Lando Norris has said there were moments during the Japanese Grand Prix when he was “at the mercy” of his McLaren’s power unit, and at one stage overtook Lewis Hamilton even though he had not planned to.
Norris finished in fifth position at Suzuka after coming out on top in a battle with Hamilton’s Ferrari in the closing stages of the race.
On one occasion during the multi-lap battle, Norris passed Hamilton into the final chicane only to be repassed by the Ferrari on the run down to Turn 1.
Such incidents, where one driver depletes their battery to make a passing move and then gets instantly repassed due to a lack of power on the following straights, have been labelled yo-yo racing.
Norris said his experience in Suzuka was particularly disturbing as he had not intended to pass Hamilton into the final chicane but had no choice when his power unit decided to deploy full battery power.
“Honestly some of the racing, I didn’t even want to overtake Lewis, it’s just my battery deploys, and I don’t want it to deploy but I can’t control it,” he said. “So I overtake him and then I have no battery, so he just flies past.
“This is not racing, this is yo-yoing. Even though he [Hamilton] says it’s not, it is yo-yoing. When you’re just at the mercy, of whatever the power unit delivers, the driver should be in control of it at least, and we’re not.
“Yes the racing can look great on TV, but the racing inside the car, is certainly not as authentic as it needs to be.”
Norris went on to explain that he had to lift off the throttle into the high-speed 130R corner to avoid a collision with Hamilton, which mean his power unit then fully deployed its electrical boost when he next got on the power.
– Max Verstappen considering retiring from F1 at end of 2026
– Verstappen: ‘Massive lack of respect’ led to journalist ejection
– Verstappen may need a break from F1 amid quit threat – Damon Hill
“The problem is, it deploys into 130R, I have to lift, otherwise I’ll drive into him, and I’m not allowed to go back on throttle,” he said. “If I go on throttle, my battery deploys, and I don’t want it to deploy, because it should have cut, but because you lift, and you have to go back on and it redeploys.
“There’s nothing I can do about it, so there’s just not enough control for a driver, and that’s why you’re just too much at the mercy, of what’s behind you, and that’s just not how it should be.”
