F1 driver banned for Azerbaijan Grand Prix after ‘surprise’ penalty

Kevin Magnussen will miss the next F1 race in Azerbaijan after another penalty in Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix sent him over the points limit on his racing superlicence.
The Haas driver, who is leaving the team at the end of the season, received a 10-second time penalty at the end of the race in Monza following a collision with Pierre Gasly.
The penalty dropped him in the final standings from ninth to 10th but the subsequent two penalty points have moved Magnussen on to 12 penalty points, which incurs a race ban.
It is the first time since Romain Grosjean in 2012 that a driver has been banned following an incident or accruement of penalty points. A new regulation in 2014 states that drivers incur a race ban when they reach 12 penalty points in a one-year period.
British teenager Ollie Bearman, who will drive for Haas in 2025, looks the likely driver to replace Magnussen at the street circuit in Baku in a fortnight.
The stewards stated Magnussen was “wholly to blame” for the incident at Monza’s second chicane – but Gasly admitted he was surprised the Dane was penalised for the clash.
The Frenchman said: “Honestly, this was nothing… someone told me he got a 10 second penalty. I’m a bit surprised 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 with the stewards] – I’ll see what I can do. That will feel very unfair for the incident that it was.”
Magnussen added: “Me and Gasly had slight contact. No damage to either cars, no consequences in the race. We just had slight contact and missed the corner. And so what?
“We were racing. I don’t know why we need to be throwing around penalties like this.
“On top of that, I nearly saw Nico [Hulkenberg] thrown into the wall at 300kph (200mph) by [Daniel] Ricciardo. I’m not saying he did it on purpose but still he got five seconds and I got 10 seconds for this.
“They don’t want racing. That’s what it seems to me. If this thing between me and Gasly can’t be deemed a racing incident, I don’t know what can. It doesn’t make sense.”
Magnussen will return to the grid for the Singapore Grand Prix on September 20-22.