07/05/2024
NEWS STORY
Further penalties for Kevin Magnussen during the Miami Grand Prix leave the Dane on the brink of a one-race ban.
Having picked up numerous penalties for his antics during the Sprint, one would have expected Magnussen to be on his best behaviour in the main event, but according to the stewards he wasn't.
The Dane was attempting to pass Logan Sargeant at Turn 1 as they battled for position and then again on the outside at Turn 2 when he finally collided with the Williams at Turn 3, a move that ended the American's race and resulted in the decison to deploy the Safety Car that was to heavily impact the outcome of the race.
Per the Driving Standards Guidelines, in order for Magnussen to be given room for an overtaking attempt on the outside, he needed to have his front axle at least alongside the front axle of the other car at the apex of Turn 2.
However, having reviewed all the available evidence it was clear that Magnussen did not have his front axle in that position such that he was entitled to room in that corner.
Furthermore, according to the stewards, if this was looked at purely as an overtaking on the inside of Turn 3, Magnussen would also not have had the right to the corner, by the standards for an inside overtake.
Even if this was viewed as a sequence of corners or a chicane, the decision remains the same. Per the guidelines, priority will be given to the first corner and if you do not have the right to be given room, then you do not get the benefit for the next corner. Magnussen was therefore wholly to blame for the collision that occurred.
As a result the Dane was given a 10 second time penalty and 2 penalty points bringing his total for the 12 month period to 10... just 2 short of an automatic race ban.
However, during the Safety Car period Magnussen headed into the pits to serve his penalty, but did not change tyres as required under Article 55.11 of the Sporting Regulations.
Haas admitted that this was an error on their part and while there was no precedent for this particular infringement, in order to remain consistent with other infringements of Article 55.11 of the Sporting Regulations, the stewards imposed a drive through penalty, though as the race was over this meant adding 20 seconds added to his elapsed race time, thereby dropping him to last.
"It wasn't a good day... again," said the Dane of his afternoon. "Hopefully I can get some clarity on things going forward. What happened today, of course it's not good, but nonetheless, we try to move on and have a better weekend next weekend."
Also hit with a 10 second penalty was Lance Stroll who was adjudged to have left the track and gained a lasting advantage whilst battling Alex Albon.
The stewards determined that Stroll left the track at Turn 1, overtook Albon, and thereby gained a lasting advantage. Stroll did not give the advantage back, which is a breach of Article 33.3 of the Sporting Regulations.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Miami here.