Reigning world champion Lando Norris has launched a scathing attack on Formula One's new regulations, declaring that they "suck" and the 2026 cars are the "worst" in history.
The sport's biggest regulations overhaul looms as the key issue for today's season-opening grand prix in Melbourne, with reliability also likely to be a big issue.
Under the new regulations almost 50% of a car's power unit is a battery, which drains unless drivers recharge it while braking or by lifting off the throttle.
That has created a particular issue at Albert Park, with drivers needing to lift on the long sweeping back straight given there are minimal twisty sections of the track.
George Russell's pole time of 1:18.518 was 3.422 seconds slower than Norris' last year, despite the two sessions both being held in dry conditions.
Russell's teammate Kimi Antonelli helped secure a front-row lockout for Mercedes in second, with the silver arrows far quicker than Red Bull's Isack Hadjar in third and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in fourth.
Australian Oscar Piastri will have to start from fifth, as part of an all-McLaren third row with Norris sixth, while Max Verstappen has been cleared to compete from 20th on the grid by F1 medics after X-rays on his hands following his qualifying crash.
But defending champion Norris made no secret of his frustration over the current regulations, and where he fears they have left the sport.
"We've come from the best cars ever made in Formula One, and the nicest to drive, to probably the worst. It sucks," Norris said.
"Everyone knows what the issues are. It's just the fact the engine is a 50-50 split and it just doesn't work.
"You decelerate so much before corners, you have to lift everywhere to make sure the battery pack is at the top level.
"But if the pack's too high, you're also screwed. It's just difficult."
Norris also blamed needing to watch his steering wheel to monitor speed for damaging his front wing when he ran over a cooling fan that fell off Antonelli's car.
The British champion also suggested 20 of the 22 drivers on the grid had complained about the situation in a meeting on Friday.
Previously, Kiwi Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson said in a radio interview the new regulations had been "challenging", and described the new-era cars as "not super fun to drive".
“In some ways the car moves around quite a bit more and, it depends on how you look at it, that can be more enjoyable,” he said. “But obviously we’re trying to extract every bit of lap time out of the car and in some ways it feels like you can’t attack as much as you could in the past when you had a lot more downforce.”
Lawson said 2026 cars and noticeably smaller and "a little bit more playful" to drive.
“But I think the main reason for that is just because we have a significant amount of aero taken off the car," Lawson said. “When you have a car that’s extremely high downforce, it’s designed to push through the air in a straight line."
McLaren boss Zak Brown has already suggested that some rules may need changing after Sunday's race, if they prove to provide a poor spectacle for viewers.
Piastri was more reserved in his views around the new regulations after qualifying on Saturday, but noted the car was down 450 horsepower on some corners compared to last year.
"I think everyone can see the state of things," the Australian said.
"I think it will probably improve a bit but there is clearly some fundamental things that won't be very easy to fix. I don't really know what we do about that.
"It will be better at different tracks. We will have different challenges at other tracks."
Piastri's fifth-place start will leave him needing to become the first driver in 12 years at Albert Park to come from outside the first three on the grid to win.
With Mercedes looking likely to sprint off into the distance, Piastri's best hope may be becoming the first Australian to be classified on the podium at home since the race became part of the F1 championship in 1985.
- Additional reporting by 1News
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