Lando Norris makes 'perfect world' admission in 'biggest F1 challenge'

Lando Norris has conceded that in a "perfect world", he would not have the complex power unit changes to the 2026 F1 cars.

The new generation of power units places a far greater emphasis on energy management and harvesting, with the power units now featuring a 50-50 split in terms of power output from the internal combustion engine and the beefed-up batteries.

In 2025, this was down at 80-20 in favour of the ICE, with drivers having to adapt their techniques and driving styles to best manage their supply of electrical energy, with one trick being to use low gears in slow-speed corners to force energy back into the system for deployment.

Norris explained that this is the "biggest challenge" facing drivers, as he detailed how in a "perfect world", he wouldn't prefer to face them.

 "The biggest challenge at the minute is battery management and knowing how to utilise that in the best way," Norris told media, including RacingNews365. 

"It is not simple, but I think you can explain it in quite simple terms. It is just that you have a very powerful battery that doesn't last very long, so knowing when to use it, how much energy and power you use, and how to split that across the lap.

"Now the biggest challenge is how you recover the batteries as well, and when it comes to using the gears, hitting the right revs, and we've obviously got some turbo lag now, which we've never had before, so all of the little things have crept back in.

"In a perfect world, I probably wouldn't have that in a race car, but it is just a small one and sometimes you have these different challenges, sometimes it suits one person more than other, but our challenge as a team, and as drivers, but also [with our] engine manufacturer is to be as on top of it as much as possible."