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Magnussen labels a penalty-filled weekend in Miami ‘not good’ as he now sits two points away from a race ban.
It’s been a weekend to forget for Magnussen after a disappointing weekend in Miami. Photo credits: Mark Sutton via Getty ImagesKevin Magnussen had a disappointing outing in Miami, with the Dane accumulating a total of 55 seconds worth of penalties throughout the weekend.
Saturday’s 17-lap sprint alone collected 35 seconds after his battles with Lewis Hamilton. Magnussen received three ten-second penalties after leaving the track and gaining an advantage against the Briton and a further five-second penalty for exceeding track limits.
It meant the Haas driver would no longer be fighting for points as he dropped down to last place.
After the race, Magnussen spoke to the press stating his driving was a ‘tactic’ in helping his teammate secure points for Haas.
“All the penalties were well-deserved – no doubt about it – but I had to play the game again.” Magnussen admitted.
“But at the end of the day I did my job as a team player and Nico scored his points because I got that gap for him, so Lewis and Tsunoda couldn’t catch him. So not the way I like to go racing at all, but what I had to do today.”
The comments triggered race control to investigate Magnussen for “unsportsmanlike behaviour”, though the following day it was announced that the investigation was dropped with no further penalty.
But that wouldn’t be the end of Magnussen’s Miami penalties.
Wretched Sunday for Magnussen
The beginning of the race was strong for the Dane who was battling it out for a points paying position. However, it all went downhill on lap 29 when Magnussen and Logan Sargeant collided. Though the damage for Magnussen wasn’t detrimental, Sargeant faced a tougher sentence, having to retire from his home race.
THE SAFETY CAR IS OUT! ⚠
Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant collide! Thankfully both drivers are okay ?? pic.twitter.com/0XE1CIOS3s
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) May 5, 2024
For the incident, Magnussen was handed a 10-second penalty, however, that was later increased to 20-seconds after it was deemed that he hadn’t served his penalty properly and headed into the pits and didn’t change his tyres.
The penalty resulted in Magnussen crossing the line in last, and a further two points added to his penalty license – adding up to 10 overall. This now means he is two points away from a race ban and will be running on thin ice until April 2025 when the penalty points start afresh.
Magnussen disappointment was immeasurable during the post-race interviews, the No.20 driver expressed his disappointment and looks ahead to having a better weekend in Imola on the 19th of May.
“Not a good day, again. Hopefully, I can get some clarity on things going forward, and what happened today of course was not good nonetheless we move on and try to have a better weekend.”
Featured image credits: @KevinMagnussen on Instagram