Kevin Magnussen may be forgiven for feeling aggrieved by the style by which he acquired a one-race ban on the Italian Grand Prix, following his minor incident with Pierre Gasly on the Variante della Roggia.
In trying to place a transfer on Gasly on the Flip 4-5 chicane, the Dane locked up and made wheel-to-wheel contact with the Alpine; Gasly took to the run-off to evade heavier contact within the combat over 14th place.
For this, Magnussen was not solely hit with a 10-second penalty, but additionally the essential two factors to his superlicence that took his tally as much as 12 – instantly pinging him for a race ban on the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
This isn’t a takedown of Formulation 1’s present driver penalty system. The 12-superlicence-points-for-a-ban resolution has its foibles, positive, nevertheless it’s a great way of punishing constant harmful driving. Factors are, usually talking, hardly ever given out for misdemeanours – just for clashes and repeated infractions.Â
Nevertheless, the best way that the principles are utilized is determined by the stewards current – and that is what could possibly be construed as inconsistency. Precedent is commonly used, however equating Magnussen’s incident to different examples means that it’s minor by comparability.
By comparability, Nico Hulkenberg picked up the identical penalty – 10 seconds plus two penalty factors – for his slide deal with on Yuki Tsunoda at Flip 1 earlier within the race. Magnussen himself received the 2 factors for taking Logan Sargeant out in Miami.Â
These are incidents that not solely present a breach of the FIA’s criterion that the overtaking automobile ought to “be pushed in a protected and managed method all through the manoeuvre”, but additionally have the online results of taking one other driver out of the race.
Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24, within the gravel
Photograph by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Photographs
Magnussen had locked up within the Gasly incident, so that may fulfill the primary level – however even with out that, there was room on the within of the nook that he was entitled to as he was sufficiently alongside within the braking zone.
Thus, Magnussen was baffled by the choice, noting the Hulkenberg incident with Daniel Ricciardo earlier within the race – the place the RB driver pushed Hulkenberg onto the grass into the Ascari braking zone.
“I do not perceive it in any respect. Â You recognize, flat out, simply utterly confused. Â Me and Gasly raced onerous into Flip 4. Earlier than, we had slight contact, we each missed the nook, got here again on observe once more, no harm to both automobile, no consequence to the race of both of us, Â and I get a 10-second penalty,” Magnussen stated.
“However lap 1, Ricciardo put Nico within the grass at 300 kilometres an hour, utterly destroyed Nico’s race, huge consequence and harm to Nico’s automobile, and he will get a five-second penalty. The place’s the logic? I simply do not get it.”
Enter into the dialog that Sergio Perez shoving George Russell extensive into Flip 1 at an analogous pace was not punished, presumably as a result of Russell made the nook and the overtake…
And Gasly, for his half, did not really feel that it was definitely worth the penalty both. “Actually, this was nothing,” he stated.
“Somebody informed me he received a 10-second penalty. I am a bit shocked by that as a result of he tried, nevertheless it was a little bit of wheel to wheel and in the long run, I actually did not lose any time. I am a bit shocked.
Pierre Gasly, Alpine A524, Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24
Photograph by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Photographs
“I hope by some means they’ll revert on that as a result of that might be undoubtedly unfair. I will be comfortable to do it [vouch for Magnussen with the stewards] – I am going to see what I can do. That may really feel very unfair for the incident that it was.”
There is no provision for a driver to succeed in 12 penalty factors and never get a ban – and nor ought to there be, lest any additional considerations over consistency be realised. All drivers ought to be prone to hitting the tally and triggering a ban with none likelihood of delaying, or speaking themselves out of the penalty.
Nevertheless it’s nonetheless shocking that such a minor incident ought to be the one which pushes Magnussen onto the bench for Baku, because it felt like a considerably strange contact with no lasting repercussions.
Nevertheless, the stewards attempt not to take a look at consequence. Contact at a barely totally different angle might have created a extra apparent aftermath; the identical inputs would have had a special output. The query will not be “did that driver create an enormous shunt?”, however somewhat “did the driving force lose management of their automobile and make contact?”
And that is the place the crux of the matter is. One might argue that Magnussen largely made the nook, that Gasly might have given him extra room, that the observe floor off-line was much less grippy…there are a large number of extenuating elements that may make it extra of a gray space. It was, to make use of footballing parlance, not a transparent and apparent error with that context utilized.
On one other day, it may need been declared a racing incident. That is the bit that may stick in Magnussen’s craw – however he no less than will get his licence scrubbed of all 12 factors on his Singapore return.
