Albers rallies behind Verstappen, calls out FIA: 'Just keeps grabbing money'

23:00, 21 Apr

bySavannah Lenz

After Max Verstappen received a time penalty for a first-lap incident between himself and Oscar Piastri, it became a hot topic to discuss. Dutch analyst Christijan Albers provided his opinion on the moment.

“For me, it's just a racing incident,” Albers began in The Telegraph's F1 podcast. “Because it's simply the first turn. The first round at the start.”

He claims that the issue is with the current rules. “It's always difficult, and that's also due to the regulations they've created. No one really knows what to expect anymore. And you're basically throwing such a decision at the stewards. Which is always a difficult decision, because there are always two parties that do not agree.”

“But that rule, it actually makes no sense. And I've felt that way for a long time. Being first at the apex, that one owns the turn. But we've talked about this last time too. Then, the question is, okay, when do you brake? How fast do you let it enter the turn? And I still haven't seen any clear footage.”

Albers rallies behind Verstappen after Jeddah

Albers also thinks that it is hard to determine who was right and wrong.

“My feeling was that Max was actually ahead at the apex. But he missed the turn, and Piastri made it. But then the question is whether he could make the turn? Because he also couldn't turn in since Piastri was there. So it remains speculative, and it's just actually then also quite a drama for Max, of course, if you get that five-second penalty.”

“I want to pick it up from the beginning again. Because then I think to myself, listen, so much money is involved in the sport. The FIA just keeps grabbing money everywhere, from drivers who say something wrong, who curse. But invest that money in some good equipment. That can also show it on television.”

The Former F1 driver continued, “Take that apex, yes, and just draw a straight line with a ruler and then just take a look at where the cars are at that moment.”

Albers also feels like there is too much room for interpretation. “Now you see nothing, so it always remains just random. Like going to the casino and betting on black or red and seeing where you end up, and that annoys me even more that they don't tackle that properly, than the whole situation itself.”

This article was written in collaboration with Sandy van wijngaarden.