Lando Norris believes if Max Verstappen "wants to retire, he can retire" following the Dutchman's astonishing attack on F1's new regulations.
On Thursday of the first pre-season Bahrain test, Verstappen branded the new F1 rules as "Formula E on steroids", as "anti-racing" and hinted that he could walk away given his dissatisfaction with the new energy management demands placed on drivers.
The new era of power units feature a 50-50 split in power output between the internal combustion engines and batteries, which now feature 350kw of energy.
Drivers are having to recapture as much energy as possible in braking zones to ensure their batteries are topped up with enough charge, as well as lifting and coasting on straights, with Verstappen experimenting with an aggressive driving style of going down into first gear in low-speed corners to rev the engine to force energy back into the system.
This driving style creates low-speed instability in the car, as the Red Bull driver expressed his profound unhappiness with the regulations in a stunning attack.
Norris, who dethroned Verstappen as world champion in 2025, has called the bluff of his fellow title winner.
"A lot of fun, I really enjoyed it," Norris reflected to media, including RacingNews365, when asked his opinion on the new rules and Verstappen's stunning broadside against them.
"So yeah, if he wants to retire, he can retire. Formula 1 changes all the time; sometimes it is a bit better to drive, and sometimes it is not as good to drive, but we get paid a stupid amount of money to drive, so you can't really complain.
"I mean, any driver can go and find something else to do; it is not like he or any driver has to be here, but it is a challenge, a good, fun challenge for the engineers and drivers; it is different.
"You have to drive in a different way and understand things differently and manage things differently, but I still get to drive cars and travel the world and have a lot of fun, so there is nothing to complain about.
"I don't expect Max isn't going to go out and not give a shit, like he is still going to try and win, and Max is never going to not try. You're just not going to smile as much.
"It certainly doesn't feel as quick as the last few years, and certainly doesn't handle as perfectly, but I am sure that if he came in and this was the first F1 car he started driving, then he would probably say it is amazing compared to the older cars.
"It doesn't feel as pretty and as beautiful to drive, but it is still pretty good. It is still early days of a regulation [set] which is meant to be a good amount slower.
"But if you fast forward to the end of the year and look at next year, we're going to be a lot quicker by then, so anyone can make their own opinions and have their own opinions and say and decide what they want to do.
"No one should complain about that. Every driver has their own opinions, and he didn't like it, and I like it."
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