“It hasn't really helped the situation”: Alex Albon criticizes and states the problem with new F1 regulations

Alex Albon is not a fan of the revised regulations that Formula 1 introduced this year. Albon believes that the change to the floor of the cars is defeating the purpose of the 2022 regulations, which made it easier for drivers to follow each other.

Talking to Sports Illustrated, the Williams driver mentioned that the teams are currently adding too much downforce to their cars using different setups. The additional downforce, according to Albon, is making cars more sensitive and making it more difficult to follow cars and perform overtakes.

"It's always gonna happen, and the side effect of cars adding downforce, they tend to become more sensitive and this is an example of that. I think they all changed last year with the floor changing for this year, it hasn't really helped the situation," Albon said.

New aero regulations were introduction to the sport in 2022, enabling low running cars and return of the 'ground effect,' with the intention of making the sport more competitive. These changes assisted the cars in following each other closely, however, there was one major backlash: porpoising.

The cars suffered uneven downforce on the straights and bounced violently because of the same. Mercedes was one of the teams which suffered the most and the authorities increased the ride height to correct the issue.

Alex Albon believes that the issue with the floor of the cars was solved by the end of the 2022 season, and hence the changes in the regulations weren't required.

"I personally believe by the end of last year, all the teams fixed the floor, so we didn't even really need rule change in the end. And now that we've done it, following’s become harder."

---

Alex Albon mentions heavier cars are more 'sluggish' and tougher on the tires

Alex Albon also mentioned that a lighter F1 car is much better than a heavier one because it makes it easier to follow the car in front and is easy on the tires.

"More than how big they are and the weight of them. So with heavy cars, that becomes a lot of energy on the tyres and the speeds are quite slow. Cars become quite sluggish. When you have a lighter car, you can stay closer behind the other car with less penalising on the tires."

Teams had to make numerous aerodynamic alterations to their challengers due to the changes in regulations.

Many teams, including Ferrari, have been struggling with their aero package, and Alex Albon's statements highlight more issues that the teams are facing.