Since the beginning of 2022, the current generation of cars with ground effect has been used in Formula 1. According to Lando Norris, the premier class has changed significantly as a result. “Now it’s a bit more like a Formula 2 than the Formula 1 we had a few years ago,” believes the McLaren driver.
“The cars are simpler than ever before, if you look at how complicated it was a few years ago with the bargeboards and all that,” says Norris, referring to the aerodynamic changes in recent years. “So it’s a mix. I think the car is difficult to drive, but it’s hard to say whether it’s that different from before and whether it’s easier or more difficult.”
“It’s definitely different, it doesn’t feel as good,” says Norris, who has been driving for McLaren in Formula 1 since 2019. “Let’s say the car isn’t as incredible to drive as it was a few years ago, like 2019 or 2020. I think the cars were more impressive than they are now.”
“Simple, but more complicated to understand”
Are the new cars more difficult to understand? “I’m not sure about that,” muses Norris. “I think it’s a completely different challenge for the engineers. Some things are very simple, others not.” Nevertheless, the McLaren driver believes that “the philosophy is similar in many ways”.
“You know, there used to be high-rake cars and low-rake cars,” the 23-year-old alludes to the past few years, when the rear of the vehicle rose significantly higher in the “high-rake concept”, while the front wing almost scraped the ground. “You could do more different things. And different things worked.”
Things are different with the current cars. “Here I have the feeling that everyone is orienting themselves more and more in one direction, which is also what Red Bull is doing to a certain extent,” said Norris. “So I would say it’s easier, but I think it’s also more complicated to understand how the subfloor works best.”