F1 News
Albon condemns Verstappen: 'Glad the FIA reacted, it's a step too far'
- Ludo van Denderen
Alex Albon has hit out at Max Verstappen because he felt the Dutchman went a step too far. The Williams driver is glad the FIA responded as he felt this was a clear penalty. The two drivers were teammates when Albon stepped up to Red Bull Racing in 2019. Albon left after the 2020 season.
For the second time in two weeks, Norris and Verstappen went head-to-head on track. In the United States, the stewards deemed Norris at fault for overtaking off the track. This time, Verstappen was deemed at fault in two seperate incidents on the same lap, which earned him a total penalty of 20 seconds. "He obviously got away with it in Austin and I'm glad the FIA reacted to it. Definitely a step too far. If Austin was grey, this was more black," said Albon, who retired less than one lap into the race due to a crash with Red Bull Junior Yuki Tsunoda.
Albon happy with FIA's promise
On the eve of the Mexican Grand Prix, the 20 F1 drivers sat down to discuss the incident between Verstappen and Norris. There was a conclusion that the FIA needed to be clearer in what can and cannot be done. Albon is pleased the FIA will work on that in the future.
"I think some drivers wanted a bit more imminent action on racing like that. It can create loopholes within the driving standards that we can exploit. I think they want to wait until the end of the year to really get the wording correct, which is fair. You need some time to make sure it's all squeaky clean," he said.
"But obviously, things like today happen where it's sensible to get everyone speaking about it and understanding from a driver's point of view. The FIA listening to the drivers, what things we exploit and whatnot," Albon said.
This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton