Lando Norris fearful of being ‘at mercy’ to dangerous F1 rule

Lando Norris fears being at the "mercy" of F1 rivals over the dangerous closing speeds currently being experienced.

Talks are underway between the FIA, F1, and the teams to find solutions to the major concerns raised across the first three grands prix of the season, with qualifying one particular flashpoint owing to cars not going at full power at all times.

During the recent Japanese Grand Prix, qualifying was widely derided owing to cars not going at full speed into 130R owing to the need to capture energy.

This can lead to huge closing speeds as reigning champion Norris explained how he was being forced to drive counterintuitively and feared being "at the mercy" of rivals who might be deploying full power.

"Of course, there are some better and some worse tracks, and they've made some improvements, but it can still be further improved," Norris told media, including RacingNews365, about qualifying. 

"We just want to go flat out, I don't want to be lifting and losing 60kph into 130R [at Suzuka] into the final corner.

"Most other categories will have a higher top speed than us, so some things can be improved, 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. 

"The big problem [at Suzuka] was it deploys into 130R, and I have to lift, and I'm not allowed to go back on the throttle. 

"If I go back on the throttle, my battery deploys, and I don't want it to deploy because it should have cut, and because you lifted, it redeploys, so you can't go back on it.

"There is nothing I can do about it, so there is just not enough control for a driver; that's why you are at the mercy of what is behind you."