George Russell Slams Lando Norris Over “Selfish” Criticism of New F1 Rules

George Russell has not taken Lando Norris' critical assessment of the 2026 regulations so lightly and has snapped back at him.

George Russell Slams Lando Norris Over “Selfish” Criticism of New F1 Rules

Lando Norris and George Russell (via F1 Oversteer)

In Short
  • George Russell criticized Lando Norris for his "selfish" remarks about new F1 regulations.
  • Russell claimed that Norris would not be complaining if he were winning races.
  • He emphasized that McLaren had the same engine as Mercedes but had not performed as well.

George Russell was the driver to watch at the Australian GP following his stellar victory. Mercedes’ dominant pace helped the Briton defeat the rivals and leave them in the dust. Now, after enjoying an impressive showing in Australia, Russell has snaped back at Lando Norris‘ criticism of the new regulations, calling the latter ‘selfish’.

Lando Norris had some inconsistent takes about the new regulations. Initially, he claimed that the drivers were paid more than enough to complain so much about the rules. Then, Norris pointed out that he was trying to stir controversy by him comments, but in reality he hated the regulations as well. Now, after finishing in P5, the Briton once again criticized the rules, which then caused a negative reaction from George Russell.

After winning the Australian GP, George Russell made a shocking statement against Lando Norris. The Silver Arrow reckoned that if Norris were winning, he wouldn’t have sch negatives things to say about the regulations. Russell recalled how McLaren were claiming there was no porpoising in the challengers in the 2025 season, when others were clearly suffering from it.

Yeah, well, he’s always… yeah, I don’t know. If he was winning, I don’t think he’d be saying the same, We weren’t happy with how stiff the cars were last year and the porpoising, and everyone had a bad back, and drivers were complaining about that, but McLaren drivers said there was no porpoising, even though we watched their car and they were porpoising. 

George Russell said, as reported by RacingNews365.

George Russell continued that drivers only spoke after seeing their own condition on the track. He accepted that everyone was selfish in this regard, even Lando Norris. Russell then made a shocking confession that McLaren was simply better than everyone on the track in 2025 and thus won so many races. But it wasn’t the case this time around and McLaren needed to get used to it.

So everyone’s always looking to themselves, and we’re all selfish in this regard. The truth is, last year we had the same engine as them and McLaren did a better job than us, and they beat us. 

George Russell added.

George Russell claims Mercedes better than McLaren in 2026 F1 regulations

McLaren was extremely dominant in the final couple of years in the ground-effect era. They were simply unmatched on track. However, it might be difficult to defeat Mercedes in 2026 because of their extraordinary pace. Now, George Russell makes a bold comparison between Brackley and McLaren for the new regulations.

George Russell (via F1)
George Russell (via F1.com)

George Russell highlighted that McLaren had the same engine as Mercedes, Williams, and Alpine, and had no other excuses for now. He added that the German carmaker simply did a better job with the challenger. Russell insisted that the interesting thing with the current regulations was that not all races were going to be such smooth sailing for Brackley.

Now McLaren have got the same engine as us, the same as Williams and the same as Alpine, and so far we’ve done a better job than them. So that’s just how the game goes. I think the interesting thing with these regs is every track we go to, they’re not always going to be like this. 

George Russell noted.

The 2026 season has just begun, and it would be too early to jump to conclusion. Regardless, Mercedes has certainly done a terrific job with their challenger. For now, Brackley will remain the benchmark for the rivals over the season as they look forward to the challenge.

Read More: George Russell Demands “Car Improvement” From FIA Despite Dominant Australian GP Triumph