Lando Norris expects ‘more racing chaos’ from Formula 1 rules changes

The engines are still 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrids, as they have been since 2014, but one of the two electric motors that reclaimed power has been removed.

The total amount of electrical power has been increased three-fold, but the battery is about the same size. If the battery is completely depleted, the motor loses 350 kW (470 hp), resulting in significant speed differences.

Drivers will pull back at the end of the straights – and be careful when applying the throttle – to ensure the most efficient use of energy, even on a qualifying lap.

The cars are also smaller and lighter, have less downforce and have “active aerodynamics” – where the front and rear wings open on straights to increase speed and potential for energy recovery.

Norris said the new car “certainly feels more powerful and faster” on the straight.

“The biggest challenge right now is managing the battery and knowing how to make the best use of it,” he said.

“It’s not simple. You can explain it in very simple terms. It’s just that you have a very powerful battery that doesn’t last very long, so knowing how to use it at the right times, how much power, how much of that power you use, how to divide it up around the lap…

“The biggest challenge is how to recover the batteries as best as possible, when it comes to using the gears and getting to the right revs.

“Obviously you have some turbo lag now, which we’ve never had before. All those little things have come back, but I don’t think that changes much.

“In an ideal world, I probably wouldn’t have done that [all] That’s in a race car, but it’s just Formula 1. Sometimes you have these different challenges.”

His teammate Oscar Piastri said the cars were “not as exotic as I think we feared” and insisted he “didn’t think Formula 1 had lost its identity at all”.

The Australian added: “There will be some things to get used to but in terms of some of the concerns we may have had before we got on track, the vast majority of them have been mitigated now.

“There will be some differences, but fundamentally I think they are still the fastest cars in the world.”