Lando Norris makes 'Formula 4' comparison in 'beautiful' Spa loss lament

Lando Norris has explained how F1 cars feel like "Formula 4" machines when in straight mode, and lamented the loss of the challenge of "beautiful" Spa.

For this weekend's Belgian GP, drivers will be allowed to access straight mode, where the front and rear wings open, five times, but not through corners with high lateral loads on the car.

This means the cars will be in corner mode through Eau Rouge, Raidillon and then through Blanchimont towards the end of the lap - with the old DRS system also not used through any of the corners.

As F1 cars have gained downforce in recent years, the blast up the hill to Eau Rouge and Raidillon has seen the iconic corner's challenge reduced for drivers, but despite the cut in downforce of the 2026 machines, Norris explained that it still would not be a challenge, as he explained the "Formula 4" feeling in straight mode.

"Because you want us to be active through Eau Rouge," Norris enquired when asked by media, including RacingNews365 about the possibility of the sequence becoming a challenge for drivers again if it was not flat-out.

"It will not even be a challenge, you have such low downforce, and the problem is that if you lift, it also shuts, so the difference is too big when you go from open to shut.

"I mean, you see when Max [Verstappen's] wing doesn't shut by a centimetre, you crash, and when it is open, you are not even driving a Formula 2 car, you are driving a Formula 4 car.

"[Making Eau Rouge a challenge again] needs to be done by making the corner tighter again, making the general downforce less, or just by having more power through the corner.

"It is not achieved by making the corner dangerous, but it has been flat for many years, so it is like Pouhon. Pouhon will probably now be quite easily flat because you have no power to go around Pouhon, and that is the disappointing thing.

"It is not going to be the same Spa as it has always been, we will see what it is like in corners like Pouhon but it is certainly not going to be the same challenge as it has always been. 

"You can rotate where you use your power in different modes, and maybe it will be a different challenge for different people, but we're still incredibly poor on energy around this track, so it is not going to be as beautiful as it's been in the past."