An unjustified penalty according to Kevin Magnussen
Kevin Magnussen, driver for Haas, heavily criticized the race stewards during the press conference. While Haas confirms its exclusion from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the Danish driver took to social media to react to the announcement with humor.
This week saw a lot of twists and turns at the Italian Grand Prix. While everyone was expecting McLaren to be the big winner, it was ultimately Ferrari that came out on top. But beyond that, the track was the scene of numerous penalties, especially for the two Haas drivers. After a collision with Pierre Gasly, Kevin Magnussen received two points on his super license. He will not participate in the Grand Prix in Baku due to reaching the penalty points limit.
A suspension that doesn’t hold up
During the weekend, Haas did not have very good days. After a contact between Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hülkenberg, Kevin Magnussen met Pierre Gasly’s car. For this incident, the Danish driver received a 10-second penalty and 2 points on his Super License. The Super License, the Formula 1 license, allows a limit of 12 points collected. If Kevin Magnussen had already reached 10 points in the first Grand Prix events, he is now at 12 points, which means he will not be allowed to compete in the next race in Baku. However, he will return to Singapore with the points on his license reset to 0.
Before the announcement of his suspension, Kevin Magnussen had already expressed his frustration in the post-race press conference. According to him, Formula 1 stewards had an exaggerated reaction to other accidents that could have been more serious. « Gasly and I had slight contact,” the driver had declared. « No damage to the cars, no consequences in the race, just a slight contact that made us miss the turn. So what? We were racing. I don’t understand why penalties are handed out like this. ».
On the other side, his teammate who was involved in another incident seems to have had a less miserable fate. If Daniel Ricciardo forced Nico Hülkenberg off the track, he received only a 5-second penalty. Nico almost ended up in the wall at 300 km/h because of Ricciardo, explained Kevin Magnussen. I’m not saying he did it on purpose, but he got five seconds, and I got ten seconds. It doesn’t make sense.
Kevin Magnussen without appeal
When questioned about the procedures he has initiated, the Dane expressed his frustration with the explanations provided by the commissioners. Despite numerous discussions with the commissioners, he still does not always understand their decisions. “Even if I talk to them – I have talked to them many times, too many times – I still do not understand what the rules are,” he acknowledged. “It seems like they are just handing out penalties; they don’t want any racing, that’s what it looks like to me. If this contact between me and Gasly cannot be considered a racing incident, then I don’t know what can be. It doesn’t make sense,” he added.
The French driver, victim of the Danish’s maneuver, had shared the same opinion on the incident. « I was told that he received a 10-second penalty. I am a little surprised because he tried, but it was just a bit of wheel against wheel and in the end, I really didn’t lose any time,” he said after the race. « I am a little surprised. I hope they will reconsider this decision, as it would be really unfair,” he added. » Unfortunately, the FIA decided to add two penalty points to the 10-second penalty, which made him miss the championship for Baku.
This is the first time in F1 that a driver receives a race suspension since Romain Grosjean’s in 2012. While drivers have tried to appeal the decision of the stewards, it is Oliver Bearman who will drive for Haas in Baku. While some thought the Danish driver would sulk about the situation, Kevin Magnussen chose to take it with humor. On his personal Instagram, the driver posted several photos of his weekend adding in the caption: « Good news: One point in Monza. Bad news: Race suspension in Baku. See you in Singapore. », reads on his social media.
