many drivers who have been clear this season<\/a> he is unhappy with the new regulations, their focus on energy management and how it has affected negatively their enjoyment of driving. It is a problem he believes had been created because F1 framed the rules in order to attract new engine manufacturers into the sport.<\/p>\n\u201cThe thing that\u2019s a shame is that Formula One\u2019s gone too heavily led by the fact it\u2019s a business nowadays and not how can you make the sport the best possible,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s how can you just make the most money as a business and that\u2019s just not what it should simply be. That\u2019s not how a sport should be run.\u201d<\/p>\n
The use of an almost 50-50 split in electrical power and the internal combustion engine is understood to have been central in attracting manufacturers such as Audi and Honda into F1 this season. However, it has proved hugely unpopular with drivers, who now have to manage their use of energy rather than being able to race flat out and has introduced some variables into performance influenced by the algorithm that governs the deployment of electrical power.<\/p>\n
Norris believes drivers\u2019 complaints were being listened to but they did not carry great weight against the financial imperative he felt was driving the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey listen but you can\u2019t just change your engine in the middle of the year and you can\u2019t change it even with one or two years\u2019 notice because it\u2019s not about making the best performance of a car \u2026 it\u2019s a business,\u201d he said. \u201cEveryone wants to make money, so in order for Audi and other teams to come in we had to change these things. It\u2019s a shame, it should never have been like that. But that\u2019s how businesses work.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest voice should always be ours as drivers and that\u2019s not because we\u2019re selfish in saying that but because we have the best idea of how racing should be, how it can be, what\u2019s possible, what\u2019s not. We would just want the best for everything and at the minute, we don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have very, very little say and a lot more of it\u2019s done because if you can have Audi and other teams in it, it\u2019s a bigger win than the drivers being happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The shortcomings of the new regulations were shown starkly at the last two rounds at Silverstone and Spa. Both circuits are considered energy-starved, leading to a chorus of complaints over race weekends, and at Spa the lack of power left one of the great tracks an anodyne affair.<\/p>\n
Max Verstappen was second in Friday\u2019s first practice. Photograph: Marco Canoniero\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n
At the Hungaroring this weekend there will at least be some respite from the issue, with the preponderance of corners ensuring plentiful recharging and that the race to be run at full pace in what will likely be a tightly contested fight.<\/p>\n
The Mercedes engine advantage will not be so pronounced on the tightly twisting circuit, where Ferrari and Red Bull will expect strong form, with Ferrari\u2019s pace out of the corners a major boon in the last race before the summer break.<\/p>\n
In first practice, Ferrari\u2019s Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets from the Red Bull of Max Verstappen with Lewis Hamilton in third. In the second session Hamilton was on top with Leclerc in second and McLaren\u2019s Lando Norris third. Antonelli was in 13th place and his Mercedes teammate George Russell in fifth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lando Norris has delivered a scathing critique of Formula One and its management for prioritising making money over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":821286,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,806,805,803,804,85],"class_list":["post-821285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=821285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/821286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=821285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=821285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=821285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}