Kevin Magnussen causes a stir in the sprint with four penalties and says he doesn’t really want to drive like that – criticism of Nico Hülkenberg for DRS
Kevin Magnussen was the subject of heated debate after the Formula 1 sprint, as the Dane once again attracted attention with his sometimes overly harsh driving style. The Haas driver defended himself somewhat questionably at times against Lewis Hamilton and picked up a total of four (!) penalties in the course of the race
The result of the horror: Three ten-second penalties for an advantage off the track and one five-second penalty for track limits – a total of 35 seconds added to Magnussen’s race time after the sprint.
But things could get even worse for him: In the meantime, the race stewards have launched a further investigation and are investigating unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Dane himself is meek after the race: According to him, “all the penalties were well deserved, there’s no doubt about it at all.” But he also says: “I had to play the game.”
Team-mate Nico Hülkenberg was ahead of him, and by fighting back hard against Hamilton, Magnussen was able to give him enough breathing space for the German to finish seventh and score two points – similar to the second race of the season in Saudi Arabia.
LAP 15 / 19
Magnussen goes off, delaying Hamilton and Tsunoda pounces to take what will eventually become P8! F1Sprint MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/n3FX3Z5iEe
– Formula 1 (@F1) May 4, 2024
“I just had to create the gap like I did in Jeddah and had to start using these stupid tactics, which I don’t like doing,” he says. “But at the end of the day, I did my job as a team player and Nico got those points because I opened up that gap for him. That’s why Lewis and Tsunoda couldn’t catch him.”
“Not the way I like to race, but what I had to do today. “
No reproach from Hamilton: “I love that “
Hamilton in particular had a tough time against Magnussen and had already passed the Haas several times until the latter braked hard once again, taking the seven-time world champion off the track in the process or even touching him once to squeeze past again.
But Hamilton is not angry with his colleague after the sprint. On the contrary: The fact that Magnussen admits that all the penalties were justified “I think is cool” because Magnussen was “pretty honest” about it
LAP 11 / 19
K-Mag picks up a 10-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage ⚠️F1Sprint MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/uiOK73eIRs
– Formula 1 (@F1) May 4, 2024
“We had a good race. It was on the limit a few times. But I love that. I love it when there’s hard racing, so I didn’t find it frustrating at all or anything,” says Hamilton. “That’s what you do as a team. Bravo!”
Sky pundit Ralf Schumacher, on the other hand, takes a completely different view: “Honestly, it’s too much,” says the ex-driver. “It should be an issue, because that shouldn’t be the style of Formula 1. There has to be a certain fair play. Tough, but fair.”
But simply driving into opponents regardless of losses because you have nothing left to lose anyway, “that’s obviously not on,” says the German.
Why Magnussen is annoyed about Hülkenberg
Magnussen himself was annoyed with team-mate Nico Hülkenberg during the race. He was ahead of him in seventh place, but drove out of the DRS zone after making a mistake in the chicane. “Nico could have given that back to me so that I could defend myself with the DRS, because then we would easily have finished seventh and eighth,” he complains.
“Instead, I was vulnerable against Lewis and started fighting like crazy against him. “
Asked by Sky about his team-mate’s statements, Hülkenberg defends himself: “The air is so thin with us, one small mistake and you’re off,” he believes this tactic is risky in view of the competition behind him. “I think it’s every man for himself.”
And he says: “I think if it had been the other way around, he wouldn’t necessarily have done it either.”
Hülkenberg’s compatriot Ralf Schumacher understands this view: “Nico is right: the Haas is no Ferrari and no Red Bull. If I have that much potential, then I can do it and then I can play. But of course he has to make sure he gets away, otherwise they’ll both be eaten up,” he says.
Hülkenberg: First corner brought points
In the end, however, there was a happy ending from Haas’ point of view, as Hülkenberg finished seventh and scored important points for the team. “I would have signed for two points before the race and would have been happy to take them with me,” he says, drawing a positive conclusion.
According to Nico Hülkenberg, Lewis Hamilton came flying at him “like a dart”; according to Fernando Alonso, it was “a bull”. However, the stewards did not see any punishable behavior. F1 F1Sprint MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/Qb23h0E3Mv
– Norman Fischer (@NormanMST) May 4, 2024
“It was an unspectacular race for the most part. I think we made the points possible in turn 1. Lewis came through on the inside like a dart and braked very, very late. I was still able to choose the inside line and was able to avoid all the problems on the outside and made up a few positions straight away,” said the German.
“I then had the track position and that brought us the result today.”