Lando Norris says it's a shame Formula 1 is so heavily influenced by commercial decisions

The McLaren driver spoke ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix after criticism of the 2026 F1 regulations intensified at Spa-Francorchamps. Drivers were particularly frustrated by energy management demands that restricted outright speed around the Belgian circuit.

Norris accepted Formula 1 must attract manufacturers and remain commercially successful. However, he believes business considerations have been prioritised over producing the best possible racing.

“It’s a business,” Norris told reporters. “Everyone wants to make money, so in order for Audi and other teams to come in we had to change these things. It’s a shame. It should never have been like that. But that’s how businesses work.”

Audi entered Formula 1 this season after completing its takeover of Sauber. The German manufacturer was attracted by regulations increasing the electrical contribution of the power unit to near-parity with the internal combustion engine.

Changes have already been approved for 2027 to reduce the electrical contribution after drivers and teams raised concerns. Norris said: “Formula 1 will always be great, It can just be better.

"Us as drivers just know it better than everyone else. The thing that’s a shame is that Formula 1 is too heavily led by the fact it’s a business nowadays and not how can you make the sport the best possible? It’s, how can you just make the most money as a business?"

Norris continued: "That’s just not what it should simply be. That’s not how a sport should be run. The fact we have hybrids, 50-50 and all that, that’s just because more teams wanted to come in it and because you make more money," ventured the 26-year-old Englishman.

Norris also believes Formula 1’s rapidly expanding audience has changed how the sport is consumed. He suggested many newer supporters focus more heavily on individual personalities than the quality of the racing itself.

“I think the fans you have nowadays, because they’re a lot more personality-based...and not simply of F1 as a whole sport, I think there’s less interest in basically how the actual race goes, and more just ‘has the driver done well or not?’,” he added.

Norris insisted drivers want faster cars, better racing and a stronger spectacle for supporters. However, he claimed their influence remains limited when major technical and commercial decisions are made.

“The biggest voice should always be ours as drivers,” he said. “We have the best idea of how racing should be, how it can be, what’s possible, what’s not.

“We would just want the best for everything, the best for the fans, the best viewing, the best racing for us, the most fun to drive. And at the minute, we don’t...we have very, very little say.”

Formula 1 may remain commercially stronger than ever, but Norris wants its decision-makers to remember one fundamental point: before it became a global entertainment business, it was a racing championship.
(Reporting by Agnes Carlier from Hungaroring)