The Formula One world champion Lando Norris and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton have doubled down on fears voiced by Max Verstappen that this weekend’s British Grand Prix will be a fundamentally different experience, with their cars struggling for power on the high-speed circuit.
Silverstone has long been revered and relished among drivers as one of the great challenges on the F1 calendar – a flat-out blast of straights and high-speed corners where they can push to the limit.
However, under the new regulations, which have proved controversial since they were implemented and are generally unpopular with the drivers, the energy management now required will impact negatively at the track, as they struggle to recharge enough electrical power to remain at top speed.
“I think this is going to be an unprecedented weekend in terms of the power deployment,” said Hamilton. “All us drivers have been talking in the drivers’ chat [about] just how poor the power is going to be through this track. We run out of battery power. There’s only a few corners to charge the engine, so the [MGU]K will be switched off for a large portion of the lap. That’s where [Ferrari] will struggle probably the most.”
Silverstone is what is considered under the new regulations to be an “energy-starved” track, where the absence of heavy braking areas limits the opportunity for recharging the battery. The consequence is that the drivers will have to regain energy through “superclipping” at the end on straights, which reduces speed, potentially having to lift and coast and still being down on power.
“If you look at the speed traces, we start losing deployment going into Copse,” said Hamilton. “So normally the engine’s screaming as you’re going into Copse and you’re holding on for dear life as you go through there flat out. This year, the engine will be coasting down, most likely we’ll be downshifting whilst full throttle, trying to keep the engine revs higher. Maggotts and Becketts is not going to feel the same because I think you have to lift and coast or something through there for a period of time. So it’s just a completely different track.”
Hamilton’s opinion was echoed by McLaren’s Norris, who won here in 2026. “Certainly there’s going to be less challenges on the track itself compared to what you’ve seen in the past few years,” he said. “We’ve gone from some of the fastest cars in high speed last year and to this year being a little bit less of a challenge.
“Copse will certainly not be quite the same challenge it was, pushing through Copse and feeling like you’re on the limit there and on the limit through Maggotts and Becketts. You’re still going to have some zones where you’re decelerating for longer periods than what you would like. That’s just the reality of what we have nowadays.”
Verstappen also concurred with his fellow drivers, while Norris addressed speculation that the Dutchman might be set to join him at McLaren by stating he would have no problem going up against him in the same car.
“I do believe I can beat any driver. I think what makes Max so incredible is how he is over the course of the season,” Norris said. “What makes people great and elite is performing at that level in every practice, every qualifying, every race. That’s something that Max is able to do, probably better than almost everyone.
“I believe whether it’s him or having a chance to go against Lewis [Hamilton] or Fernando [Alonso], any of the drivers that people know are some of the best. It’s a cool opportunity for me at the same time. I’m excited for whatever may come my way in the future.”
