"I can't take that risk," admits Oliver Bearman as he has to adapt his approach to racing in bid to avoid a ban.

Following his clash with Carlos Sainz at Monza, the Haas driver is just two points away from an automatic race ban, and with penalty points remaining on a driver's licence for 12 months the Briton has to stay out of trouble until November.

"It's my fault for getting the penalty regardless of if we agree with the rules or not," Bearman told reporters in Baku. "But it's a tough one to take. That's not how any of us have grown up racing, really."

He was referring to the racing guidelines which are stifling competition, confusing both drivers and officials, hence the U-Turn on Sainz' Zandvoort penalty.

"In that split second where you brake and you see how fast you're entering the corner with respect to your competitor, you don't then think about the three-page guideline they sent you in January," said Bearman. "It's not possible.

"From my side at no point was I out of control," he insisted. "I was totally just racing to the corner with another driver and then I didn't get left any space at all, but the rules are the rules."

Of course, the nature of the Baku track, for example, presents its own problems for any driver wanting to move up the field.

"I would hope to get given space on the inside, but clearly there's a possibility that that won't happen, so I can't take that risk," admitted the Haas driver. "It's a shame. I guess I'll just go around the outside now."

Check out our Saturday gallery from Baku here.