Why Norris’ comments perfectly capture F1’s 2026 dilemma

Lando Norris stood behind Max Verstappen with a smile as the Dutchman gave his Dutch-language TV interview with Viaplay after the Japanese Grand Prix. Verstappen talked about the regulations when the interviewer pointed out the smiling Norris behind him. The four-time world champion looked back, burst out laughing as well because he knew Norris shared his opinion, and then continued his story: “Well, I know we can’t make much of a difference for this season anyway.”

After Verstappen’s interview, it was Norris’ turn in front of the Viaplay camera. When it was mentioned that he had been talking with the Red Bull driver about energy management and the battery, the reigning world champion grinned: “Really? That’s weird, because I have never even mentioned it this year.”

When the follow-up question was whether the race in Japan had been frustrating for him, the McLaren driver continued: “Not at all. It’s the best racing I have probably ever seen!” When it was pointed out that Norris’ answers sounded rather sarcastic, the McLaren driver started laughing even more.

After Norris had done the round with all the TV crews, he headed towards the section of the media pen reserved for the written press. Where the Brit made the remarks on Dutch television with a smile, he also bit his tongue here at first. It is in line with the approach many key figures in the paddock are following right now: after publicly expressing the main concerns a few times in Melbourne and Shanghai, many now consider it more constructive to keep that criticism behind closed doors — after some encouragement from higher up — and discuss possible improvements privately.

When he was asked about the closing speeds and Oliver Bearman’s crash, Norris initially kept it brief as well: “My comments are the same as they have been the whole year, same as certain other drivers, so I don't need to keep going on about it.”

Only after Autosport put it to him that the consensus until Sunday morning had been that qualifying needs adjustments, but that the racing itself had been reasonably good, did Norris share his real opinion.

Norris said he didn't want to overtake Hamilton when he did in the Japanese GP - but the battery use enforced the pass

Photo by: Clive Mason / Getty Images

“Honestly some of the racing… I didn't even want to overtake Lewis. It's just that my battery deploys, I don't want it to deploy, but I can't control it. So, I overtake him, and then I have no battery left, so he just flies past. This is not racing, this is yo-yoing. Even though he [Hamilton] says it's not, it is yo-yoing.

“When you're just at the mercy of whatever the power unit delivers, the driver should be in control of it at least, and we're not.”

With those remarks, Norris indicated that the overall picture - not just qualifying, but also the racing itself - is not yet how it should be in his view. In that sense, he shared Verstappen’s opinion, although the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers have been considerably more positive about the races so far - perhaps also linked to the competitive picture.

Norris’ comments in Japan are particularly interesting, especially when you consider his remarks throughout the entire weekend. On Sunday the world champion gave a clear explanation of why he feels powerless behind the wheel at times, but three days earlier he had spoken about the other side of the coin. Together, Norris’ remarks perfectly illustrate the difficult balancing act facing Formula One Management (FOM) and the FIA.

 "There are ways you can probably easily fix it, but what you guys see, what the TV sees, is what the fans want to see. If they’re happy, then that kind of sorts everything" Lando Norris

That other side of the story is linked to the Chinese Grand Prix, where Norris, because of his DNS, had to watch the entire race from the sidelines. During Thursday’s press conference in Suzuka he said that from a TV perspective he could understand why some fans might find it entertaining to watch, particularly a younger generation that wants to see constant action and may care less about the artificial nature behind many of the position changes.

“It’s difficult. There are ways you can probably easily fix it, but it’s tough because from the outside, and at the end of the day that’s what it’s all about, what you guys see, what the TV sees, is what the fans want to see. If they’re happy, then that kind of sorts everything,” he accepted.

Because of his retirement in China, Norris was able to see the difference in perspective himself — that of a TV viewer and that of the man in the cockpit.

Norris gained a fans' perspective on the 2026 F1 racing and rules having been unable to start the Chinese GP

Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images

“At the same time, I think as drivers we still just want the best cars to drive and cars that you feel like you’re on the limit, you can go flat out, you can plan an overtake and you can then defend,” Norris continued. “In a lot of cases now you do an overtake, you can’t even defend because the guy comes past you at 60km/h [37mph] more. Those kinds of silly things, where you feel like you’ve achieved something, you brake later, you’ve overtaken them and then you’re just at the mercy of whatever battery you got. Those are the situations I think that are just annoying and tricky to deal with when you’re inside the car.”

A Champions League-level 0-0 or a goal fest?

From the perspective of a TV viewer, the Japanese Grands Prix of 2025 and 2026 perfectly highlighted the differences between the two seasons, especially because Suzuka is traditionally a track where overtaking is extremely difficult. Last year’s race was a good example. Verstappen took pole with a sensational qualifying lap. On Sunday McLaren was significantly faster, but overtaking at Suzuka proved almost impossible.

Several team members came up with the perfect comparison after the 2026 race: the 2025 Grand Prix was essentially a football match played at an extremely high level, but one that ended 0-0. Defensively not a single mistake was made, which meant the ball simply could not go in, yet both sides performed at Champions League-level. Qualifying was on the limit, Verstappen’s defence on Sunday was flawless, and McLaren threw everything at it to turn its pace advantage into a victory.

The 2026 Japanese Grand Prix, in comparison, was described as a football match that ended 5-5. Plenty of goals — in this case overtakes — but the value of each goal became much smaller because they were happening constantly. Moreover, based on this analogy, it could be argued that most of them resulted from easily awarded penalties, in F1’s case due to the large differences in energy management.

The situation raises the question of which fanbase F1 wants to serve the most. For people who want to switch on the TV and see action every five seconds in the form of an overtaking move, the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix was perhaps a major improvement compared to the year before. But for those who attach less value to the number of overtakes and consider themselves more purists, the 2025 edition was probably a much purer experience. Personally I belong to the latter group, but it is ultimately a matter of taste, and for F1 primarily a question of who it wants to serve.

Where is the ideal point in this balancing act?

And finally there is the driver’s experience, which Norris also addressed. While opinions about the racing itself are divided in the paddock and perhaps still partly a matter of getting used to for the drivers, most of them agree about one thing: qualifying should be flat-out without lift and coast or super clipping.

Norris prefers all-out racing rather than energy management performance

Photo by: Mark Thompson / Getty Images

“We just want to go flat out, I don't want to be lifting here and losing 60km/h from 130R to the last corner,” he said. “Most other categories have a higher top speed than us. So yeah, some things can be improved, but the FIA know that and I hope they do it. Yes, the racing can look great on TV, but the racing inside the car is certainly not as authentic as it needs to be.”

Precisely because there is consensus in the paddock about qualifying, changes are most likely incoming ahead of the Miami Grand Prix. But when it comes to the racing, Norris’ remarks perfectly expose the difficult balancing act of 2026 - one on two fronts: firstly between different groups of fans and which audience to serve, and secondly between F1 as a TV spectacle and a pure experience for the drivers. That balancing act has shifted dramatically from 2025 to 2026.

Is the ideal point somewhere in the middle? And if so, how do we reach that point? Those are exactly the questions currently on the table, although they are easier posed than answered. One thing is very clear ahead of the crucial meetings in April: the remarks from Verstappen and Norris — who was notably nuanced in Japan — would do well to be taken seriously.

Watch: 2026 Japanese GP: Antonelli Dominant and What Next For 2026 Regs