The start of every F1 season usually brings excitement centered around new car launches,  but this year there is also a strong sense of uncertainty concerning the new 2022 technical regulations. Drivers like Lando Norris find himsef pondering how he will adapt to these new changes in his MCL36 challenger ahead of testing in Barcelona.

Addressing the concerns and risk involved with adapting to the new regulations in a timely manner, Norris stated how all drivers on the grid will be affected.

“Potentially yeah. But there is that for everyone. It might suit peoples driving styles more than others and it could potentially be a bad one for me but that’s life right?” Norris stated.

While Norris is no stranger to having to adjust to different cars with separate regulations from his early junior championship time to his F2 days, he approaches the new 2022 regulations realistically with an open mind. 

“You’ve got to deal with it. It’s something that you deal with. Before F1 I would have to deal with it in every category that I did. I only spent one year in any series so every year I had to adapt to something new and try to make the most of that.

"I hope it just suits my driving style and everything’s groovy but there’s definitely going to be things no matter what that I’m going to have to adapt to and change to but I think that’s going to be the case with everyone.”

Although the 22-year old does not want to lean on the new regulations as a scapegoat for potential issues that could arise, Norris takes a realistic approach heading into the new season. The Brit also brings up his past racing experience as a significant benefit to him handling the new technical changes. Norris also shared his opinion on some struggles his teammate Daniel Ricciardo endured in his first season with McLaren.    

"In other series, get the excuse of ‘It’s my first year’. In other series, your first series is the year that you’ve already got to perform and I think it’s a similar thing for me,” he said.

“I wouldn’t want to use that as an excuse to come in and go ‘I just feel like I have to adapt to the car’ but it’s the case and I think it has been proven by champions and race winners and so on that a Formula 1 car, in particular, is not an easy thing to get your head around and to really get in that zone of when you are really extracting every bit of performance out of the car, which I felt I did more of last year, that’s what Daniel struggled to do.”

“I’m sure he felt like at times he was doing but it’s the next little step that is very difficult to do."

As Norris wrapped up his third and most successful year to date in F1 in 2021 with the Woking-based team, McLaren newcomer Ricciardo faced numerous challenges his first year with the team and took longer to settle in as he moved from the then Renault now Alpine team.

While Norris and Ricciardo contributed  remarkably to what was a solid 2021 season complete with five podiums (four from Norris and one race win for Ricciardo), both drivers will start off the 2022 season on more of a  level playing field with the new regulations.