Raging Kevin Magnussen hit with race ban: “I don’t understand what the rules are”
“We just had slight contact and missed the corner. So what?"
Kevin Magnussen has disagreed with the stewards’ decision to penalise him at the F1 Italian Grand Prix, leading to a race ban.
The Haas driver has become the first F1 driver since Romain Grosjean in 2012 to face a one-race ban due to the accumulation of penalty points on his licence.
He was hit with a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points for contact with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly at Monaco, bringing his total to 12.
Magnussen will sit out the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as a result.
He fumed to Sky Sports: “Me and Gasly had slight contact. “There was no damage on either car, no consequence in the race…
“We just had slight contact and missed the corner. So what? We were racing.
“I don’t know why we need to throw around penalties like this.
“On top of that, I saw [teammate Nico Hulkenber] almost get thrown into the wall at 300km/h by Daniel Ricciardo.
“I’m not saying he did it on purpose but, still, he got five seconds and I got 10 seconds. It doesn’t add up, at all.”
Before the decision was announced, he insisted that he was not worried about the prospect of a race ban.
Magnussen was asked if he would visit the stewards to explain his side of the story.
“Usually it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t change anything,” he said.
“I have spoken to them many times, so many times, and I still don’t understand what the rules are.
“They don’t want racing, that’s what it seems to me.
“If this thing between me and Gasly can’t be deemed a racing incident, then I don’t know what can.
“It doesn’t make sense.”
Severity of penalty scrutinised
Karun Chandhok analysed the Magnussen-Gasly incident.
“He’s in the slipstream coming around Curva Grande in the slipstream,” Chandhok said about Magnussen on Sky Sports.
“He has a lock-up, starts to slide into the side of Gasly’s car.
“Gasly cut across the run-off area. Magnussen went over the kerb.
“As Kevin said, they both did carry on.
“The stewards were right to penalise him. But I’m not sure about the two penalty points.
“He has a valid point - Ricciardo and Hulkenberg were there, it was five seconds, not 10.
“He was right to be penalised but I think the harshness of the penalty… there is a conversation there to be had.”
