Lando Norris says he enjoys 2026 Formula 1 cars but not "the bit" behind him

Norris contradicted Max Verstappen when he lashed out against the 2026 power units early on this season but changed his tone soon after the actual racing started.

Speaking in detail about the 2026 cars, the reigning F1 champion extracted positives but remained convinced that the power unit is an issue.

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.

"Last year we had loads of downforce, cars that really felt like they were on rails when we got them dialed in, and what felt like never-ending speed; however, when you lost grip, that was it, you were just losing time at best or heading for the gravel.

"That could be quite frustrating, as it didn’t feel like you could make as much of a difference yourself as a driver; you needed the car underneath you and needed to ensure you stayed within the limits of the car.

"This year the cars are much, much lower downforce and much more on the limit," the Briton pointed out. "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," Norris then said. "It’s the bit behind us that I’m not enjoying as much—the power unit regulations.

"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," he explained. "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."

Norris and McLaren have struggled with their Mercedes power unit management while also being hit with reliability issues which meant they could not even start the race in Shanghai with any of their cars.

While purist F1 fans have expressed their discontent with the yo-yo racing the batteries have imposed so far, other fans—newcomers probably or inexperienced in the sport—have expressed their satisfaction.

While Norris is happy with positive feedback, he warned that F1 should avoid artificial racing while being optimistic that fixes are on the way.

He said: "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. Fans want to see us out on track battling each other and the limits of grip.

"We need to avoid artificial elements of racing where we can, but we’re not too far away from achieving that and having a really exciting era of racing," Norris concluded.