Lando Norris, McLaren’s defending Formula 1 champion, criticised the sport’s new engine and chassis regulations after qualifying sixth for the Australian Grand Prix, claiming the changes have taken cars from “best to worst” in a single season.

The Briton has endured a challenging weekend at Albert Park Circuit, struggling with reliability, setup issues, and adapting to a new driving style that emphasises energy harvesting and battery management.

“You decelerate so much before corners, you have to lift everywhere to make sure the [battery] pack’s at the top,” Norris explained.

“If the pack’s too high, you’re also screwed. It’s just difficult, but it’s what we have.”

Although McLaren are powered by Mercedes engines, they were off the pace compared to their Silver Arrows rivals. George Russell secured pole with a lap of 1:18.518, over eight-tenths faster than McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who qualified fifth. Russell’s teammate Kimi Antonelli took second.

“It doesn’t feel good as a driver, but I’m sure George is smiling,” Norris said.

“We’ve gone from the best cars ever made in Formula 1 and the nicest to drive to probably the worst. It sucks, but you have to live with it.”

Despite the challenges, Norris told Sky he was “pretty happy” to secure sixth, even after damaging his front wing by running over a cooling fan that had fallen from Antonelli’s car. Mechanics had to tape up the crack in the garage before he returned to the track.

Norris tempered expectations for Sunday’s race, admitting: “I mean it already sucks, so it’s probably going to be even worse.”

Piastri, in contrast, felt he had maximised what he could from his car.

“Everything’s a bit scrappy, but with these cars, you change something a little bit from lap to lap, and you end up with more power or less power,” he said.

“It doesn’t always go in the direction you expect. There’s plenty for us to learn after that, but I think we’re roughly where we thought we would be.”

Andrea Stella, McLaren team principal, acknowledged that more work was needed with Mercedes HPP, the team’s engine supplier, to unlock additional performance.

“Mercedes’ performance today shows there is more to find there,” Stella said.