Martin Brundle’s blunt verdict as Kevin Magnussen faces Azerbaijan Grand Prix ban

As Kevin Magnussen faces a week on the sidelines, Martin Brundle has questioned whether his ban is fair as his final two points came through minor contact with Pierre Gasly at the Italian Grand Prix.

Magnussen has become the first driver to be banned since Romain Grosjean was forced to sit out the 2012 Italian GP after sparking a multi-car accident at the start of the previous race at Spa.

Martin Brundle questions ‘harsh’ Kevin Magnussen ban

F1 went on to introduced a penalty point system in 2014, with Magnussen the first to reach the threshold over 12 penalty points over a 12-month period and triggering a ban. He will miss next weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The penalty points system has been frequently criticised since it was implemented a decade ago, with the inconsistency of stewards’ decisions a regular complaint.

Earlier in the race at Monza, Magnussen’s Haas team-mate Nico Hulkenberg was hit with a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points on his super licence for a collision with Yuki Tsuonda’s VCARB, with the damage resulting in the Japanese driver’s retirement.

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Tsunoda blasted the “hot-headed” Hulkenberg, adding: “If he scores points, it’s not enough. And if he’s not scored points, it’s still not enough.”

Magnussen received the exact same penalty for his contact with Pierre Gasly even though both the incident itself and the consequences were a lot less severe.

Attempting to pass the Alpine driver at the second chicane, Magnussen locked up and made wheel-to-wheel contact with Gasly who took to the run-off to evade heavier contact.

Both drivers continued with Magnussen crossing the line in ninth place before his penalty dropped him to 10th. Gasly, meanwhile, finished 15th having fallen behind with his two-stop strategy.

Magnussen was later slapped with two penalty points on his super licence, bringing his tally over a 12-month rolling period to 12 which triggered an automatic one-race ban.

Brundle says that’s harsh as Magnussen’s antics were not dangerous.

“Kevin Magnussen finished a fighting 10th for Haas despite attracting a 10-second penalty for generating a collision,” he wrote in his Sky F1 column.

“Along with the 10 seconds he also gathered two more penalty points on his licence which takes him to the critical 12, meaning he must miss the next race in Baku.

“This seems harsh, points should only be applied to very serious driving misdemeanours, and otherwise the time penalty itself should suffice.”

Even Gasly offered to speak with the stewards to have Magnussen’s penalty rescinded.

“Honestly, this was nothing,” he told the media including PlanetF1.com.

“Someone told me he got a 10-second penalty. I’m a bit surprised for that because he tried, but it was a bit of wheel to wheel and in the end I really didn’t lose any time. I’m a bit surprised.

“I hope somehow they can revert on that because that will would be definitely unfair.

“I’ll be happy to do it [speak to the stewards]. I’ll see what I can do. That will feel very unfair for the incident that it was.”

Haas are expected to announce reserve driver and F1 2025 driver Oliver Bearman as Magnussen’s replacement for the upcoming Azerbaijan GP.

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