FIA fine Haas after Kevin Magnussen incident with Carlos Sainz in Monza FP1

Haas have picked up a €7,500 fine after Kevin Magnussen was judged to have impeded Carlos Sainz during FP1 in Monza.

Magnussen was making his way through Turns 6 and 7 when a fast-approaching Sainz appeared behind him and ultimately the Spaniard had to abort his lap.

Haas given FIA fine for Kevin Magnussen impeding

Having heard from the drivers and team representatives, the stewards determined that Haas were at fault after they provided no warning to Magnussen.

The stewards believed that given the telemetry and driver tracking, they had ample time to warn Magnussen, who given the nature of the circuit could not see Sainz in his rear view mirror.

Sainz to his credit did not say it was a dangerous incident but the stewards felt it necessary to hand out a penalty. In usual impeding cases, that would be a formal warning to Magnussen but they felt that the Dane did as much as he could with the information available and therefore it was the team at fault, handing them a fine of €7,500.

As it was not dangerous, the stewards say they halved the fine from the precedent set over the last few years.

It is often joked that fines lead to nice dinners for FIA staff but the sporting organisation confirmed the money goes to grassroots development projects once their operating costs have been met.

Magnussen himself continues to walk a tightrope when it comes to FIA penalty points with the Haas driver currently on 10.

Reaching 12 means an automatic one-race suspension and Magnussen does not lose any of his current points until March 9 2025 at the earliest.

The full FIA verdict reads as follows:

‘The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 20 (Kevin Magnussen), the driver of Car 55 (Carlos Sainz), team representatives and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, timing, telemetry, team radio and in-car video evidence.

‘The team radio of Car 20 revealed that no warning of the approach of Car 55 was given until the very moment that Car 55 was immediately behind it. The driver of Car 20 explained that he checked his mirrors and because of the track layout at that point, Car 55 was not visible. Further, between Turns 6 and 7 there was one other car driving slowly between Cars 20 and 55, off the racing line.

‘The driver of Car 55 stated in evidence that the situation was not dangerous.

‘It was obvious from the GPS data, available to the Team, that Car 55 was rapidly approaching and overtaking cars behind Car 20 and therefore adequate prior warning should have been given to the driver of Car 20.

‘Normally, in accordance with our Penalty Guidelines, a formal warning would be issued to the driver of Car 20 however in this case we consider that because the track layout at this point did not facilitate visibility of Car 55’s approach, such a warning is undeserved.

‘Impeding incidents in Free Practice are normally not investigated unless they are potentially dangerous or involve an error by the Team. In this case, although the Team made an error, the situation was not potentially dangerous and hence the penalty on the Team is reduced to half that of the previous two precedents this year.

‘Competitors are reminded that they have the right to appeal certain decisions of the Stewards, in accordance with Article 15 of the FIA International Sporting Code and Chapter 4 of the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules, within the applicable time limits.’

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