Change of tune
This time even Lando Norris got angry. The reigning world champion – who at the start of the Bahrain tests had teased Max Verstappen after his outburst against this new generation of single-seaters, only to later retract – thundered in a decidedly harsh manner at the end of the Australian GP qualifying in Melbourne against the newly introduced technical regulations. The McLaren #1, who seems to have very little chance of defending his title given the evident technical supremacy of Mercedes, defined the current single-seaters as the “worst in history” of F1.
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“We went from the best cars ever built in Formula 1, and the most beautiful to drive, to probably the worst ones. It sucks – declared Norris, who tomorrow will start on the third row from the sixth spot, alongside teammate Oscar Piastri – we have to live with it, but everyone knows what the problems are. The fact is that the engine is split 50% (between thermal energy and electric energy) and it simply doesn’t work“.
Battery problems
“There are many problems to face – Norris continued in his analysis – you decelerate so much before the corners that you have to lift your foot everywhere to ensure the battery pack is at the maximum level, but if it’s then too high you’re screwed. It’s difficult, but it’s what we have. It’s not pleasant as a driver, but I’m sure George is smiling. We have to live with it”, he commented with a joke.
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Another problem is related to safety, according to the McLaren driver: Norris himself in fact hit a piece of debris lost by Antonelli’s car – one of the blowers left attached to the car during its exit from the pits – because he was at that moment intent on looking at his steering wheel: “I was looking at my steering wheel and that’s why I didn’t see the debris. I have to look at the speed I will reach at the end of the straight to know if I have to brake 30 meters earlier or 10 meters later. And this is another problem”, he concluded.
