Kevin Magnussen has earned himself a race ban. He becomes the first driver to amass 12 penalty points on their super license in 12 months triggering the ban since the rule’s introduction in 2014. However, a former engineer Marc Priestley believes this rule is extremely harsh. He is of the understanding this would put the drivers off of making bold and risky overtaking maneuvers on the track.
Discussing the ban in his latest YouTube video he labelled the 10-second penalty and the penalty points levied on Magnussen as harsh. He said, “The Kevin Magnussen incident, I’ve got to be honest, I thought was harsh. I thought 10 seconds was quite harsh, maybe a five seconds would have been okay but the penalty points, I just don’t understand. He’s got a race ban, that’s the kind of punishment that stops you doing stuff like that in the future.”
He further added how hard and wheel-to-wheel racing is what the fans want to watch. Such harsh rules and race bans would surely demotivate drivers from taking risks. Always playing it safe is not something that any fan or F1 entity would want to see promoted apart from keeping safety in mind.
BREAKING: Kevin Magnussen receives a one-race ban.
Magnussen will miss the Azerbaijan GP as the FIA confirm the penalty points received during his clash with Pierre Gasly in today’s race sees him reach the 12 penalty point limit in a 12 month period.#F1 #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/3YaNwlNt2P
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 1, 2024
All of this happened after the Haas man touched Yuki Tsunoda in the first half of the race. Later he locked up while trying to make a pass on Pierre Gasly and made contact. These two incidents earned him one penalty point each, brought his tally up to 12, and earned him a ban from the upcoming Azerbaijan GP. The racing incident will now not let Magnussen race in Baku. However, it will allow the future Haas man to get another race under his belt.
Kevin Magnussen likely to be replaced by Oliver Bearman for the Azerbaijan GP
Ahead of his imminent move and Magnussen’s Haas replacement in 2025 Oliver Bearman will be the natural choice for the upcoming race. The 18-year-old will get to add another F1 race to his CV in 2024. Ahead of his imminent move, this will give him a chance to work with the team and get to know them more intimately. Participating in an entire race weekend with Haas will also give him a taste of what’s to come.
The F2 man has already experienced one with Ferrari in Saudi Arabia. In fact, that’s exactly what earned him the seat on the 2025 grid. He impressed the entire grid with his performance in Jeddah. He not only replaced Carlos Sainz last minute but also made the most of his golden opportunity. The Ferrari Academy driver finished P7 in the race exceeding all expectations and scoring points.
However, the weekend with his future team who competes in the midfield will surely be a different experience. The Brit will perhaps start further down the grid and will face a major challenge compared to his cameo with Ferrari. However, based on his last performance there will surely be a lot of anticipation for his performance in Baku.
