Lando Norris has revealed that his comments about Max Verstappen and the new Formula 1 regulations were “to see everyone’s reaction.” In addition, Norris shares the world champion’s negative perspective on the 2026 cars.
After Verstappen expressed that F1 was like “Formula E with steroids” due to the new cars during the first week of testing in Bahrain, Norris had commented that he was “having a lot of fun” and suggested that Verstappen should retire if he didn’t feel the same.
I just didn’t want to go out to the media and complain to everyone on the first weekend.
Lando Norris
However, on the penultimate day of the second test, Norris stated that his original intention was to gauge the public’s response. “It’s been a pretty fun week, and it certainly got a lot of people commenting and saying a lot of things.”
Norris admitted that he actually agrees with most of Verstappen’s points, adding that the cars “certainly are not the purest form of racing”.
I agree with basically all the other drivers, because I think all the other drivers have made their comments clear. I just didn’t want to go out to the media and complain to everyone on the first weekend.
Lando NorrisThe McLaren driver explained that the main focus in current driving is on the correct functioning of the battery, downplaying the driver’s ability to extract maximum performance from the car.
Norris also admitted that there is “quite” room for improvement in his McLaren car.Steven Tee/LAT ImagesNorris, who dethroned Verstappen to win his first world drivers’ championship last season, acknowledges that his team must work to compete with Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull at the start of the season in Melbourne next month.
“At the moment, we’re a little bit behind, so to match the race pace of some of the others, we have to push a little bit more and then we have more degradation,” said Norris.
Norris expressed his desire to win, but doesn’t feel a “responsibility”. He acknowledges that each season presents new challenges and that the team must improve the car to be competitive.
“I feel better than ever. Certainly, after winning the championship last year, that has given me confidence, so it’s reassuring to know that I’ve done it once and, therefore, I believe I can do it again.”
