Penalty points debate rages behind-the-scenes at F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Aside from Adrian Newey’s bombshell Aston Martin switch, F1’s penalty points system was the other talking point which dominated Thursday’s media day at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Haas’ Kevin Magnussen is missing this weekend’s race at Baku after accumulating 12 penalty points in a 12 month period and subsequently triggering an automatic one-race ban. 

Some of the drivers gave their thoughts on whether the suspension is fair, and whether the system needs a re-think.

The subject is likely to be on the agenda during Friday’s drivers’ meeting in Baku…

George Russell

“It’s a conversation which has been had in previous years as drivers sail close to the wind. No-one has been banned in 12 years so, you could argue, were the penalty points harsh enough?

“His penalty points in Monza were harsh but you could argue that some of the others were not harsh enough. Also, we need to set a precedent for the junior series. You shouldn’t be able to get away with dangerous or erratic driving. At some point, you need to be punished for it.”

Alex Albon

“I don’t think anyone’s a real fan of it. Punishment in the race itself should be what’s done. If I look back at the incidents which Kevin created in a couple of races, those races he should have been penalised much more than he was. That set a precedent and he kept repeating them. It’s got a little bit messy.

“There’s been a couple that have been dangerous, but some of them have not been. So it seems a little bit odd. It even seems odd that it resets straight after your one race ban and then you are on a clean slate again. So I don’t quite understand it.

“We have spoken about it in drivers’ briefings. Everyone’s under an understanding that we’ve just got to shuffle the system around a little bit. It needs to be a little more forgiving around what constitutes penalty points. If it’s done right it can be OK to have. I think the whole system is going to get re-worded. Some of it will be addressed for next year.”

Nico Hulkenberg

“I didn’t see two penalty points in that, and a 10-second penalty is very harsh in my opinion, and most drivers feel the same way about that. I had a case with Fernando [Alonso] in the Austria sprint race where I tried to make a move into Turn 3, locked up, went wide and he had to go off the track, but that is racing.

“To overtake, we have to leave our comfort zone, and take some risks and then this kind of thing happens sometimes. In my case with Fernando, and also with Pierre, both drivers said: ‘It’s nothing’ so it seems that whenever there is a little bit of contact, the stewards want to get involved, they want to have a consequence for it.

“The drivers feel that it isn’t really necessary for every contact so maybe the penalty guidelines need to be reviewed and changed because we need to be able to race and it is just difficult otherwise.

“It will be boring and dull as we can’t race anymore, we’ll just get penalised all the time, but I am sure it will come up in the driver’s meeting, and there will be talks with Niels Wittich.”

Yuki Tsunoda

“I was in a similar situation and almost got banned two years ago. The penalty points didn’t seem to be changed over the last 10 years, since they’ve been introduced. 

"Now the races are getting more and more, it feels like the penalty points should get a little bit more complaint. It still seems kind of strict for 24 races. Obviously it’s not ideal for the driver and I feel it’s a bit strict - 12 points. But at the same time everyone is in the same position, so we have to deal with it.”

Esteban Ocon

“It’s not up to me to decide the penalties or the penalty points. As drivers, we don’t want to see any race bans. Kevin is a good friend of mine and he is a very strong Formula 1 driver. I’m a bit sad to see him miss a race.

“I don’t really have an opinion on things. I know the penalty points system has changed over the year. We were getting penalty points in the past. I’m glad that this is gone. That was not an unsafe thing, really.

"There’s always room for improvement. This is part for our safety in the end of the day but all the drivers are trying to be as safe as they can out there.”