Lando Norris is expecting to see more “chaotic” F1 races as a result of the new cars being introduced this year.
Major changes have been made to the aerodynamics and the power units, leaving it to be labelled one of the biggest single-season changes in the history of the sport.
Drivers will now have different tools available to them behind the wheel, which will see them manage and deploy energy strategically.
Norris tested the different modes available to him during the Barcelona shakedown last week.
“I did some bits, just to get a feel of what it's like when you use the boost button,” Norris told media including RacingNews365.
“And then you realise, once you use the boost button, how much that can hurt you on the next straight, and how you have to get the battery back up quickly.
“A lot of the testing is just trying things, even pressing it when you would never normally press it just to see what happens or see the consequences - how do you have to then drive the next lap or the next few corners to recover all of those things?
“I would say I don't have the best feeling at the minute for close following. It didn't feel that bad, honestly, it’s hard to say if it was much better or worse than last year.
“But in Bahrain, we’ll probably try and do a bit more of that. I’ll try maybe text the others, ‘let's meet up for a little race or something!’”
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Norris expecting 'chaotic' racing
Norris enters the year as the reigning champion, however, it was Mercedes who caused a stir with its performance in Barcelona last week.
McLaren insisted it was treating the event like a true shakedown and did not consider pace in any of its runs as it got acclimatised to the new regulations.
The power unit has seen an increase in electrical output, drawing it level with the combustion engine.
As drivers now have more options to utilise the extra electrical power, Norris suggested it could have a dramatic effect on the races.
“What you're going to see is generally just more you can have almost more chaotic racing depending on when people use the boost button [and] at what times,” he said.
“There’s a lot of straights and places, say, even a Barcelona, where you don't really deploy the battery that much, say, between turn five to turn seven, it's a little straight.
“But if you use boost out of it, you gain a good amount of horsepower and you can overtake someone into seven, which you'd never normally see before.
“The only thing is then you’re screw down to Turn 10.
“You'll be able to force people more in different positions and create racing potentially in better ways than you have been able to in the past. And I think that's probably a better thing.”
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Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes and Nick Golding, as they look back on last week's five-day F1 test in Barcelona. McLaren's upgrade strategy is discussed, as is Aston Martin grabbing much attention with its striking AMR26.
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