Ollie Bearman has fully agreed with Max Verstappen's claim that F1's penalty guidelines are making racing "unnatural", and detailed the "split second" decisions drivers must make.
F1's wheel-to-wheel racing guidelines have been in the spotlight at times recently, with the rules causing some confusion for drivers over what is and is not allowed in combat.
On the Thursday of the Austrian GP weekend, the FIA published official documents detailing the penalty guidelines stewards must work by when ruling on incidents, with reigning champion Verstappen previously describing the rules as "unnatural".
Haas driver Bearman, in his first season, has fully agreed with Verstappen's comment and detailed the trouble drivers have in sticking to the letter of the law when in combat.
"Exactly, I agree," Bearman explained when Verstappen's comments about racing feeling unnatural were put to him by media, including RacingNews365 in Austria.
"I think it is a little bit harsh to see drivers getting race bans for trying to create action, like we saw Kevin get a race ban last year, and although it helped me, I felt like he was really hard done by to have a race ban for all these tiny infractions.
"In the end, he tried to overtake, but it didn't work, and they both cut the corner. It is no harm, no foul, and everyone keeps going; there were no dangerous manoeuvres, no damage, but two penalty points.
"They add up quickly, so it is a shame, it is a difficult thing because, of course, drivers need to be punished in some way to stop them from doing things, but a balance needs to be struck.
"Sometimes in wheel-to-wheel situations, you need to be thinking about what point three of the guidelines says: 'Ok, I have to let him go.'
"This stuff sometimes feels a bit unnatural, as we have circuits with gravel on the outside, and then you don't try to go around the outside.
"Having all these prescriptions for everything can be a bit, not unhealthy, but difficult to remember in the heat of the moment, as you have a split second to make that decision, and you don't have time to remember the five-page document you were sent in January.
"It is difficult to, but the FIA is doing a good thing, trying to create some consistency."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365' Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding, as they look ahead to this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix! How Lando Norris must react after Canada and the continued threat of a race ban for Max Verstappen are major talking points.
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