F1 drivers told to issue stronger demands after recent grand prix flop

Alex Albon believes F1 drivers must be "more vocal" about modern track design after recent flops upon the return to Sepang for the Bahrain GP in Malaysia. 

The layout of the recent Madring, which has taken over Spanish GP hosting duties, was widely panned for its lack of overtaking opportunities and a series of 90-degree corners which limit racing lines, thus further reducing the chances of making an attempt to pass a rival. 

A number of tracks recently added to the calendar also lack a number changes in elevation and camber, with venues such as Jeddah or Lusail in Qatar being largely flat and with a single racing line. 

This is in contrast to Sepang, which returned to the calendar in 2026 in a one-off race covering the Bahrain race, which was unable to take place in Sakhir.

The circuit, which initially debuted in 1999 is often regarded as one of the best Hermann Tilke designed for grand prix racing, and avoids the 'Tilkedrome' moniker attached to some other of his circuits - characterised by huge run-offs and copied layouts.

Given the variety of corner profiles and racing lines possible at Sepang, Williams' Albon believes grand prix drivers need to be more vocal about demands on track design.

"I don't think drivers have much say in it, but at least for now, it is nice to go to a track which is not a street circuit and does not have 90-degree corners," Albon told media, including RacingNews365.

"There's character, there is camber, there is elevation and unique corners, and it has been well-designed where there are pockets of clear air you can use.

"I don't think it's predominantly been a fantastic overtaking track, but it has got high tyre degradation, so you can often see some fighting on Sunday. 

"There are even little things like the track limits; you don't really talk about them around tracks like this because the kerbs have been profiled in a way that they've just been done well.

"You don't use more track than you need to, and I think drivers, especially when they come back from Madrid, must be a bit more vocal about these kinds of things about doing a better job [in modern track design].

"[Sepang] was made 30 years ago in 1999, and around that time, they seemed to be able to get a good understanding of what makes a good racetrack."

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