Lando Norris has predicted there will be more \u201cchaos\u201d in F1 this season but ultimately believes there will still be a gap between the top four teams and the rest of the grid.<\/p>\n
The sweeping regulation changes for this season has raised hopes that the established order could be shaken up but reigning World Champion Norris predicted the previous year\u2019s top four will retain their spots.<\/p>\n
Lando Norris predicts \u2018chaos\u2019 but makes top four assessment<\/p>\n
For the last three seasons, Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren have occupied the top four spots in the Constructors\u2019 standings. However, predicting them to do so again this year is riskier than ever before given the enormity of the regulation changes.<\/p>\n
While the other seven outfits on the grid will be hoping for a mix up of the established order, Norris is keen that McLaren reasserts itself as a leading presence. Further, he predicts that the top four will remain the same in 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve just done a couple days literally, so I still expect you to see the top four teams at the at the front and then potentially a bit of a gap to some of the others,\u201d he told Sky Sports.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we\u2019ve seen over the last few years how close Williams got. Many times the Alpines. Haas, at times were incredibly quick.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I expect everyone to be a challenger at some point, and especially in the first year of a regulation every weekend, you\u2019re going to see new bits on every single car, and you\u2019re going to see the development race within Formula 1, which is exciting.<\/p>\n
More on Lando Norris from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n
*\u00a0Lando Norris: How Verstappen qualities shape his push for F1 2026 perfection<\/a> \u201cIt\u2019s cool for us, even as drivers, to get to see we\u2019ve got a new front wing, a new rear wing, new floor, whatever it might be.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a cool thing for us, but that means this year, because you\u2019re going to be learning so much, you just want to keep pushing the whole way.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the prediction, Norris also suggested how drivers use the battery, which produces 50 percent of the car\u2019s power, will bring more \u201cchaos\u201d to races.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a different level of processing that\u2019s needed for the cars this year in order to understand how to use the battery, how to use the PU in all the best ways which will create, probably at times, more chaos.<\/p>\n \u201cMore like \u2018oh, how\u2019s he done that?\u2019 And used more battery and then he pays the price for that, and there\u2019s going to be more chaos, in a way.<\/p>\n \u201cSo hopefully for everyone on the outside, they can try to learn these things and understand these things, because they\u2019ve certainly not made F1 more simple from that fact.<\/p>\n \u201cBut over the course of time, because everyone\u2019s early on in this process, we\u2019ll learn how to get the most out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
*\u00a0Norris refuses to be drawn into \u2018comparisons\u2019 with Mercedes, Ferrari<\/a>
*\u00a0Lando Norris embraces number \u20191\u2019 in surreal McLaren MCL40 debut<\/a><\/p>\n