Lando Norris says long-standing fans must ‘hate’ current F1 rules

World champion Lando Norris has taken a swipe at Formula One chiefs accusing them of putting profit before the sport.

>Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Norris also claimed F1 fans who have not been reared on Netflix’s Drive to Survive series will “hate” this season’s regulations.

>The new engine rules – a 50-50 split between combustion and electrical power – have attracted criticism up and down the grid. They are back in the spotlight after the power-dependent rounds at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps.

>Respected Sky F1 pundit Martin Brundle said he had been left with a “tear in my eye because we’ve lost all the great corners at Silverstone and at Spa” with drivers effectively slowing down at top speed to recharge their battery.

>And Norris said: “It’s a business. Everyone wants to make money, so in order for Audi (new to the grid for 2026) and other teams like Cadillac to come in, we had to make changes.

>“Formula One’s gone too heavily led by the fact it’s a business, and not how can you make the sport the best possible but how can we make the most money as a business.

>“That’s not how a sport should be run. It should never have been like that. And it is a shame.”

>F1 has made minor tweaks to the regulations after Max Verstappen likened the sport to Mario Kart.

>The four-time world champion said after last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix that someone might “shoot” him if he continues to complain about the rules.

>On social media, fans have also suggested speed, battery charge, and on-board telemetry graphics have been removed from broadcasts to hide that drivers are “slowing down” to manage their engines.

>George Russell’s radio rant in Belgium – where he took aim at his battery for contributing to his race-ending collision with Lewis Hamilton – was also absent from the live broadcast.

>And Norris continued: “Fans from five years ago, before Drive to Survive, would hate it. Fans nowadays like the personalities and the drivers and are not simply fans of Formula One as a whole sport. There’s less interest in basically how the actual race goes, and more just has the driver done well or not.

>“That’s completely fine. But the biggest voice should always be the drivers, and that’s not because we’re selfish but because we have the best idea of how racing should be.

>“And at the minute, we have very, very little say, and a lot more of what is done because if you can have Audi and other teams in it, it’s a bigger win than the drivers being happy.

>“I don’t think Formula One is in a wobbly state. It will always be great. It can just be better.”