The 2026 rules revolt found a sharper edge at the Hungaroring, where Lando Norris shifted the argument off the stopwatch and onto the balance sheet. The world champion's verdict: Formula 1 rewrote its engine formula to attract Audi and keep manufacturers happy, and the people actually driving the cars were an afterthought.
"They listen but you can't just change your engine in the middle of the year and you can't change it even with one or two years' notice because it's not about making the best performance of a car … it's a business," Norris said. He was blunt about where the sport's priorities sat. "Everyone wants to make money, so in order for Audi and other teams to come in we had to change these things. It's a shame, it should never have been like that. But that's how businesses work."
His real grievance was influence. "The biggest voice should always be ours as drivers," Norris argued, "because we have the best idea of how racing should be, how it can be, what's possible, what's not." Instead, he said, "we have very, very little say and a lot more of it's done because if you can have Audi and other teams in it, it's a bigger win than the drivers being happy."
Max Verstappen, the loudest critic of the new power units since pre-season, framed the mood as vindication. "I have spoken my mind about these regulations already for a long time," he said on Thursday. "In the beginning, most people were saying, 'Ah, he's complaining, he should shut up'. But I have to say that the last few races more and more people are saying the same thing that I could see coming already a long time ago." He rejected the idea it was sour grapes: "It's not about me not winning anymore, it's just because I care about the product."
The complaints hardened after Silverstone and Spa, two power-hungry circuits where the energy-management formula left cars lifting and coasting down the straights. Carlos Sainz did not soften it. "I think we all missed the qualifying of last year, especially at a track like this or Silverstone," he said. "I think everyone knows this is not good enough for Formula 1 and needs to be changed … it's clear that none of us are enjoying the cars as much as last year." Asked whether the tweaks lined up for 2027 go far enough, he was flat: "Probably not. That's why for 2030 they are already planning a change because they know this is not the best." Rookie Oliver Bearman piled on after Spa, complaining he had less power on the straights than a Formula 2 car.
Not everyone in the paddock treats it as a crisis without a cure. Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu argued the problem is complexity, not concept — and that it can be engineered out. "Honestly, I think we're trying to simplify the sport. I think currently it's just too complicated," he said. A fractional difference in throttle position can now swing lap time by several tenths depending on how energy is deployed, a quirk that has blurred who is genuinely quickest. That, Komatsu said, is "something we all identified the need to avoid and improve as a sport. You know, to bring the control back to the driver."
The governing body is already looking past this formula. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has confirmed talks with teams, drivers and engine suppliers about the next power unit, and he is not hiding his preference. "Personally, I think there is a need for a completely new engine concept, developed from scratch," he said. "The ideal solution would be a V8 that runs on sustainable fuel." For Norris, that only sharpens the point: the reset everyone now wants was foreseeable, and the drivers were the last people in the room to be asked.
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*Originally published on [News Formula One](https://newsformula.one/article/norris-f1-put-audis-money-ahead-of-drivers-on-2026-rules). Visit for full coverage.*