Alexander Albon believes Formula 1's five-second time penalties are "not strict enough" and has called for harsher punishments for drivers. In the past two races, Sergio Perez has been hit with two five-second penalties for colliding with Albon and then Kevin Magnussen in Singapore and Japan, respectively. Both penalties for the Mexican were essentially meaningless as he was more than five-seconds ahead of ninth-placed Liam Lawson at Marina Bay while he retired, then unretired to serve the penalty before retiring again at Suzuka. Perez was also given four penalty points on his Super Licence, which takes him up to a total of seven for the year when drivers are only allowed 12 before they receive a one-race ban. At Monza, Mercedes' George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were also handed the sanction but finished fifth and sixth, with the penalties once again proving meaningless as Russell finished more than five seconds in front of Hamilton, who in turn was ahead of Albon, who has called for the rethink.
Albon: More deterrent needed for drivers
Russell has suggested a new method using AI that could be applied by the stewards , when punishing drivers that cause a collision during races. Albon believes more needs to be done for there to be a deterrent for drivers, as it is clear they are not learning from mistakes. "In Turn 11 [Perez] did the same move again to me on track [as in Singapore]" Albon told media after retiring from the Suzuka race after sustaining first lap damage. "I avoided it, and then he did it again to Kevin. I was behind him, so I had the best view of everyone. "Clearly it's (the five-second penalty) isnot really teaching the drivers anything because the penalties aren't strict enough. I mean, that's two races in a row [Perez has received such a penalty]. Stewards do have a variety of penalties available to them, including 10 seconds, a drive-through, stop-and-go and even disqualification. However, it is rare for drivers to be disqualified from a race for purely driving reasons, with technical infringements the most likely scenario for a DSQ. Do you agree with Alexander Albon? Are five-second time penalties too lenient? Let us know in the comments and by voting in the poll below!
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