From irony to criticism
At the beginning of the year, during testing, Lando Norris was the one who – jokingly – said that if Verstappen really disliked this new F1 technical regulation so much, then he should retire. Now, paradoxically, the Englishman has become one of the most outspoken critics of the changes introduced this year, at least as much as his friend-rival.
Despite the Miami weekend marking the return to competitiveness of McLaren, with Norris winning the Sprint race and finishing second in the GP, the English champion has not softened his doubts about the current technical regulations. Even the ‘adjustments’ that FIA, F1, and the teams agreed upon during the long break before the American round do not seem to have convinced the #1 papaya.
One step forward is not enough
“It’s a small step in the right direction, but it’s still not at the level that Formula 1 should have – said the world champion, who seems particularly ‘annoyed’ by the management required inside the cockpit during qualifying – if you go full throttle everywhere and try to push like in previous years, you are still penalized. You still can’t go full throttle everywhere – added the McLaren driver – the issue is no longer about being able to accelerate as soon as possible everywhere. You should never be penalized for this kind of thing and yet you still are”.
Norris, just like Verstappen, is convinced there is no ‘definitive’ fix that can solve the problems of these power units in the short term: “Honestly, I don’t really think the problem can be solved. You simply have to eliminate the battery. Hopefully, in a few years, it will be like that”, he concluded.
