce and much more on the limit. You can catch slides more easily, and the slightly lower grip makes for a very exciting car to drive.

"As a car, I’m enjoying driving them, they remind me of some of the cars I drove coming up through the junior series, and I say that as a big compliment, you really feel like you can make a difference.

"I’ve said before that it’s not the car I’m struggling with, it’s the bit behind us that I’m not enjoying as much – the power unit regulations."

Norris then pointed to his 'accidental' overtake on Lewis Hamilton at Suzuka, when his MCL60's battery deployed without his own input and forced him to pass the Ferrari driver, as proof that the current iteration of the rules are "taking too much control" from drivers.

"I had a scenario in Japan where the battery deployment triggered, even though I didn’t really want it to, and I had to overtake Lewis as a result.

"That meant I was then a sitting duck on the next straight, where I had actually wanted to use the battery. For me, that’s taking too much control away from the driver, but I know that the FIA and all the stakeholders of the sport are looking into it: there has been good dialogue with the FIA on this topic, so I am confident that something will be done for when we go racing in Miami again."

The McLaren driver then made sure to stress he was happy fans have seemingly taken more kindly to the racing, and that he felt the sport was "not too far away" from avoiding what he called an "artificial element."

"One important point though, is that we’re glad the fans are enjoying the racing, because we’re an entertainment sport at the end of the day.