Lando Norris and George Russell at Australian Grand Prix. (Image credit: Instagram)
The 2026 Australian Grand Prix results left drivers divided over the new F1 regulations. Race winner George Russell called it “selfish” to judge the rules too soon, while reigning champion Lando Norris, who finished fifth, shared his fears of a potential accident that could leave drivers seriously hurt.
However, several drivers, including Max Verstappen and Oliver Bearman, agreed with Norris and hope the FIA will make changes.
Lando Norris calls new F1 rules a shame, warns of big accident
Lando Norris started sixth on the grid and improved to fifth place in the final results of the Australian Grand Prix. The McLaren driver felt overtaking was awkward and unpredictable, which could lead to a serious accident if cars collide at high speed.“You’re going to have a big accident, which is a shame. You’re kind of driving and we’re the ones just waiting for something to happen and go quite horribly wrong,” Norris said, as quoted by Autoweek.com.
The champion also called the racing “very artificial depending on what the PU decides to do and what it randomly does at times.”Further explaining his concerns, he added, “Depending on what people do, you can have a 30, 40, or 50 kph speed difference. So when someone hits another car at that speed, you’re going to fly and you’re going to go over the fence, and you’re going to do a lot of damage to yourself and maybe others. That’s a pretty horrible thing to think about.”
Taking to Instagram after the race, Norris wrote: “Feels good to be back. This weekend’s been tricky, but we got the most out of what we had today. Shanghai nxt. Cya then.”
George Russell calls criticism “selfish”, wants drivers to give it a shot
However, Australian Grand Prix winner George Russell dismissed Lando Norris’ concerns, saying drivers should give the regulations more time before judging them. He won from the pole position and had teammate Kimi Antonelli joining him on the podium in the second spot. “If he was winning, I don’t think he’d be saying the same,” Russell said about Norris, as quoted by RacingNews365.Russell also compared the situation to last season, when drivers complained about issues even before the new regulations were introduced.“We weren’t happy with how stiff the cars were last year and the porpoising. Everyone had a bad back, and drivers were complaining about that. But McLaren drivers said there was no porpoising, even though we watched their car and they were porpoising,” he said.
“So everyone’s always looking out for themselves, and we’re all selfish in this regard. The truth is, last year we had the same engine as them and McLaren did a better job than us, and they beat us. Now McLaren has the same engine as us, the same as Williams and Alpine, and so far we’ve done a better job than them. That’s just how the game goes,” he added.Further criticizing those who have found fault with the new regulations, Russell said, “When we’ve had the best cars and the least tire degradation, and when we’ve been happiest, everyone still complains that the racing is rubbish.”Drivers now have only a few days to prepare for Round 2, the Chinese Grand Prix, scheduled at the Shanghai International Circuit from March 13–15.
