Lando Norris welcomes Miami rule tweaks as ‘step forward’ but wants more fixes

Lando Norris feels the regulation tweaks applied in Miami are “a step forward” in terms of the overall driving experience, but there are still improvements to be made.

Several regulation adjustments were agreed upon in April on the grounds of safety and analysis from the first rounds of the season, aimed at helping the drivers push flat out in qualifying.

Lando Norris: 2026 rule tweaks help ‘more normal’ driving experience

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust.

The reigning world champion feels the changes, which include a reduction in overall recharge limit, increased super clip capacity and put a cap on Boost Mode power, have helped the car feel “a little bit more normal to drive”, after previously being vocal in his criticism of the 2026 regulation set.

Norris, who took his first P1 finish of the season with pole and victory in the Miami Grand Prix Sprint, explained that while drivers will still hope for further tweaks, they may wait until later in the season or into the coming years.

As for how the adjustments have worked in the short term, he felt an overall improvement.

“Some things remain as expected,” Norris told PlanetF1.com and others when asked about the new driving experience. “There are still certain points where the quicker you go, the more penalised you get.

“Still in the future, that’s something we want to fix as drivers and, I think, as Formula 1, you just want to be going flat out everywhere and maximising things.

“You don’t want to go quicker somewhere on a qualifying lap and get penalised for it. That’s just not how it should be, but it seems in the correct direction, and I think we’re more likely to see a bigger benefit of it in other tracks.

“I think the thing is, as drivers, you’re always going to probably see us complain a bit because that’s what we always do, but at the same time, I think it’s a step forward. It’s got better.

The F1 2026 regulations in more detail

F1 2026 tech analysed: The future of overtaking and biggest car advantage identified

Explained: F1’s complex power unit upgrade system from 2026 onwards

“You know, for the majority of the laps yesterday in quali, you could push and you’re not really thinking, ‘I need a lift here earlier’ or ‘I need to not get on throttle as much’, so it felt a little bit more normal, and I think that was a nice thing.

“In the sprint race, nothing really changes at all, apart from the super clips and things like that. But otherwise, a step in the right direction is as much as we can really ask for at the minute, and the rest of it really has to come, maybe later in the year, but also into the future years.”

Charles Leclerc, sat alongside Norris, emphasised the need for realism when it comes to further rule adjustments, with both the chassis and power unit regulations having changed at the same time for this season.

As to whether every driver complaint can be addressed, however, he remains uncertain.

“I think I agree with everything,” Leclerc said in addition to Norris.

“It’s also true we need to have realistic expectations, because we cannot change so much either.

“I think some of those technical regulations and the issues we are facing will remain there somehow. We can minimise them, and I think the approach was right, and the steps the FIA has taken for here made it better.

“Whether we’ll arrive into a situation where there won’t be any of those problems anymore, I’m not sure.”

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read more: Lewis Hamilton calls for drivers to have formal role in F1 rule decisions