Verstappen agrees with Norris over key flaw in current F1 regulation

The Red Bull Racing driver, who endured a challenging outing at the Japanese Grand Prix, gave the nod to Norris’ comments, who had earlier admitted to the media that he was forced to complete some overtakes he didn’t intend to.

Norris particularly noted how his battery, on several occasions, automatically deployed when he was close to the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton, forcing him to pass the British driver. Asked if he experienced similar issues, Verstappen admitted in his interaction with the media that he had a similar experience.

“Yes, you have a little bit more usage when you're within one second, and especially on a track like this, where the energy management is quite poor, you can use it a lot and still be quite safe. In general, just be very careful how you use your battery. Yeah, it's a bit tricky,” Verstappen said.

Highlighting what he considers to be the problem, the four-time world champion continued:

“Here [Suzuka circuit], you don't, and that's basically in a lot of places where you want to go for an overtake: there's only one corner to charge and then a long straight again. So that makes it basically impossible to use the battery efficiently because it’s completely inefficient to do that,” he concluded.

Verstappen’s outing at the Japanese GP, which kicked off in 11th place, culminated in an eighth-place finish, behind the Alpine of Pierre Gasly.

Earlier, Verstappen detailed the stark reality of the struggles of the Red Bull outfit. The Dutch driver explained how the team hit a ceiling behind the Alpine in Suzuka.

Verstappen, however, expressed confidence in the Milton Keynes-based outfit resolving its woes and progressing back to the front of the grid.

Want to stay up to date with the latest events from the F1 paddock? GPblog’s Paddock Update is the place to be.

Follow and subscribe to our channels on Spotify and YouTube so you don’t miss a scoop as the actions and reactions continue across the Formula 1 scene.

Check out the latest episode of our Paddock Update here 👇