F1 drivers fearing 'awkward' concerns after private discussions

Alex Albon has described that F1 drivers are afraid to make usual defensive moves on track, believing such manoeuvres have become "awkward."

After the huge crash of Oliver Bearman in the Japanese GP, where he was caught out by the closing speeds, whilst Franco Colapinto's Alpine harvested energy on the run to Spoon curve.

The closing speed involved was around 30mph, with such high speeds one area of concern raised by McLaren boss Andrea Stella in pre-season testing. 

Now, Albon has detailed how in the drivers' briefing, it has been discussed how a usual defensive move on track is now prompting second thoughts from drivers over fear of catching a rival unaware and leading to a similar Bearman-esque accident.

"We are actually talking about it in the drivers' briefing," Albon told media, including RacingNews365. 

"About closing speeds and defending and moving and all these kinds of things, it just feels really awkward now.

"Because you want to defend, but you're sometimes worried about a car behind. 

"Maybe we just need to make SM mode a bit more stable, or less powerful, something like that or maybe more like a regular DRS that you can control quite easily."