Lando Norris is eager to discover how rival Formula 1 teams have interpreted the new ruleset for the forthcoming campaign - claiming one must accept when others do “better”.
The 2026 season will introduce what’s arguably the biggest regulation overhaul in F1 history, with changes to the chassis and power unit meaning the pecking order is currently a guessing game.
So for all anybody knows, current wooden spoon holder Alpine could rock up to the Melbourne opener and go fastest by producing an innovative A526 that sets a widespread development trend for the year.
This is the time when engineers shine and it has been witnessed before: Brawn surprisingly won the 2009 title, partly down to its contentious double diffuser, while Mercedes dominated the turbo-hybrid era with how it interpreted the engine regulations.
Newly crowned world champion Norris therefore accepts something similar may happen again this year and that the innovative design might not come from his McLaren team.
“There's always that element of looking at others, that's also just part of the sport, is you look at others, see what other great minds have come up with, what ideas they've come up with, see how you can learn from it, incorporate it, avoid it, whatever it may be,” the Briton told F1 TV at last week’s Barcelona shakedown.
“You always have to be willing to accept that sometimes people can do a better job and you want to learn from them, so I'm happy with the team's efforts and everything we've done so far this year, but yeah, it's going to be a long year, so we'll keep working hard, we'll make sure everyone's happy and take it from there.”
One team that many have their eyes on as somebody who could suddenly start fighting at the front is Aston Martin, despite the Silverstone squad finishing seventh in last year’s standings.
That’s because it now has legendary designer Adrian Newey as its team principal, and the car Aston displayed in Barcelona has already caused a stir - particularly with the suspension wishbone and engine cover.
So there is belief that Newey, coupled with world champion Fernando Alonso and its new Honda engine, could challenge last year’s top four of McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari.
As Mercedes man George Russell, who is currently favourite for the drivers’ title, said: “The best case scenario from the sport and also for the drivers is that you've got a number of different drivers and a number of different teams all battling it out.
“I think at the moment it does look like Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari and ourselves are, let's say, the four teams that are all quite close within one another.
“But you can't discount what you've seen from Aston Martin and what Adrian has done with that car. It looks pretty spectacular and Honda over the past few years with Red Bull have had a very good engine beneath them.”
“The Aston Martin was probably the most standout in terms of the car design,” he added. “I think everybody was looking at that rear suspension and it obviously visually looks very impressive, but it's not a competition of how sexy it is. It's a competition of how fast it goes around the track.
"So people always look towards the fastest car and we'll find that in Melbourne. Whoever that is, that will be the car that you wish to try and take inspiration from.”
Additional reporting by Filip Cleeren
