Outside Line: Formula 1 World Champion Lando Norris finally drops truth bombs on state of our sport
F1 OpinionSaturday, 25 July 2026 at 13:45
Formula 1 World Champion Lando Norris deserves a round of applause. He has opened up not only about the new rules and the farce that the sport has become this season, also questioning the pursuit of money at all costs. All on the record.
I raise my hat to Norris for doing so. He is the World Champion. He is entitled to do so, and it is just a surprise that he did not do it sooner. But then, he has himself been involved in a money grab since he has been in Formula 1.
Let us not forget that. For months on end over the past few seasons, although less so this season, it must be said, we kept getting Norris press releases: LN4, Quadrant and all these projects that he launched, plus details of a myriad of his own personal sponsor commitments.
That, in itself, mirrored what Formula 1 is doing: hoovering up as much cash as possible while it can.
Clearly, since he became a World Champion, something must have switched. These days, we seldom receive emails about Lando Norris’s private projects anymore. They have either been switched off or ramped down substantially compared with the weekly offerings we were getting from just about the moment the kid arrived in Formula 1.
One thing that is important for us to understand as Formula 1 fans, especially if you are an ardent one or even a pundit like myself, Jad Mallak and all our contributors, is that we watch these kids arrive in the sport. And they were kids, with minders.
A Truman Show
Having said that, I understand what it must be like as a teenager (and investors) not to be tempted, surrounded by all the hype, with social media booming, Formula 1 booming and Netflix’s Drive to Survive exploding the narrative to another level. Norris, every other driver and everyone in the paddock are living inside the eye of that storm, in this bubble of an existence. A Truman Show.
An obscene amount of money is spent to make 22 guys go fast a round a strip of tricky tarmac, but it is not really about making them go fast. It is about all the bullshit surrounding it, starting with those garish paddock motorhomes. so expensive that they could house a village on the Mediterranean.
Formula 1 is a money drain. Much of what they have there is simply an extension of the greed that has always prevailed in Formula 1, but more so now than ever before.
Now, like never before, they are selling the soul of the sport and ridiculing it to the level of a circus. Drivers demeaned into performing actions for clicks rather than actions on the track for points. Silly actions that some social media influencer hired by the team decides are what the world needs and wants.
Thus, for Norris to come out and call it as it is deserves respect. This Formula 1 obsession with money at all costs has cheapened our sport. It is being pimped out to whoever has the biggest bank balance, and even if it is not the biggest, Formula 1 will entertain whatever you want.
Show us the money and we will change our sport for you
They will hoover up every dime. They will put a sticker the size of a matchbox on the underside of the car just so you can spend some 'quality' time as a Formula 1 VIP, irrespective of whether you understand what is going on.
Show us the money and we will show you our sport. It does not matter where the money comes from: betting, crypto, Bitcoin or any of the scams. Formula 1 is happy to hoover it all up, and that is the reality of where the sport is right now.
The commercialisation has allowed this cancer to seep into the rules, either to pacify or attract other manufacturers into the sport. Now it's show us the money, and we will change our sport for you.
Who wants Audi in the sport anyway? Volkswagen is a shambles. In two years, the company has been brought to its knees. It is set to fire over 100,000 workers. WTF are they doing in the Piranha pit of excess with Audi? When do Dieselgate scumbags VW pull the plug?
Kudos to Lando for lobbing this reality check about Formula 1 at reporters in Hungary: “It’s a business. 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.”
Thank you, Lando! I have to say this: I struggled to attach the title of World Champion to Lando Norris’s name. It just did not feel right. Now it feels right. It is our sport. It is his sport. The World Champion is our voice. Therefore, he should and must tell the powers that be where they are going wrong.
Notably, Norris is not alone. Max Verstappen has been questioning these rules for over a year. When he drove the car in the simulator, he realised this was going to be a shitshow. He predicted it all.
All the World Champions on the grid united
Of course, he was vilified for moaning because he did not have a good car. Even without a good car, the Dutchman has done some amazing things. Even when he is on the podium, he does not back down.
Another driver who has spoken out is Lewis Hamilton. He has not been as verbose as he might have been because Ferrari are in a good place. But Lewis does not like these power units, and he has questioned why the people who got the sport into this mess still have their jobs.
Why is nobody accountable? Thank you, Lewis. Then, of course, there is Fernando Alonso. I guarantee that even if his Aston Martin were putting him on the podium, he would still hate these cars. Lance Stroll did not hold back when he said: “I drove other cars over the break, I tested some F3 cars, and it is like 1,000 times more fun and better to drive because you have your right foot, you give what you want, and you get what you want.
"F1 is a business, and they want to protect their business and make it look good, and we’re drivers, and we know what it feels like to drive good cars,” added the Canadian.
This is a man who has driven through more than two decades of Formula One. He knows more rule changes than everybody else. When he tells you this is not Formula One and that his granny could drive these cars, you know something is wrong.
