Owing to Mercedes’ continued struggles, Lewis Hamilton failed to score any points during the Miami GP Sprint. The Briton’s epic battle with Kevin Magnussen was, however, one to cherish for the fans. While Hamilton attacked with all his might, Magnussen was equal in defense. The Danish driver did not always deploy legal methods, though. Magnussen made all these efforts to help his Haas teammate Nico Hulkenberg score two crucial points for the side. However, since the Dane’s tactics were unfair, the FIA punished him with multiple time penalties. Although Magnussen’s tactics cost Hamilton crucial time, the Briton has already let bygones be bygones after the Haas driver made an honest admission.
The seven-time world champion, as per @JunaidSamodien_ on X, said, “I think it was really honest from him, and that was pretty good [Magnussen admitting that he deserved the penalties]. I love racing hard. That is what you do racing for a team.”
In a post-sprint race interview, Magnussen admitted he deserved every penalty thrown his way. He confessed to being vulnerable in the fight against Hamilton and not having much to defend with.
Reflecting on his multiple track limit violations, Magnussen maintained those were “crazy tactics” that he had to deploy in an effort to build a gap to the Briton. To some extent, he also blamed his teammate, Nico Hulkenberg, for the reason why he had to resort to such tactics.
Magnussen recalled Hulkenberg cutting the chicane at one point which took the gap beyond one second. As the Dane lost the DRS advantage, he did not have much to defend with and ultimately had to cut the chicane himself, which drew a 10-second time penalty for himself.
This is not the first time this year Magnussen has resorted to means he’s not proud of. During the Saudi Arabian GP, he found himself in a similar situation where he sacrificed his own race with multiple violations. He did all that to defend Hulkenberg ahead as the German had a better chance at scoring points.
Lewis Hamilton and Kevin Magnussen penalized
Kevin Magnussen drew two 10-second time penalties for multiple track limit violations, including the cutting of the chicane and gaining an unfair advantage. Later, the FIA handed him another time penalty, albeit for 5 seconds for further track limit violations.
Moreover, the stewards also showed him the black and white flags during the 19-lap race. Lewis Hamilton wasn’t immune to the FIA’s fury either.
As the safety car led the pack through the pit lane following Lando Norris’ DNF, Hamilton was found to be driving over the speed limit. The Stewards handed him a drive-through penalty as a result. However, as the Sprint had finished by then, they converted the drive-through penalty to a 20-second time penalty.
That wasn’t the only controversy Hamilton was a part of though. At the race start, the 39-year-old dived down the inside of Fernando Alonso going into Turn 1.
The Spaniard suffered damage from the contact, then steered to his left and also ran into his Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll. The incident ended Stroll and Norris’ race while Alonso suffered a puncture.
