Lando Norris has admitted his desire to get behind the wheel of a Formula E car during a visit to one of the all-electric racing championship’s events. Last weekend, with no Formula 1 race scheduled, Norris stepped out of his Monte Carlo pad and into the FE paddock at the Monaco E-Prix.
And the defending F1 world champion was clearly impressed by what he saw as he spoke in glowing terms about Formula E when interviewed on the grid ahead of the race. “This is the first ever [Formula E] race I’ve been to and I’m excited,” he said. “There are a lot of guys that I know racing here and the racing is always good to watch.
“There’s always chaos, always carnage and [it’s] always unpredictable – everything you want from racing. I grew up with a lot of these guys or I raced with them. The level of drivers you have here is top – it’s as good as you get. You’re watching a series that has top class athletes, some of the best in the world – it’s something I enjoy watching and being a part of.”
Norris‘ comments come after his own criticism of the new generation of F1 cars. The sport has used hybrid engines for more than a decade but new regulations for 2026 saw electrical power become far more prominent, which has led to widespread criticism from drivers who widely dislike how complicated their jobs have become.
Norris has been one of the more outspoken drivers and said even before the season began that he agreed with rival Max Verstappen, who blasted this new era of F1 as being like “Formula E on steroids”. Norris claimed these cars are “probably the worst” in F1’s history and, even after the tweaks made prior to the Miami Grand Prix earlier this month, he described it only as “a small step in the right direction”.
Regardless, the Brit is bidding to retain his crown, having beaten Verstappen to the drivers’ title last year. And Norris, who was a guest of former Formula E champion Jake Dennis, said in Monaco that he feels he would benefit from some time behind the wheel of one of the sport’s cutting-edge electric racing machines.
“I was planning to do a bit of driving in a Formula E car at some point,” Norris added. “I’ve spoken to Jake and a few of the other guys who’ve driven here. Not everything correlates between the two [Formula 1 and Formula E] but there are always things you can learn by speaking to and listening to drivers that are at the top of this category.”
There was British joy on Sunday as defending champion Oliver Rowland took his first win of the season ahead of former Formula 2 champion and Aston Martin F1 reserve Felipe Drugovich, who secured his first podium in FE. Rowland is second in the drivers’ championship behind 10-year Formula E veteran Mitch Evans, who has been runner-up twice before but is still searching for his first championship crown.