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Lando Norris may be the reigning World Champion, but even he admits that the 2026 Formula 1 cars have forced him to unlearn everything he thought he knew about fast driving. As the sport enters a "new era" defined by radical engine and aerodynamic shifts, the challenge for the drivers has moved from pure bravery to complex energy management. Following a productive but eye-opening first test in Barcelona, the McLaren star has offered a candid look at why these cars are so counter-intuitive to drive.
The End of "Flat Out"
For decades, the goal of a qualifying lap was simple: keep the throttle pinned for as long as possible. Under the new regulations, that logic has been turned on its head. Norris explained that because of the way the new hybrid batteries deploy and recover energy, drivers are now forced to "lift" off the gas in places that were previously taken at full throttle.
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"It was really great fun to drive the new cars, but it’s certainly different," Norris remarked. "If you're on a fast lap and you suddenly have to lift, that's definitely not what you're used to. You don't get taught that in karting—you never did that there."
The Battery Battle
The biggest hurdle comes at the end of the lap. Norris described the frustration of approaching the final corner and the start-finish line, ready to give it everything, only to be throttled back by the car's energy recovery system. "You can't go full throttle in the last corner because of your battery," he explained. "As soon as you cross the line, you have to lift again. That's certainly not how you would normally think about a fast qualifying lap."
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