F1 News: Magnussen's horror driving may force penalty rethink

(GMM) Formula 1 is being urged to have a penalty rethink as Kevin Magnussen is left on the cusp of a race ban after a horror Miami GP weekend for the Haas driver.

The Dane arrived in Miami still recovering from a virus he picked up in Shanghai – before being accused of “unsportsmanlike behavior” for the way he drove in the sprint race.

Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24, leads Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15, and Yuki Tsunoda, VCARB 01 during the Miami GP at Miami International Autodrome on Saturday May 04, 2024 in Miami, United States of America. (Photo by Mark Sutton / LAT Images)

Magnussen, who is yet to secure a contract for 2025, admitted he deployed extreme tactics to keep the cars behind him in order to “protect” teammate Nico Hulkenberg’s points-paying position.

The FIA cleared Magnussen of the unsportsmanlike charge, but he collected so many time penalties – four in total – that he was classified dead last.

Stewards, however, slapped Magnussen with no fewer than five penalty points for his super license tally, doubling his existing total to ten. If his tally rises by two more points before May of next year, he will need to serve an automatic one-race ban.

Peter Bayer, CEO of the RB team, thinks the FIA needs to clamp down on Magnussen-style tactics. “The FIA should think about this,” he said.

Peter Bayer, CEO of Visa Cash App RB (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, however, thinks the 65 seconds added to Magnussen’s race time in Miami was absurd.

“Even if he said the penalties were well deserved, the GPDA shouldn’t leave it at that. It’s too much, it’s too harsh,” he told Sky Deutschland.

“A different approach is needed.”

Magnussen’s former Haas team boss, Gunther Steiner, said: “You have to play fairly. You can be aggressive, but we’ve seen this game for the second time now.

“As a driver, you can’t be proud if you ruin someone else’s race.”

Steiner thinks the use of time penalties is not enough of a deterrent.

“Once you get the first ten seconds, it doesn’t matter to you if you get another ten seconds. Why not a drive-through?” he said.

“You then have to take the penalty within a few laps and then you’re gone and you can’t cause any more trouble.”

McLaren boss Andrea Stella thinks Magnussen should already be serving a race ban for his behavior in Miami.

“It shouldn’t be five seconds plus five seconds plus five seconds makes 15,” he said. “It should be five plus five plus five plus maybe a weekend at home with your family to think about good sportsmanship.”

Oscar Piastri has a different idea.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38 during the Japanese GP at Suzuka on Friday April 05, 2024 in Suzuka, Japan. (Photo by Zak Mauger / LAT Images)

“All these problems would be solved if the FIA said ‘You have to give that position back, otherwise it’s a trip through the pitlane’,” said the Australian.

Magnussen also received the blame for the collision with Williams’ Logan Sargeant that triggered the deployment of the safety car in Sunday’s main race.

“Magnussen should think about his risk management,” Ralf Schumacher said.

“He was in the blind spot, but he stayed on his line like a bull. That makes you lose respect. It costs the teams money and also puts your opponents at risk.

“There also has to be some fairness. Hard but fair, ok. But just going in with the mindset ‘Well, if I crash, what do I have to lose? If I’m not scoring points, I might as well crash’. That’s the mentality behind it.

“That obviously can’t go on. There are penalties for that in Formula 2 and Formula 3.”

When asked about his horror weekend in Miami overall and the implications for the future, Magnussen said on Sunday: “I’d rather not comment.”