Kevin Magnussen gathers drivers’ support for ‘harsh’ Baku ban

Formula 1 drivers have expressed concerns about the sport’s penalty points system which led to Haas driver Kevin Magnussen’s harsh racing ban at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, calling for existing penalty guidelines to be reviewed.

At the Italian Grand Prix, Magnussen was handed a 10-second time penalty and two additional penalty points on his superlicence after a collision with Pierre Gasly at Turn 4. That took his total to 12 points over the past year, triggering an automatic race ban for the Azerbaijan GP.

Magnussen’s attempt to pass Gasly on the inside led to contact between his Haas VF-24 and Gasly’s Alpine A524. Although neither car retired, race stewards deemed the manoeuvre dangerous and uncontrolled, citing Magnussen for a violation of Article 2(d) of Chapter IV, Appendix L of the FIA ​​International Sporting Code.

Teammate Nico Hulkenberg criticised the penalty, calling it “harsh”, saying Magnussen’s attack on Gasly was just a racing incident. He suggested the current rules governing such situations should be reviewed. He told the media:

“Obviously there is a history of how it happened and he accumulated all those penalty points, but if you just look at the Monza incident, I think it is racing.

“I mean, it’s a pretty straightforward, fair and square race. I don’t see two penalty points for that, or even that 10-second penalty – it’s very harsh.

“That’s my opinion, but most drivers think the same about it. I had a case with Fernando (Alonso) in Austria, in the sprint race, where I tried to do a maneuver in turn three, and I locked up and went a little bit too wide, and he had to go off the track.

“But I mean, it’s racing; to overtake, we have to leave our comfort zone and take risks, and that happens sometimes.

“It seems like the stewards, every time there is a little bit of contact, they want to intervene. They want it to have consequences, which I think is not really necessary for the drivers. Maybe the guidelines on penalties need to be reviewed and changed because we need to be able to race.”

VCARB driver Yuki Tsunoda has revealed that he has been in a similar situation in the past, when he almost got a one-race ban. The Japanese driver believes the 12-point system is too “strict” for a 24-race calendar. He added:

“I was in that situation, I almost got banned two years ago,” Tsunoda said. “My understanding is that the penalty points haven’t seemed to change since they introduced the maximum number of points they can reach.

“I feel like the penalty points should be a bit more in line I guess – it still seems pretty strict for 24 races, but at the same time they had to do it (ban Magnussen) I guess.

“If the track limits result in penalty points, that’s too much. You get enough penalties in the race depending on the results of the race.

“I don’t think it’s necessary to put penalty points, but in the event of a collision like now, I guess it’s good to have them, but on a case-by-case basis for sure.

“But it also seems to be a case-by-case matter, because in some cases they give the driver one point instead of two, it depends on the situation.”

Mercedes driver George Russell also saw the penalty as a harsh punishment, but suggested it could serve as an example for junior drivers. He said:

“It’s a conversation that has happened many times over the years as pilots have sailed close to the wind.

“No one has been banned for 12 years, so you have to wonder whether the penalty points were really harsh enough. You could say his penalty points at Monza seemed a bit harsh, but you could also say that some of the other incidents were perhaps not harsh enough.

“So yeah, I think we need to set a precedent for the juniors as well. These guys look up to us in F4, F3, F2 and you shouldn’t be allowed to get away with dangerous or erratic driving and at some point you need to be punished for it.”

Magnussen’s Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu questioned whether the “penalty guideline” was correct. He said:

“I think under the penalty guidelines, the penalty that was imposed for this particular incident, I can’t really argue with that. But it’s more a question of whether those penalty guidelines are correct.”