At first, it was only those three: Lewis, Max and Fernando.
Now Lando is on board because he can be. He is the World Champion and can therefore say what he wants to say, whether Zak Brown likes it, whether Andrea Stella likes it or whether McLaren like it or not.
Norris can call the shots, and he did so. Respect. He has ditched the social media cartoon figure he became and has finally taken on the mantle of a true World Champion.
Why do the other Formula 1 drivers not speak out?
The other McLaren driver, Oscar Piastri, typically reserved by nature, has has also had a go at the current-era cars and is not averse to dropping some crazy remarks when out on track.
Let us look at Mercedes. Why would Kimi Antonelli speak? He has the best car on the grid. He is a young lad finding his feet in Formula 1. He cannot believe he understands these cars better than anybody else.
He is just going to keep quiet and hopefully even win this World Championship because he has been fantastic relative to his teammate, George Russell.
Now let us look at George. He had already been crowned World Champion by the British media, and probably by himself, before the season got going, as Editor Jad Mallak alluded to in his report about the software bug that had Russell rattled.
There he had a hand on the World Champ trophy after Round 1, winning in Melbourne. It was done. The title was clearly his. After Melbourne, he was giving it lip: “If you don’t like this Formula 1, go. Leave.” That was a direct message to Max Verstappen.
Now, of course, the tune has changed. Russell is blaming software; after his lap one DNF in Belgium, things changed dramatically. He has now thrown these 2026 F1 rules under the bus because they do not suit him. Meanwhile, his teammate is owning him.
The software bug exposé
George, inadvertently or not, threw Mercedes and Formula 1 under the bus, exposing a "software bug" with a mind of its own that caused his drama on Sunday at Spa. Which basically exposed the fact that no team understood these cars, least of all Mercedes, who are leading this World Championship. The irony of it.
At Ferrari, Leclerc obviously dislikes these cars intensely, much like Lewis, but he has not yet come out and said they are trash. But he will. It is just a matter of time because he has that authority. For whatever reason, he remains on the fence, quiet right now.
At Red Bull, Max says whatever he wants because he is Max. We know his feelings! Isack Hadjar is going to keep quiet because all he is trying to do is keep up with his illustrious teammate. For now, the Frenchman has wisely remained quiet.
Why would the Racing Bulls boys moan about the rules? Both Liam Lawson and Avrid Linblad will be happy not to get involved with the saga as they focus on keeping their careers on track.
Why is Esteban Ocon going to moan about the rules? He might not even have a drive with Haas next year, let alone after the summer break if he has a bad run in Hungary. He is going to remain tight-lipped.
His teammate Ollie Bearman is marking time before a Ferrari call-up sometime this decade. No need to get political, but that did not stop him dropping a truth bomb after Melbourne: "I felt like I was a bit in a video game."
Formula 1 dropped on its knees for Audi
The sport is in its current state because of Audi, so why would Nico Hülkenberg or Gabriel Bortoleto chime in on the argument? The young Brazilian will keep quiet because he just wants to stay in Formula 1. If he starts throwing the regulations under the bus, they will kick him out. They will send him packing. He knows that. I know that. Everyone knows that.
Hulkenberg is not going to say sh!t until he knows he no longer has a drive. Then he will probably say: “Thank God I’m leaving, because this is not my Formula 1.” Until then, he is going to keep schtum because he wants to keep the Audi drive.
At Alpine, why is Franco Colapinto going to moan about Formula 1? He cannot even drive the car. He keeps crashing, so do not expect him to put his hand up and say these cars are shit.
Ditto Pierre Gasly. He is a journeyman who probably deserves a better car and a better team. Why would he jump up and down and complain about these cars until he knows his future in Formula 1 is doomed?
At Cadillac, it is a shitshow of note. I think these days Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas are more concerned with simply surviving each session than with where Formula 1 has headed. But I bet that if you sat down with both of them, two veterans who have experienced several regulation changes during their careers, their answers would be interesting.
God forbid
Williams are in the same position. They have two good drivers in Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz who are more focused on getting the thing around the track without hurting themselves, trying to make James Vowles’s shitbox work. Why would they complain about the rules? They are just going to keep quiet. Bite the bullet.
But I think that is going to change. I think all of this is going to change. Already all the F1 world champions on today's grid are united in calling out the farce our sport has become. The drivers are going to become so fed up. And more so when someone gets hurt, God forbid.
I am going to put this out there as a warning. We have been very fortunate with these massive gulfs in speed on certain sections of the track. As much as I loathe the thought of it, I feel there is a big crash waiting to happen. And the feeling is Ollie Bearman's big one at Suzuka is not the one.
It's still coming. I cannot avoid writing because it bugs me, ever since Melbourne. Something tells me we have been very fortunate so far. I believe Karma is a motorsport fan, a Formula 1 fan, but please don't f@ck with Karma.
Circling back to our current Formula 1 World Champion, let’s go, Lando Norris. You did us proud.
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