Haas receives a penalty but stays in the top 10
Found guilty of aiding its drivers during the formation lap, Haas was handed a 10-second penalty after the race. However, while Kevin Magnussen loses a position, he remains in the points.
It’s a masterful strategic move. Except it wasn’t allowed. Indeed, relegated to the back of the pack by yet again disappointing qualifications, the two Haas drivers were called back to the pits at the end of the formation lap to fit slick tires instead of intermediates. The initial result was splendid as Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean found themselves in third and fourth places.
Once all the other drivers had made their pit stops, the two drivers obviously fell back down the order. Romain Grosjean was further handicapped by the collision with Alex Albon’s Red Bull, which was fatal to his front wing.
Upon arrival, the Anglo-American team could celebrate its first two points from Kevin Magnussen’s ninth place. However, the joy was short-lived as the officials then summoned the team leaders. The grievance? A driver must be able to drive without external assistance. In this case, it was the pit wall that called the drivers back to the garages, not the drivers’ initiative. This constitutes an infraction of the sporting regulations, which only allows a team to call its driver to the pits once the start is given and not during the formation lap.
The penalty was announced in the evening: ten-second penalties for both drivers. For Kevin Magnussen, this means losing ninth place to Carlos Sainz. The main thing is still saved with a spot in the top 10. This point gained could prove important for the rest of the season, which seems to be off to a bad start for the team owned by Gene Haas. For Romain Grosjean, the loss of time and thus position is more anecdotal as it moves him from 15th to 16th place.
