F1 News: Fellow drivers say Magnussen’s race ban ‘very unfair’
(GMM) Two Formula 1 drivers insist Kevin Magnussen’s one-race ban is unfair. The FIA confirmed late on Sunday that the Haas driver’s super license will be suspended for the forthcoming Azerbaijan GP at Baku.
The ban is automatic, as the 31-year-old Dane received two penalty points against his mandatory F1 credential for a clash with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly at Monza on Sunday.
The points raise his tally to 12, resulting in an automatic ban.
Magnussen was gobsmacked. “It doesn’t change anything now,” he said, “but I’ve spoken to the stewards so many times and I still don’t understand what the rules are. It seems that they are interpreted arbitrarily.
“It also seems to me that they don’t want racing. If what happened between Pierre and me isn’t a racing incident, I honestly don’t know what is.
“There was hardly any contact, no damage to the cars and no problems for other drivers. We simply missed the corner – so what? We were racing.
“Then I saw that Nico (Hulkenberg) was pushed off the track by (Daniel) Ricciardo at almost 300kph, and I’m not saying he did it on purpose, but he got five seconds and I got ten seconds.”
Magnussen insists he has no regrets, and has understood all season that he was getting close to a ban.
“I’ve always said that it wouldn’t hold me back,” he said.
When he heard that Magnussen was heading for a Baku race ban, Gasly was similarly horrified.
“To be honest, it was nothing,” said the Frenchman immediately after Sunday’s race. “I hope that they can somehow change it, because it would certainly be very unfair. I’d like to stand up for him.
“I have to spend an hour for the doping control now, and after that, I’ll see what I can do.”
Ultimately, Gasly’s efforts were to no avail, and a source at Haas indicated that the small American team does not intend to appeal the decision.
F1 veteran Fernando Alonso agreed with Magnussen and Gasly’s assessments of the automatic suspension.
“As I’ve said many times, penalty points should be for dangerous behavior – something that poses a danger to the sport and to others,” said the Aston Martin driver and two-time champion.
“I think some of the points Magnussen has picked up, I don’t have the list here, but some of them were just for things like speeding, white lines, starts. These sorts of things that are part of racing – that is a drive-through, that is a five-second penalty.
“I understand penalties, but points for these sorts of penalties are a bit hard to understand.”
Haas will almost certainly revert to its confirmed 2025 rookie, current F2 driver Oliver Bearman, to stand in for Magnussen at Baku.
“We will inform about our second driver for Azerbaijan at a later date,” a team spokesman said.
Current Driver Penalty Points after Italian GP
Charles Leclerc
Penalty Points: 0
Lewis Hamilton
Penalty Points: 0
Lando Norris
Penalty Points: 0
Oscar Piastri
Penalty Points: 0
Pierre Gasly
Penalty Points: 0
Yuki Tsunoda
Penalty Points: 0
Franco Colapinto
Penalty Points: 0
Alex Albon
Penalty Points: 0
Guanyu Zhou
Penalty Points: 0
George Russell
Penalty Points: 2
Two points: For causing a collision with Max Verstappen at the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix (expires on November 19, 2024)
Max Verstappen
Penalty Points: 4
Verstappen has four penalty points, with the latest coming at the Austrian GP for his collision with Lando Norris.Two points: Causing a collision with Norris at the 2024 F1 Austrian GP (expires on June 30, 2025)
Two points: Forcing Charles Leclerc off track during the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix (expires on November 19, 2024)
Sergio Perez
Penalty Points: 8
Two points: Overtaking Fernando Alonso under safety car conditions (expires on September 24, 2024)
Two points: Causing a collision with Kevin Magnussen (expires on September 24, 2024)
One point: Causing a collision with Alex Albon in the 2023 F1 Singapore GP (expires on September 17, 2024)
Two points: Causing a collision with Lando Norris at the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (expires on November 26, 2024)
One point: Unsafe release in the pit lane during the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (expires on March 9, 2025)
Carlos Sainz
Penalty Points: 1
One point: Causing a collision with Oscar Piastri at the 2024 F1 Miami GP (expires on May 5, 2025)
Fernando Alonso
Penalty Points: 8
Fernando Alonso has eight F1 penalty points. He received two for his dive bomb on Guanyu Zhou at the Austrian GP, costing him a 10-second penalty.
Two points: Causing a collision with Zhou Guanyu at the F1 Austrian GP (expires on June 30, 2025)
Three points: Pushing Carlos Sainz off the track at the F1 Chinese GP Sprint (expires on April 20, 2025)
Three points: Potentially dangerous driving against George Russell at the Australian GP (expires on March 24, 2025)
Lance Stroll
Penalty Points: 5
Two points: Causing a collision with Daniel Ricciardo at the Chinese GP (expires on April 21, 2025)
Three points: These were issued for overtaking under yellow flag conditions at the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix (expires on November 17, 2024)
Esteban Ocon
Penalty Points: 3
Two points: Causing a collision with Pierre Gasly at the Monaco GP (expires on May 27, 2025)
One point: Unsafe release during the Miami GP (expires on May 4, 2025)
Daniel Ricciardo
Penalty Points: 2
Two points: Overtaking under a safety car during the 2024 Chinese GP (expires on April 21, 2025)
One point: Forcing Nico Hulkenberg off track at the 2024 Italian GP (Expires on September 1, 2025.
Kevin Magnussen
Penalty Points: 12
Magnussen has 12 F1 penalty points and has been banned for a race.
Two points: Causing a collision with Pierre Gasly during the 2024 Italian GP (Expires on September 1, 2025)
Two points: Causing a collision with Logan Sargeant during the 2024 Miami Grand Prix (expires on May 5, 2025)
Three points: Leaving the track and gaining an advantage on multiple occasions during the 2024 Miami Grand Prix Sprint as additional ‘aggravating circumstances’, following multiple time penalties (expires May 4, 2025)
Two points: Causing a collision with Yuki Tsunoda during the 2024 F1 Chinese GP (expires on April 21, 2025)
Three points: Causing a collision with Alex Albon during the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (expires on March 9, 2025)
Nico Hulkenberg
Penalty Points: 4
Two points: Causing a collision with Yuki Tsunoda at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix (expires on September 1, 2025)
Two points: Pushing a driver off track (expires on June 29, 2025)
Valtteri Bottas
Penalty Points: 2
Two points: Causing a collision with Lance Stroll during the 2023 Mexican Grand Prix (expires on October 29, 2024)