Lando Norris warns of ‘big accident’ which could put drivers and fans at risk

Lando Norris fears Formula One is on the brink of a “horrible” accident which could put both drivers and spectators at risk – as Max Verstappen placed further doubt over his future in the sport.

George Russell delivered on his billing as the title favourite with an impressive win at Sunday’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Kimi Antonelli took second as Mercedes claimed a one-two finish, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton third and fourth for Ferrari.

Norris opened his championship defence in fifth, a sobering 51 seconds behind Russell, and then took aim at F1’s controversial regulations.

A new “overtake” mode affords a sudden boost of speed for a driver to attack a rival who is slowing down to regenerate their battery and thus creating a significant speed difference.

And Norris, who said in Melbourne earlier this week that F1 has “gone from the best cars ever made to the worst”, added on Sunday: “It is chaos, and we are going to have a big accident, which is a shame because we are driving and the ones just waiting for something to happen and to go quite horribly wrong and that is not a nice position to be in.

“Depending on what drivers do, you can have closing speeds of 30, 40, 50kph, and when someone hits another driver at that speed, you are going to fly and go over the fence and do a lot of damage to yourself and maybe to others and that is a pretty horrible thing to think about.”

Four-time world champion Verstappen, who finished one place behind Norris, has said on multiple occasions that his future in the sport will hinge on whether he enjoys this season’s regulations.

“I love racing but you can only take so much,” he said after driving back from 20th to sixth. “I think F1 and the FIA are willing to listen, but I hope there is some action.

“It is not that I am the only one saying it. We are not critical just to be critical. We are critical for a reason. We want it to be Formula One, proper Formula One on steroids, but today that wasn’t the case.

“What they (F1) should worry about is the rules. Focus on that. They ask questions and I give my opinion on what I would like to see and I think is better for the sport because I do care about it, I do love racing, and I want it to be better than this.”

Pole-sitter Russell traded the lead with Leclerc six times inside the opening nine laps before a Ferrari strategy blunder allowed him to cruise to the flag and lead the world championship for the first time.

Russell’s Mercedes team hold an early advantage over their rivals. And when asked if Norris’s remarks are just “sour grapes”, Russell replied: “If he (Norris) 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 bad backs and drivers were complaining about that, but the McLaren drivers said there was no porpoising even though we watched their car and there was.

“Everyone’s always looking out for themselves. 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. So far we’ve done a better job than them, and that’s just how the game goes.”