In Miami, Formula 1 attempted to present a different image of itself, but the race weekend revealed that beneath the surface something still does not quite add up. The new regulations were supposed to free the drivers, restore the purity of pushing flat-out in qualifying, and reduce the influence of battery management on performance. Instead, with unchanged limits, unpredictable overtaking, and sudden fluctuations in speed, the paddock quickly realised that the issue runs deeper than many are willing to admit. Lando Norris said it with rare honesty, Oscar Piastri confirmed it through direct on-track experience, and the feeling is that the debate over the technical future of the category has now entered a phase that can no longer be ignored.
Lando Norris did not hold back after the Miami weekend. For the 2025 world champion, the recent regulatory changes do not address the core issue: energy management still has too much influence over performance, especially in qualifying. The new rules were designed to allow drivers to push at full pace without being penalised by the need to recharge the battery. However, in Miami—as in Suzuka—the energy recovery limit remained unchanged at 8 megajoules.
“It’s a small step in the right direction,” said Norris, Sprint pole-sitter and fourth in Grand Prix qualifying. “But it’s still not at the level that Formula 1 should have.”
According to him, the problem is structural:
“If you go flat-out everywhere, you get penalised. That should never happen. And yet, it still does.”
This led to the statement that sparked widespread discussion:
“Honestly, I don’t think it can be solved. You need to remove the battery. I hope that in a few years that will be the case.”
An unpredictable race and a system under pressure
Oscar Piastri echoed his teammate’s concerns: the changes have not fundamentally transformed race dynamics. Despite reassurances from Stefano Domenicali, Toto Wolff, and others, overtaking continues to be defined by sudden speed differentials that are difficult to predict and even harder to manage.
“The races are pretty much identical,” said the Australian driver. “Today I had my first real experience of overtaking and defending. It’s crazy.”
Piastri described a telling example:
“George was one second behind me and managed to pass me at the end of the straight. It’s a bit random. The closing speeds are extremely high, and anticipating them is incredibly difficult.”
The McLaren driver admitted he was not entirely happy with one of Russell’s moves, only to find himself making a similar one a few laps later:
“The closing speed is huge. From that perspective, not much has changed.”
For Piastri, the limitation is technical before it is regulatory:
“The collaboration between the FIA and Formula 1 has been positive, but with the current hardware, the possible changes are limited. Deeper changes will be needed. The question is: how long will it take?”
And the biggest doubt remains: is there real political will to intervene?
Norris and Piastri have laid bare what many in the paddock think but do not openly say: Formula 1 is trying to fix a system that, by its very design, may not be fully fixable. The changes help, but they do not solve the problem. And Norris’s call to “remove the battery” is more than just a provocation—it is a clear signal that the debate over the sport’s technical future has only just begun.
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