F1 driver at risk of race ban – with Ollie Bearman ready to deputise again
Kevin Magnussen is on the cusp of a race ban after several controversial incidents throughout the Miami Grand Prix weekend.
Haas driver Magnussen was hit with five penalty points by the stewards over the weekend, taking his total tally to 10.
Drivers are hit with a one-race suspension if they accrue 12 points over a 12-month period and, worryingly for the Dane, all 10 of Magnussen’s points have been earned in the first six races of the 2024 season.
It means Magnussen cannot afford to be in any more hot water with the stewards until 9 March next year, a period which sees the remaining 18 races of this season take place.
British 18-year-old Ollie Bearman, who impressed when he made his debut for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia two months ago, would be the likely replacement for Magnussen should he be banned, given his role as a Haas reserve.
Bearman and Magnussen could be team-mates at Haas next year, given Nico Hulkenberg’s 2025 move to Sauber (soon to be Audi) and the Brit is the frontrunner to fill the second seat at the American-owned team.
Drivers receive two or three penalty points for incidents where they are predominantly or wholly at fault. Magnussen picked up three points in the Miami sprint race on Saturday for repeatedly leaving the track while hustling for position with Lewis Hamilton, which aided team-mate Nico Hulkenberg ahead.
The 31-year-old admitted afterwards: “All the penalties were deserved, no doubt a bout it. But I had to play the [team] game again.
“I started using these stupid tactics which I don’t like doing but at the end of the day I did my job as a team player and Nico scored his points because I got that gap for him so Lewis and Tsunoda couldn’t catch him.
Kevin Magnussen is close to an F1 race ban (Getty Images)
“Not the way I like to go racing at all, but it was what I had to do.”
Magnussen was then found “wholly to blame” for the collision with Logan Sargeant in Sunday’s grand prix, which brought out the safety car and handed the advantage to Lando Norris, who secured his first F1 win.
The Dane received two more penalty points in addition to a 10-second time penalty during the race.
“It wasn’t a good day, again,” Magnussen said on Sunday. “Hopefully I can get some clarity on things going forward. What happened today, of course it’s not good, but nonetheless we try to move on and have a better weekend next weekend.”
No driver has received a race ban, due to the penalty points system, since it was introduced in 2014.
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