Martin Brundle joins increasing criticism of FIA race ban for Kevin Magnussen

Kevin Magnussen’s ban for one F1 grand prix has attracted criticism.

The Haas driver will miss next week’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku after a misdemeanour at Monza.

Magnussen is the first F1 driver since Romain Grosjean in 2012 to incur a race ban.

He was hit by the FIA with a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points for causing contact with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly at the Italian Grand Prix.

Because Magnussen was already on 10 penalty points, he has hit the threshold of 12 - which warrants a one-race ban.

“This seems harsh,” Sky Sports broadcaster Martin Brundle insisted.

“Points should only be applied to very serious driving misdemeanours, and otherwise the time penalty itself should suffice.”

Magnussen is the first F1 driver to receive a race ban since the introduction of penalty points in 2014.

Gasly, involved in the incident at Monza with Magnussen, also disagreed with the decision to ban him.

“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,” Gasly reacted. “I'm a bit surprised.

“I hope somehow they can revert on that because that will would be definitely unfair.

“I'll see what I can do. That will feel very unfair for the incident that it was.”

Fernando Alonso also chimed in: “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.

“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.”

Alonso said about Magnussen’s incident at Monza: “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 driver Magnussen knows his F1 career is drawing to a close.

Haas have named Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman as their 2025 F1 driver line-up.

While current Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg will move to Sauber, Magnussen has nowhere to go.

The only two vacant seats for next year - at Sauber and RB - are likely to be filled by other drivers.

It means that Magnussen’s likely final F1 season will include the dubious honour of a Baku race ban.

Haas haven’t yet named their replacement for Magnussen in Baku, but Bearman is an obvious choice.

The British teenager deputised for Carlos Sainz, driving for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia, earlier this year which went a long way to earning him the full-time Haas race drive for 2025.

A second, unexpected run-out is likely now for Bearman before he joins permanently next season.