'Unleashed' Formula 1 cars able to set new records in 2026
Lando Norris believes 'unleashed' F1 cars can reach up to 380 kph, or even more.
"It certainly feels more powerful, I mean you are having that little bit less grip, but even when you're not grip limited and you're in third, fourth, fifth gear," the defending world champion began to a select group of media, including GPblog.
The highest top speed that was ever achieved in Formula 1 was by Valtteri Bottas at the 2016 European Grand Prix in Baku with 378 kph. According to Norris, that could be topped this year.
He continued: "I mean even when you're just deploying all the battery, now we get the MGU-K to shut down and you stop deploying halfway down the straight, but if you didn't and you just let it run to max, you'd easily be hitting probably 380 or something.
"So the cars effectively could do a lot more, and if you say unleash the Formula 1 car, you could almost achieve even more. You'd probably get to the end of the straight and the battery would be completely finished."
"If you say unleash the Formula 1 car, you could almost achieve even more."- Lando Norris
New car's acceleration surprises Norris
In terms of how the new cars behave, the Briton said he was surprised to see the acceleration, but it only took him a couple of laps to get used to it.
Norris added: "It does feel quicker and yeah certainly for the neck and everything it's not so much a worry of cornering as much this year, because it's a good amount slower for now and that will get a lot better, but certainly slower in the corners.
"Just the first day with your neck with the acceleration and just the Gs going forwards was a little bit of a surprise, a little bit of a shock to the system, but you do feel the acceleration.
"I think for the last few years you just kind of get used to it quite easily and quite well. So this certainly felt like a step up in terms of acceleration and the force on the body, but after five laps you're used to it," Norris concluded.
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