Kevin Magnussen is potentially one more incident away from a Formula 1 racing ban after a series of controversial on-track moves by the Haas driver during the Miami GP weekend.
Miami race officials handed out five penalty points to Magnussen’s superlicense during the Florida event, doubling his current total to 10.
Drivers face automatic suspension from one race if they accumulate 12 penalty points over a rolling 12-month period.
What is problematic for Magnussen is that his existing 10 points have been earned in the first six races of this season, which began in March.
He earned the first three of his points thanks to a collision with Williams’ Alex Albon at the Saudi GP on March 9.
These three points will not expire until March 9 of next year, the week before the start of the 2025 season.
To avoid a ban, Magnussen must therefore ensure not to receive two penalty points during the remaining 18 races of the 2024 campaign.
Drivers found to be mostly or totally responsible for incidents such as collisions between drivers on track generally receive two or three penalty points.
No driver has reached the 12-point limit to trigger an automatic ban since the system was introduced in 2014.
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Watch the restart chaos as both RB drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo are forced to retire at the Chinese Grand Prix.
How Magnussen’s miserable Miami unfolded
Magnussen found himself in a sticky situation with the stewards during the 19-lap sprint and main Grand Prix at the walled Miami International Speedway.
On Saturday, he received three penalty points for repeatedly leaving the track and taking the lead while trying to defend from Lewis Hamilton to prevent the Mercedes from chasing teammate Nico Hulkenberg, seventh, in front.
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Lewis Hamilton loses place to Yuki Tsunoda after Kevin Magnussen goes off track to defend his position
In a frank admission after the Sprint to Sky Sports F1Magnussen said: “All the penalties were well deserved – there’s no doubt about that. But I had to replay the (team) game.
“I started using these stupid tactics that I don’t like doing, but in the end I did my job as a team player and Nico scored his points because I had that gap for him so Lewis and Tsunoda could not catch up with him.
“It’s not at all the way I like to run, but it’s what I had to do.”
Magnussen later confronted the stewards over alleged unsporting behavior, although Hamilton appeared relaxed about the incidents, saying: “It’s what you do to work as a team, so well done.”
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Haas’ Kevin Magnussen says he did his job as a team player after creating a gap with teammate Nico Hulkenberg, costing him three penalties during the Miami Sprint
On Sunday, Magnussen then revealed himself to be “fully responsible” for the collision with Logan Sargeant at turn three, which sent the Williams into the barriers and triggered the safety car on lap 29.
The stewards handed Magnussen a 10-second penalty in addition to two other superlicense points.
He was ultimately placed 19th and last in the Grand Prix with 20 seconds added to his final race time for another rules transgression, this time committed by the team, when they failed to change tires when they ‘were placed under the safety car amid damage to the front wing. to his car after the confrontation with Sargeant.
“It was not a good day again,” admitted Magnussen, who hopes to keep his seat at Haas for next season.
“I hope I can clarify things in the future. What happened today, of course, is not good, but nevertheless, we try to move forward and have a better weekend on the weekend -next end.”
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