Alex Albon has questioned Formula 1‘s guidelines on overtaking, saying that drivers on the inside of corners during an on-track battle have “far too much power”.
The fairness of the rules on overtaking has been called into question after Albon’s Williams team-mate, Carlos Sainz, was handed a 10-second penalty for a clash with Liam Lawson.
Sainz attempted to overtake the Kiwi’s Racing Bulls around the outside of Turn 1, but was fended off, which led to contact, damaging both men’s cars and their chances of points.
It was the Spaniard whose role in the clash incurred the wrath of the stewards, who dished out the penalty, much to his incredulity at Zandvoort, compounding a miserable race.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, Albon cast aspersions on the rulebook’s fairness, citing a similar incident, also with Lawson, at the Spanish Grand Prix this year.
“It happened to me in Barcelona exactly that,” the Anglo-Thai driver told media including Motorsport Week.
“I lost a front wing getting squeezed off in Turn 1 in Barcelona and had to box in the middle of my race, and then came alongside the same driver later in the race and avoided the incident and cut the corner to miss the crash, and then I got the penalty for it.
“So it was kind of like a lose-lose in both situations.
“Realistically, it feels like the inside driver just has far too much power in the rulebook and is almost completely in control of his destiny, whereas the outside driver just needs to comply.
“And I think in terms of racing drivers, there’s give and take in every situation, and at the minute it doesn’t seem like there’s any remorse for the outside driver. And it creates what feels like strange penalties.”
Hulkenberg sympathises with Sainz
The rulebook was formally changed for this season, offering more protection for drivers in the position Lawson was in.
Previously, the rules stated that both drivers were expected to leave each other space when side by side into a corner.
Now, it states that drivers on the inside no longer have to offer space to the driver on the outside upon exiting the corner.
Nico Hulkenberg offered his own take on the incident – and, like Albon, showed sympathy towards Sainz for being adjudged as the guilty party.
“I don’t understand why he got a penalty there,” the German added.
After the race, Sainz blasted the stewards for what he dubbed a “complete joke” of a decision, additionally criticising them for apparently refusing to speak with him afterwards.
When asked if Sainz, a GPDA director, would bring up the matter with the stewards ahead of this weekend’s race at Monza, Hulkenberg believed that he would.
“I’m sure he will bring it up, that’s for sure,” he said. “But for me, it just looked like a Safety Car restart. It’s racing, it’s wheel-to-wheel racing and this can happen.
“I think it’s always difficult for the stewards as well to distinguish, to separate. At the end of the day, it’s racing, things happen, so I’m sure it will be discussed tomorrow.”
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