'It's chaos': Top drivers 'not enjoying' F1's major changes in strong repudiation after Australian GP
MELBOURNE: The resounding word of the paddock about the 2026 packages that Formula 1 has brought with the new regulations is "different."
The cars drive different, the engine performs different, drivers are having to make different choices and decisions in the cars they have never made before.
Reigning world champion Lando Norris was vocal all weekend that the racing was too chaotic and that the drivers were being put "not in nice positions" to drive with these new regulations.
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"Way too (chaotic). It's chaos, you're going to have a big accident, which is a shame," Norris said post-race.
"You're driving and we're the ones just waiting for something to happen and something to go quite horribly wrong.
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen tee'd of in Melbourne about the new power unit packages in 2026. LAT Images
"That's not a nice position to be in, but there's nothing we can really do about that now. It's a shame, it's very artificial, depending on what the power unit decides to do and randomly does at times.
"You just get overtaken by five cars or you can just do nothing about it sometimes. There's nothing we can change about it, so there's no point in saying any more, but not for me."
An example of this is home town driver Oscar Piastri, an unlucky victim to the woes of the power unit.
He made a mundane decision to take the exit kerb on turn four - that he had been taking all weekend - turned into a nightmare DNF as the Aussie suddenly had 100kw extra power he did not know about and went spinning on the formation lap.
"Just depending on what people do, you can have 30, 40, 50 kph speeds," added Norris.
"When someone hits someone at that speed, you're going to fly and you're going to go over the fence and you're going to do a lot of damage to yourself and maybe to others.
"That's a pretty horrible thing to think about."
On Saturday, after a dismal qualifying session that saw the four-time champion crash out of Q1, Max Verstappen also continued his ongoing criticism of the new regulations.
Verstappen has stayed true to his tune through the genesis of the new regulations, calling the new cars "Formula E on steroids" and now we're seeing the product of his frustration.
"I love racing, but you can only take so much, right?" he told media after the race.
"I mean, I know that they're, well, I think they're willing to listen, FIA and F1, but I just hope, of course, that there is some action, because, I mean, it's not that I'm the only one saying it.
Max Verstappen answers questions in the TV media pen during the F1 Grand Prix of Australia. Getty
"I think a lot of people are speaking the same. If it's drivers, fans, we just want the best, I think, for the sport.
"It's not that we are critical just to be critical. We are critical for a reason.
"We want it to be Formula 1, you know, proper Formula 1 on steroids.
"Today, of course, again, that was not the case."
"I'm not enjoying it at all. You just can't drive naturally. Basically you have to be on the throttle as little as possible everywhere to save the battery," Verstappen admitted on Saturday after he jumped out of his car.
"Certain corners you have to approach differently so that when you exit you can save battery again.
"For me that has very little to do with racing."
Low battery on the launch
Verstappen also revealed a strange battery issue at the start that left him lacking power when the race began.
"I had no battery," he explained.
"Somehow, on the formation lap, it drained all the battery.
Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, and George Russell battle for the lead during the Australian Grand Prix. Getty
"I launched, and I had zero battery, so no power, basically."
He doesn't seem to be the only one.
Those in the post-race press conference - Charles Leclerc also agreed and corroborated that as he came through the final corner on their formation lap, his Ferrari suddenly had very little power.
When asked if he got the 'perfect getaway' like the Mercedes drivers, he argued it couldn't of been further from the truth.
"Not at all, not at all. I mean it looked from outside but I think we all had the same problem for some reason so this is something we've got to review because also my battery was very very low for some reason," Leclerc admitted.
"Probably a bit higher than than them but which helped me to get in the front but very suboptimal anyway.
"I thought I will end up P8, P9 but then I started and I saw everybody had issues and I had the one with the least issues which at the end is what counts but there's a lot of margin to improve those starts.
"It was very suboptimal I think for everybody."
One driver that struggled with this was RB's Liam Lawson, slowing considerably on the start that Franco Colapinto had to perform a daring escape to miss collecting the Kiwi in a freak accident.
The other side of the equation
George Russell and the Mercedes team could not have had a better weekend, their first 1-2 finish in an opening race since 2019.
They argued that Melbourne as a track was an outlier in how energy was harvested around the track.
Albert Park is made up of four straights that drivers now need to divide their battery energy around while Shanghai has only one main straight that now allows drivers to deploy their entire energy reserve to catch competitors.
"It's definitely different but I think the interesting thing with these regs is every track we go to they're not always going to be like this," said Russell in the post-race press conference.
George Russell spoke on Lando Norris' quote about 'artificial' racing. Formula 1 via Getty Images
"We go to Shanghai next where you've got one big long straight so the majority of drivers will be using their energy on that one straight.
"You don't need to divide it up between four like you do here in Melbourne so everyone's very quick to criticise things. You need to give it a shot.
"We're 22 drivers when we've had the best cars and the least tyre degradation and when we've been happiest everyone moans the racing is rubbish.
"Now drivers aren't perfectly happy and everyone said it was an amazing race so you can't have it all and I think we should just give it a chance and see after a few more races."
When asked about his rivals' comments on the 'artificial' racing around Melbourne, Russell could only throw the fire back in McLaren's face at the thought they might be tasting their own medicine.
"We weren't happy with how stiff the cars were last year and the porpoising and everyone had a bad back and drivers were complaining about that but McLaren drivers said there was no porpoising," he added.
"Even though we watched their car and they were porpoising.
Race winner George Russell and Mercedes celebrate the win on Sunday. Getty
"Everyone's always going, looking to themselves and we're all selfish in this regard.
"The truth is last year we had the same engine as them and McLaren did a better job than us and they beat us.
"Now, McLaren have got the same engine as us, the same as Williams and the same as Alpine and so far, we've done a better job than them so that's just how the game goes."
