F1 drivers fear iconic corners no longer about 'who has biggest balls’

Lando Norris believes Formula 1’s new rules mean it is no longer possible to judge “who has the biggest balls” at iconic corners.

F1 has polarised drivers and fans with controversial new regulations for the 2026 season which sees engines featuring a near 50-50 split between combustion and electrical power.

World champion Norris is among the drivers who feel the increased amount of energy management needed for the new engines is taking away enjoyment, as well as driver skill.

“I think you can still make a difference as a driver by driving the power unit in the correct way, not necessarily the car in the correct way,” Norris told media including Crash.net ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix.

“You’re not going to go into Pouhon now - I think - and not see who has the biggest balls. You’re just going to see who can lift at the right point and use the amount of throttle you have to use that doesn’t use the battery.

“So, the driver can still make a difference by driving the power unit to its maximum ability. But it’s quite different to who can carry the most speed into Pouhon or into Turn 9 [at Melbourne] like last weekend. It’s more dictated by what the power unit needs.”

The McLaren driver added: "It's just that's not what any of us have ever grown up doing. Probably not something any of us grew up wanting to do either but that's the way it is now.”

Iconic F1 corners challenge diminished by new rules 

Fernando Alonso thinks some of F1’s most iconic corners are no longer as challenging as they once were.

“We used to fight for our life in Turn 12 in Bahrain, Turn 9 and 10, Turn 11 in Melbourne, Sector 1 in Suzuka, 130R, Turn 7, Turn 8 here in China,” the two-time world champion said.

“There were always certain corners that in Formula 1 were challenging the limits of the physics going through those corners, and the driver had to use all the skills and be brave in some of the moments as well.

“When you put new tyres and you go through the corner at the speed that you’ve never been before in any of the free practices, that challenge is gone in a way. You use those corners to charge the battery, not anymore to make the lap time. So, it is a different challenge, what you face now behind the wheel.

“Still fun? Yes, we love racing. Is it the future? We don’t know. Then the next set of regulations or the next turn that the automotive industry will take, also if Formula 1 has to follow or not.

“But it is a different challenge and because I grew up on the other one and I was challenging myself in the corners, I probably prefer the other one. But I was super lucky to race in that era and I still feel lucky that I race now, so I like both.”

Asked if he agreed with Alonso’s comments, Oscar Piastri said: “I think it depends on the circuit. I think here it’s going to be much easier to harvest, a lot more braking zones, a lot more slow corners. I think at circuits that are higher speed in nature or just have very long straights, then, yes, it’s going to be very difficult.

“There’s still a challenge in those kinds of corners, but it’s a very different kind of challenge. And it’s not quite as simple as who is the bravest and who can carry the most speed, because in qualifying last week I got braver and braver through qualifying and it made me slower and slower down the straights.

“There are some kind of secondary elements to it. But it will change from circuit to circuit. Melbourne was one of the top three extreme cases of that.”