Lando Norris admitted there were phases of the Japanese Grand Prix where he felt “at the mercy” of his McLaren’s power unit, revealing that one of his overtakes on Lewis Hamilton wasn’t even intentional.
The Briton came home fifth at Suzuka, prevailing in a tense late-race duel with Hamilton’s Ferrari. During their prolonged scrap, Norris swept past Hamilton at the final chicane, only to be immediately repassed on the charge to Turn 1.
The exchange was a classic example of so-called “yo-yo racing”, when a driver uses up battery energy to complete a move but is left vulnerable on the next straight due to depleted power.
However, Norris said one such moment caught him off guard, explaining that he hadn’t planned to attempt the pass at the chicane, but his power unit automatically unleashed full battery deployment, effectively forcing his hand.
"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 further explained that he was forced to back out of the throttle through the high-speed 130R to avoid making contact with Hamilton. As a result, when he got back on the power, his power unit automatically released its full electrical boost, triggering the unintended surge.
"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."
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