Fernando Alonso sympathetic towards Kevin Magnussen after controversial race ban

Two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso expressed sympathy for Kevin Magnussen after the Haas driver was handed a race ban for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Magnussen received a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points on his licence following an incident with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly at Turn 4.

This is the first time since the introduction of penalty points in 2014 that a driver has been handed a one-race suspension.

Gasly, who was involved in the incident with Magnussen, admitted he was “surprised” by the verdict.

“Someone told me he got a 10 seconds penalty. I'm a bit surprised for that because he tried, but it was a bit of wheel to wheel and in the end I really didn't lose any time. I'm a bit surprised,” he said.

“I hope somehow they can revert on that because that will would be definitely unfair. I'll be happy to do- I'll see what I can do. That will feel very unfair for the incident that it was.”

Alonso is the latest driver to back Magnussen and questioned how the FIA distributes penalty points.

He said after the race on Sunday: “100%. Because, I mean, penalty points, as we’ve discussed many times, should be for dangerous driving, something that is a danger for the sport and for the others.

“And I think a couple of those points that he accumulated, I’m not sure. I don’t have the list here. But sometimes it’s just pit lane, white line, unsafe releases, all these kind of things. I mean, this is part of racing.

“This is a drive-through. This is a five-second penalty. I understand the racing penalties, but the safety penalties are a little bit harder to understand.”

Haas have yet to announce Magnussen’s replacement, with Oliver Bearman the favourite to replace him for Baku.

Bearman will drive for the team alongside Esteban Ocon in 2025.