Lando Norris blasts F1 top speed limiters: “We should easily go quicker than a motorbike”

Riding in the slipstream is supposed to be the ultimate offensive weapon for a Formula 1 driver. But according to Lando Norris , the current technical regulations have turned the draft into something a little less useful.

Trapped in a train throughout the Mexico City Grand Prix, the McLaren driver vented his frustrations over F1's car. He argued that the artificial ceiling, created by a cap on battery on battery deployment, makes late-braking divebombs and straight-line passes practically impossible against evenly matched cars.

"I mean the main thing with overtaking is you just have the limiter on," Norris explained in the paddock. "Like you literally have a limiter that stops you from going over a speed, so it doesn't matter if you come out two tenths behind the guy, you just hit the limiter and the same limiter as them, and then you cannot do anything, so it kind of ruins racing."

The 2026 regulations heavily feature active aerodynamics, using a low-drag Straight Mode to maximise velocity on massive stretches of track such as the 1.2-kilometre front straight at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. But Norris firmly believes the governing body is keeping the cars on an unnecessary leash, pointing directly to the two-wheeled motorsport world as proof.

"It's something that they need to improve for next season," the Brit demanded. "Especially when motorbikes go 370, and you don't have a seat belt or anything, and we should easily be able to go quicker than a motorbike, you know."

He added that the artificial cap fundamentally damaged the on-track product on Sunday.

Pressing the issue, a journalist asked if future engine rule tweaks might naturally solve the top speed plateau. The Woking star quickly shut down the theory, insisting that powertrain modifications are completely irrelevant as long as the hard limit exists.

"No, I mean that's got nothing to do with it," he clarified. "We still achieve the same top speeds when you have Straight Mode, and in Straight Mode and with the same power next year you still achieve the same top speed, so you just need to make the limiter higher. It's as simple as that."

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lando Norris, McLaren

Despite his intense criticism of the rulebook, the 26-year-old refused to use the speed cap as a total excuse for missing the podium. Recognising that a massive raw pace delta was required to execute a pass in Mexico, he pointed the finger squarely at McLaren's own garage.

"Nothing ruined today," he confessed. "It's just you have to be very quick to pass. No one could get any overtakes unless you're a lot quicker. So nothing to blame but our poor Saturday."

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