Close to suspension in F1, Magnussen received 1 minute of punishment | formula 1

Penalties for increased race time in F1 are common. But Kevin Magnussen left the Miami GP with an unpleasant record of 60 seconds in penalties in the sprint race, Saturday, and in the main race, won this Sunday by Lando Norris. Furthermore, the Dane is close to being suspended and being left out of a grand prize, according to the category’s rules.

It all started on Saturday: Magnussen had a fierce duel with Lewis Hamilton for eighth place – but his main objective was to prevent the seven-time champion from reaching Nico Hulkenberg, his Haas colleague, who was in seventh place.

How does scoring work in Formula 1?

Three times, the Danish driver left the track and pushed his rival off the track in an attempt to defend himself and slow him down. The first time, for violating track limits and gaining an advantage at turn 15, he received 10s. From the second, in turn 11, another 10s. From the third, in the same place plus 10s and three points on the super license – document required to drive in F1.

The document detailing Magnussen’s third punishment explains that the authority of race stewards to impose points on a driver’s super license “should only be used in exceptional circumstances”, which was considered, in this case, by the third occurrence of the episode.

Magnussen then reached eight points in the super license. When it reaches 12, the driver is suspended and is prohibited from participating in the next race.

Claiming that “the standard for establishing unsporting behavior must undoubtedly be high”, the stewards disagreed with Magnussen’s tactics, but did not see his actions rising to the point of being considered as such, and exempted him from further punishment.

However, the race director added that stewards “will need to consider whether, in appropriate situations, particularly in the case of repeated offences, the punishments to be imposed for each offense need to be increased to discourage.”

On Sunday, Magnussen started in 18th place and had a relatively calm race until he hit Logan Sargeant and activated, on lap 28, the safety car that paved the way for Lando Norris’ victory. In the episode, the Williams driver ended up abandoning it.

Magnussen then received another 10s of punishment and another two super license points – now totaling 10 out of 12. And it didn’t stop there: during the yellow flag, he entered the pit lane and didn’t change the tires. For this reason, he received a drive through penalty, in which the driver must pass through the pit area and return to the track.

However, as the sanction was issued after the end of the race, the regulations indicate 20s in addition to the race time as an equivalent punishment, totaling 30s only on Sunday. The Haas starter came in last place, in 19th.

Each point expires after 12 months from its imposition on riders. However, as Magnussen’s first three points were obtained at the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP on March 9, he is likely to spend the rest of this year at serious risk of being suspended: the first points will only expire on March 9, 2025. On that occasion, the Dane was punished for hitting Alexander Albon.

1. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) – 10 points
2. Sergio Pérez (RBR) – 8 points
3. Logan Sargeant (Williams) – 8 points
4. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 7 points
5. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 6 points
6. George Russell (Mercedes) – 6 points
7. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 4 points
8. Yuki Tsunoda (RB) – 3 points
9. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber) – 2 points
10. Guanyu Zhou (Sauber) – 2 points
11. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) – 2 points
12. Daniel Ricciardo (RB) – 2 points
13. Max Verstappen (RBR) – 2 points
14. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) – 1 point
15. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – 1 point.

F1 returns in two weeks on May 19, with the Emilia-Romagna GP. The stage at the Autódromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari is valid as the seventh of the championship. See calendar.