Alex Albon is not happy with the current driving standards in Formula 1, despite publication of revised racing guidelines effective from the Austrian Grand Prix onwards.
The FIA has answered the calls for greater transparency on stewarding decisions after making the latest set of overtaking guidelines accessible to the public.
The new guidelines delve deep into how the stewards are expected to judge wheel-to-wheel action, with scenarios drawn up to help them decide which car has priority when overtaking.
That said, Albon believes that the governing body still has work to do after being handed the short end of the stick several times this season.
At the Spanish Grand Prix, the Williams driver suffered front wing damage after an incident with Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson left him scrambling for the run-off at turn 1.
A similar set of circumstances transpired last time out at the Canadian Grand Prix, this time with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto on the opening lap.
“I don’t like how we’re racing at the moment,” he told media including Motorsport Week. “Barcelona Turn 1 was a good example of that.
“If the other car squeezes you off and releases the brake pedal and gives you no space to go, it’s true that it’s their corner.
“But obviously, at that point you’ve committed so late into the corner, the only thing you can do is exit the track and take a cut-off.
“I had the same issue in Canada. If I turn in on that car that’s releasing the brake pedal on the inside, and he makes contact to me, then he gets the penalty.
“So, if I turn in, even though I know it’s not possible and I know that he’s going to hit me, then that benefits me.
“So, you’re creating a contact sport. What I feel like I’ve been doing is getting out of the way for the other car and avoiding the crash, but then actually got penalised for doing so.”
Albon will adapt his style to fit FIA guidelines
Lawson was also involved with Haas’ Oliver Bearman at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and later owned up to the contact.
However, he believes that while drivers like Albon have the right to be miffed, it is on the governing body to make the rulebook as watertight as possible to avoid exploitation.
“Yeah, 100%. If I was him, I’d be totally pissed,” he conceded.
“Because it’s exactly what we’re doing. I’ve been on the receiving end and on the outside of it. I totally understand it. As drivers we always find a way to get the maximum out of the way the rules are written. And the way they’re written, it creates a way of releasing the brake and just making sure [there’s enough] overlap.”
Lawson, though, acknowledged that it would be “very hard” to have a clearer code of racing.
Albon, however, expressed his confidence in the FIA to keep tweaking the rule-set to promote cleaner racing, but insisted he would also adapt his driving to the current guidelines.
“I think we’ll keep talking about it. Our drivers’ briefings generally do speak about these situations quite a lot,” he revealed.
“We understand the difficulties within it. It’s not that we think we know best and we’re just trying to work with the FIA to just clear it up and understand what we can and cannot do.
“I think I need to also change my approach and play it more to the rulebook.
“As drivers, we’re exploiting these rules and it makes it more challenging when you’re on the outside [of a corner].”
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