F1 drivers say Magnussen’s race ban ’very unfair’

Two Formula 1 drivers insist Kevin Magnussen’s one-race ban is unfair.

The FIA confirmed late on Sunday that the Haas driver’s super license will be suspended for the forthcoming Azerbaijan GP at Baku.

The ban is automatic, as the 31-year-old Dane received two penalty points against his mandatory F1 credential for a clash with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly at Monza on Sunday.

The points raise his tally to 12, resulting in an automatic ban.

Magnussen was gobsmacked. "It doesn’t change anything now," he said, "but I’ve spoken to the stewards so many times and I still don’t understand what the rules are. It seems that they are interpreted arbitrarily.

"It also seems to me that they don’t want racing. If what happened between Pierre and me isn’t a racing incident, I honestly don’t know what is.

"There was hardly any contact, no damage to the cars and no problems for other drivers. We simply missed the corner - so what? We were racing.

"Then I saw that Nico (Hulkenberg) was pushed off the track by (Daniel) Ricciardo at almost 300kph, and I’m not saying he did it on purpose, but he got five seconds and I got ten seconds."

Magnussen insists he has no regrets, and has understood all season that he was getting close to a ban.

"I’ve always said that it wouldn’t hold me back," he said.

When he heard that Magnussen was heading for a Baku race ban, Gasly was similarly horrified.

"To be honest, it was nothing," said the Frenchman immediately after Sunday’s race. "I hope that they can somehow change it, because it would certainly be very unfair. I’d like to stand up for him.

"I have to spend an hour for the doping control now, and after that, I’ll see what I can do."

Ultimately, Gasly’s efforts were to no avail, and a source at Haas indicated that the small American team does not intend to appeal the decision.

F1 veteran Fernando Alonso agreed with Magnussen and Gasly’s assessments of the automatic suspension.

"As I’ve said many times, penalty points should be for dangerous behaviour - something that poses a danger to the sport and to others," said the Aston Martin driver and two-time champion.

"I think some of the points Magnussen has picked up, I don’t have the list here, but some of them were just for things like speeding, white lines, starts. These sorts of things that are part of racing - that is a drive-through, that is a five-second penalty.

"I understand penalties, but points for these sorts of penalties are a bit hard to understand."

Haas will almost certainly revert to its confirmed 2025 rookie, current F2 driver Oliver Bearman, to stand in for Magnussen at Baku.

"We will inform about our second driver for Azerbaijan at a later date," a team spokesman said.