(Motorsport-Total.com) – According to Lando Norris, modern Formula 1 is no longer primarily about the sport, but above all about business. A reality that, as he illustrates to reporters, does not appeal to the reigning world champion at all.
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“It’s a real shame,” he said before the Hungarian Grand Prix, “that Formula 1 today is primarily about being a business, and not about how to build the best possible sport.”
“It’s simply about how you can make the most money, and it simply shouldn’t be. That’s not how a sport should be run.”
The world champion’s statements are made under the auspices of this year’s Formula 1 cars. For months, there has been discussion about the new hybrid engines and the once-sought 50-50 split between the electric component and the internal combustion engine share. No one is satisfied with the compromise solution that was once put out to tender, which is why the next engine formula is already being discussed.
Not least among the habits of the new Formula 1 that take some getting used to is that drivers often speak of a certain arbitrariness of the engines.
Instead of controlling the power unit’s performance solely with the throttle pedal, AI systems often intervene in the drivers’ driving style. Those who cannot precisely adjust to this lap after lap quickly lose lap time.
“They listen to us,” says Norris, “but you can’t just change the engine in the middle of the year. You can’t even change it with one or two years’ notice, because it’s not about building the best possible car.”
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“It is,” Norris repeats, “a business. Everyone wants to make money, and for Audi and other teams [to enter the sport], we had to change these things. That’s a real shame, and it should never have been that way. But that’s how business works.”
With the new engine regulations, Formula 1 has managed to attract Audi, Honda, and Cadillac to the sport. The company with the four rings emphasized before the race weekend in Monaco that it would not be averse to a V8 solution with a turbo component. However, the focus in the McLaren driver’s statements is completely different.
“The drivers should always have the most influential voice. And that’s not because of our egoism, but because we best understand how racing should be, how it can be, what’s possible and what’s not. We would simply want the best for everyone, and right now, we don’t have that.”
“We have,” says the world champion, “very, very little influence. That’s because when you have Audi and other teams on board, that’s a bigger win than happy drivers.”
A new engine regulation is expected in Grand Prix racing by 2031 at the latest. Current plans foresee a reduction of the electric component and suggest a V8. Officially, these plans are not yet set in stone.
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