Norris: Missed Practice Now Punishes Drivers in F1’s 2026 Cars

The overhaul to aerodynamics plus hybrid power units makes setup and energy use so sensitive that small setbacks snowball.

Overview

Lando Norris said at Suzuka that the new-generation cars make any lost practice time far more damaging than in past seasons.
He pointed to higher battery output in the hybrid system, which forces more lifting off the throttle and pushes teams to change car setup.
McLaren’s reigning champion has already lost key laps to a gearbox problem in FP1, a battery failure that caused a DNS in China, and more stoppages in Japan.
Drivers and teams are still learning cars built to 2026 aero and engine rules, with frequent mistakes seen at Suzuka, Melbourne, and Shanghai.
Motorsport Week reported emergency talks on battery deployment this week as reliability and energy management keep disrupting race weekends.