Damon Hill believes "all bets are off" when it comes to whether Lando Norris can defend his F1 drivers’ title.
Norris overcame a 34-point deficit to defeat McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen to claim his maiden championship last season, securing the #1 on his car for the 2026 season.
However, defending his title is set to be extremely difficult, with the pinnacle of motorsport introducing entirely new power-unit regulations.
The new regulations have the potential to completely change the pecking order from last year, as seen in 2014 when the turbo-hybrid era began.
From this year, the power units will consist of a 50/50 split between electrical power and internal combustion, with Mercedes expected to be the strongest initially.
However, with Mercedes powering four teams, including themselves, McLaren’s continued dominance is far from guaranteed.
Asked if Norris can win a second consecutive drivers' title, 1996 F1 champion Hill told talkSPORT: "Well, all bets are off for this year. We have no idea who is going to have the form.
"We can't assume that people who found their feet with these last regulations, which were sort of Venturi ground effect cars, will be able to follow through.
"I mean, some of it will follow through. The power units are completely different. They've got to share 50 per cent of their power from electric battery power, so storage in the car.
"So the way the cars will be driven, the way they're designed, the way they work aerodynamically is completely different."
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