F1 News
Heat on Magnussen increases after "silly and unnecessary" crash in Miami
Kevin Magnussen is now at risk of a race ban after Miami. The Haas driver pulled a series of controversial moves across the weekend, imposing five penalty points on his licence. Sky Sports' Martin Brundle has spoken about the driver's dangerous moves, and the impact he had on other drivers' races.
After receiving five penalty points in Miami, Magnussen's points on his superlicence has now doubled to 10. This means he is only two points away from receiving an automatic one-race ban, as drivers are given a one-race suspension if they reach 12 points across a rolling 12-month period. Magnussen has earnt all 10 of his points from the first six races this season. To avoid a ban, he needs to avoid picking up any more penalty points this season.
Speaking about the driver's behaviour in Miami, Brundle said: "Kevin Magnussen must have been exasperated with the number of times he was in the Steward's office after each of the two races. He put up a supremely aggressive defence against Hamilton in the Sprint, sometimes over the limit but nevertheless applauded even by Hamilton."
What did Magnussen receive points for in Miami?
During the sprint race on the Saturday, the Haas driver received three points for leaving the track and gaining an advantage when trying to defend himself against Lewis Hamilton. He then later faced the stewards on a charge of alleged unsportsmanlike behaviour. Magnussen told Sky Sports F1 that his penalties were "well deserved," and that his performance was part of his job of being a team-player.
On the Sunday, the stewards imposed a 10-second time penalty on Magnussen in addition to two further superlicence points. This was after he was found wholly to blame for the incident with Williams' Logan Sargeant. As Brundle said: "Magnussen's crash with Sargeant was just silly and unnecessary, and created yet another pile of broken parts for the Williams team which is having rather a nightmare start to 2024."