Kevin Magnussen was summoned by the commissioners of the Formula 1 after admitting that the penalties received due to the “stupid tactics” carried out in the sprint, in front of Lewis Hamiltonwere fair because he did that just to save his teammate’s race, Nico Hulkenberg.
Magnussen was punished with 3 10-second penalties for repeatedly leaving the track and gaining an advantage in the battle with Hamilton, in addition to a 5-second penalty and a black and white flag for exceeding the track limits beyond what was allowed during the 19 laps of the race. short race this Saturday.
The Haas driver’s attitude was later justified as a strategy to help Hulkenberg maintain seventh place and take points for the team. Because of this, he was called up under the justification of “unsportsmanlike behavior”.
“All punishments were deserved,” Magnussen told Sky Sports. “I have no doubts about that. But I had to play, I was in a very good position behind Nico, at the beginning of the race I gained a lot of positions and went to P8. I protected myself from Lewis because I had Nico’s DRS and a good pace.”
“However, Nico cut the chicane and I lost the DRS. He could have returned it and that would have easily given us P7 and P8. However, I ended up being vulnerable compared to Lewis and we started to compete like crazy.”
Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Magnussen also admitted that he needed to drive “to create a gap like he did in Jeddah” – where he was penalized twice for his efforts to hold off rival cars behind the Haas for Hulkenberg to secure P10.
“I started using these stupid tactics, which I don’t like doing,” he added. “Well, at the end of the day, I did my teamwork. Nico scored because I gave him enough of a gap. Lewis and Tsunoda couldn’t get to him. It’s not the way I like to race, but that’s what I did today .”
