'I don't know how to race' - F1 star gives damning admission

Alex Albon, Max Verstappen, Gabriel Bortoleto, Monaco, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

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'I don't know how to race' - F1 star gives damning admission

Alex Albon made a startling admission

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 18 September 2025 22:57

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A current F1 star has made a startling admission about using their skills on the racetrack.

Despite having accumulated an impressive 70 points in 2025 and sitting seventh in the drivers' championship, Alex Albon has made the unusual admission that he 'doesn't know how to race'.

Williams star Albon was referring to controversial penalties that have been handed out by FIA race stewards in recent weeks.

Article continues under video

Albon's team-mate Carlos Sainz was penalised at the Dutch GP for a move on Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson heading into turn one after the safety car restart, with race stewards deeming that Lawson had the right to the corner.

Spaniard Sainz was slammed with a 10-second time penalty which was served during the race, and ruined his chances of scoring points.

However, in the break between the Italian and Azerbaijan grands prix, the FIA announced that Sainz's penalty had been overturned after a Williams protest, and that the penalty points for the incident had been wiped from the 30-year-old's record.

At the Italian GP, Ollie Bearman was slammed with a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points for an incident with Sainz late on in the race, an incident that 2016 F1 champion Nico Rosberg actually believed should have been a penalty to Sainz, not Bearman.

In reference to a number of controversial penalties handed out to various drivers over the past few races, Albon told F1 media ahead of the Azerbaijan GP: "I still don't really know how to properly race."

Sainz penalty overturned

Albon is now an experienced racer, having been competing in F1 since 2019, barring a year off in 2021, so his comments are an indictment on the FIA.

He has collected two podiums and 310 career points across six seasons, yet has admitted to not really knowing where he stands in regard to the rules.

Sainz's penalty overturning may spark more protests from teams and drivers who feel hard done by, with the announcement to reverse his penalty coming two weeks - and one race - after the incident happened.

At the time, Sainz called the decision 'ridiculous' and urged his team to speak rigorously with the stewards after the race.

Bearman and Haas did not protest their penalty from the Italian GP, however, and he is now on the verge of a race ban after picking up 10 penalty points in the last 12 months.

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FIA Carlos Sainz Williams Alex Albon Italian Grand Prix