Haas driver, Kevin Magnussen received a one-race ban and will not compete in Baku.
Kevin Magnussen has been the talk of the paddock at a few races during the 2024 season. Unfortunately, the Danish driver has been racking up penalty points on his super licence.
Saudi Arabia
The first race where Magnussen’s driving style was publicly questioned was the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. After a 10-second time penalty for contact with Alex Albon during the early stages of the race, Magnussen knew his chance of scoring points for Haas was over.
Therefore, the 31-year-old held up Yuki Tsunoda’s RB to aid his Haas teammate, Nico Hulkenberg take points home for the team. His reckless defending caused him to be handed another penalty, this time a 20-second time penalty. Thus, his driving was called unsportsmanlike by RB’s Racing Director, Alan Permane and brought the penalty points system into question.
Miami
Magnussen had a disastrous weekend in Miami, accumulating a total of 55 seconds of time penalties across the sprint weekend. Again, he then drove tactically to help his teammate, Hulkenberg.
Initially, Magnussen collided with Logan Sargeant, earning him a 10-second penalty. Next, Race Control deemed that Magnussen had not served his time penalty correctly in the pits. Consequently, the Dane was handed a further 20-second penalty.
At this point, Magnussen had totalled 10 points on his super licence, just two away from a race ban. The penalty points would not expire until April 2025.
Italy
Magnussen’s most recent penalty points were accumulated during the 2024 Italian Grand Prix. He was handed a 10-second time penalty for a collision with Alpine driver, Pierre Gasly.
Though Magnussen crossed the line in P10, scoring one point for Haas, his penalty meant that he received two additional penalty points on his licence.
The FIA have now confirmed that Magnussen will receive a one-race ban for reaching the penalty point limit of 12 points within 12 months.
BREAKING: Kevin Magnussen receives a one-race ban.
Magnussen will miss the Azerbaijan GP as the FIA confirm the penalty points received during his clash with Pierre Gasly in today's race sees him reach the 12 penalty point limit in a 12 month period.#F1 #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/3YaNwlNt2P
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 1, 2024
Consequently, the Danish Haas driver will miss the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. Instead, current Haas and Ferrari reserve driver and 2025 Haas F1 driver, Oliver Bearman will once again join the Formula 1 grid to drive Magnussen’s car on the streets of Baku.
Bearman performed well during his last race as a substitute. In Saudi Arabia, Bearman stepped in for Carlos Sainz, who was undergoing surgery for appendicitis. The 19-year-old Briton scored six points for Ferrari in Jeddah. As a result, Bearman currently sits in P15 of the 2024 F1 Drivers’ Standings, ahead of Magnussen in P16, also on six points.
Featured Image Credit: @KevinMagnussen on X