Simply 18 months in the past, Pierre Gasly discovered standing on the precipice of being the primary ever F1 driver to be hit with a race ban for assembly the utmost threshold of 12 penalty factors on his superlicence.
Launched in 2014, the system was introduced in after some controversial incidents over the earlier seasons.
However in over ten years of use, no driver has hit the 12-point restrict that can end in a direct one-race suspension – even when Gasly got here shut on the finish of 2022. Over the area of six months, the AlphaTauri driver collected 10 penalty factors for repeated incidents that left him simply two away from a ban.
What actually put Gasly beneath strain was that he was sat staring down a race ban for simply over 200 days, earlier than his first penalty factors could be faraway from his tremendous licence after final yr’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, which finally by no means occurred. However regardless of a wafer skinny margin for error, Gasly efficiently averted incomes any extra penalty factors and escaped a race ban.
In 2024, nevertheless, Kevin Magnussen is arguably in an much more precarious state of affairs than Gasly.
How Magnussen collected 10 penalty factors in two months
What makes Magnussen’s state of affairs all of the extra outstanding is that he started the yr with a spotless superlicence. He averted choosing up a single level all through the entire of 2023.
The difficulty started on the second spherical of the season in Saudi Arabia, when he squeezed Alexander Albon into the wall on the strategy to show 4. Following new tips devised over the low season, the stewards duly handed Magnussen a ten-second time penalty for the conflict in addition to three penalty factors – yet another than most collisions incurred final season.
Magnussen additionally acquired an extra 10-second penalty in the identical race for leaving the observe and gaining and benefit as he desperately fought to again the pack as much as profit workforce mate Nico Hulkenberg forward however acquired no factors for that second incident.
He was introduced in entrance of the stewards once more within the fifth grand prix of the yr in China after colliding with Yuki Tsunoda at flip six after the Security Automobile restart. Though the results had been extra extreme for the automobile Magnussen hit – as Tsunoda retired because of this – the stewards felt have to solely give two factors for the conflict, bringing his whole as much as 5.
However final weekend in Miami Magnussen discovered himself in fixed hassle. Throughout the dash race he dropped out of DRS vary of his workforce mate forward when Hulkenberg missed the chicane simply earlier than the detection zone. Because of this, Magnussen grew to become the pinnacle of a practice of vehicles and resorted to some questionable techniques in a bid to guard Hulkenberg from the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Tsunoda, working out of observe limits a number of occasions to stem the tide.
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The stewards handed Magnussen 4 separate time penalties – three for leaving the observe and gaining a bonus and one for exceeding observe limits 4 occasions. Whereas leaving the observe and gaining a bonus will not be sometimes an offence that comes with obligatory penalty factors, the stewards gave Magnussen three penalty factors on his superlicence for “aggravating circumstances”.
The following day in the course of the grand prix, Magnussen would draw the eye of the stewards as soon as once more, this time for colliding with Logan Sargeant as they battled over 18th place at flip three, which despatched the Williams driver spinning into retirement. Once more, like with the Tsunoda conflict in Shanghai, Magnussen was given two penalty factors. That introduced his weekend whole to 5 and his general tally to 10 – simply two wanting a race ban.
As of tomorrow, the Haas driver can have 300 days till he loses his first penalty level from his superlicence subsequent season. Whereas Gasly needed to maintain on for 9 grands prix, Magnussen should keep away from a penalty for the remaining 18 rounds of 2024 – twice as many races as Gasly, with 4 dash rounds on prime of that.
However having picked up so many penalty factors picked up in such a brief area of time, had been Magnussen’s offences actually critical sufficient for him to need to be this near a ban?
For
If Magnussen will get a race ban for reaching 12 factors over a full calendar yr, so be it. It’s telling that no different driver over the past decade – not even the much-derided Pastor Maldonado – managed to succeed in 12 penalty factors because the system got here into impact in Formulation 1, however Magnussen could possibly be the primary.
That he has picked up ten factors over the course of three race weekends means he absolutely deserves to be dealing with a ban. In any case, in soccer, you solely get one yellow card earlier than a purple – which comes with necessary suspensions for no less than a recreation or extra.
It’s additionally honest that Magnussen should watch out for nearly a full season to keep away from a suspension. He efficiently went by all of 2023 with out getting some extent, so he’s clearly able to it.
In opposition to
When the penalty factors system was introduced in, what was it for? Was it to not punish poor and harmful behaviour in drivers that had begun to creep in within the early 2010s, or was it to provide bans to veteran drivers simply because they occur to construct up a sequence of minor infractions?
Though seven of Magnussen’s ten factors have come from collisions, can his driving actually be seen as harmful? Sure, a few of his strikes have been ill-judged, like Shanghai and Miami, however is three factors for frivolously squeezing Albon in Jeddah actually honest?
The calendar has additionally exploded within the final decade. Again in 2014, there have been solely 19 races. This yr, there are 24 grands prix and 6 dash races – that’s 57% extra racing. Inflate the penalty factors by that very same quantity and 19 factors could be a fairer restrict.
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I say
It’s very exhausting to say whether or not Kevin Magnussen deserves to probably be branded with the ignominy of being F1’s first banned driver beneath this factors system. Though he’s actually been concerned in his justifiable share of incidents over time for his uncompromising driving fashion, he may not be among the many first names to come back to thoughts should you’re requested to consider F1’s dirtiest drivers of the final 20 years.
There’s additionally an actual query to ask right here about consistency. Whereas three factors changing into the brand new normal for inflicting collisions might sound harsh, it felt like an honest commerce off from eliminating penalty factors for minor offences like exceeding observe limits that are already punished by time penalties and never probably the most harmful behaviour. If inflicting collisions is value three factors, why had been his clashes with Tsunoda and Sargeant additionally not three factors? Certainly his Albon contact ought to have been simply two as effectively?
Finally, it’s honest to recommend that the utmost restrict threshold must be lifted within the age of dash races. On condition that three of his ten had been accrued in a dash race, it’s potential that there are going to be extra drivers who would possibly find yourself flirting with a suspension earlier than the top of the season.
Does F1 actually wish to change into a sequence the place driver suspensions change into a extra common incidence? Or does the system should be modified to discourage really harmful driving behaviour as seen in lots of junior sequence over time? On this occasion, the concept that Magnussen may go virtually 20 rounds and not using a single penalty after which be hit with a suspension attributable to incidents from the beginning of the season doesn’t sit proper.
You say
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