In the Miami sprint race, Kevin Magnussen got three 10-second penalties for going off the track and getting an advantage. This helped him keep Lewis Hamilton from passing him. He also got a fourth penalty, adding five seconds, for going off the track without a good reason. This made his penalty points go up.
Although Magnussen messed up his own race, his tactics helped his teammate Nico Hulkenberg get important points. This was similar to what Magnussen did in Saudi Arabia when he defended his position.
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella criticized Magnussen’s actions, saying they were unacceptable and could even deserve a race ban. Some people think that increasing penalties from five to 10 seconds this season doesn’t stop drivers from illegally blocking rivals to help their teammates.
The stewards in Miami decided to keep giving 10-second penalties to stay consistent with past decisions. But in one of their decisions, they suggested that tougher penalties might be better in the future.
Sources say the FIA wants to start giving out drive-through penalties in such situations. This would make the drivers pit and lose track position within two laps.
Teams, stewards, and the FIA will talk about this issue during Friday’s team managers briefing at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola.
If a driver repeats the same offense in the same race and the stewards think they’re doing it on purpose, they could get the harsher punishment.
Before 2022, stewards used to tell drivers to give their position back when they did something wrong. Now, they leave it to the drivers to figure it out.
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies supports tougher penalties. He thinks it’s okay to slow down cars behind you to help your teammates or your race. But cutting the track to gain an advantage and then slowing down someone else is not okay.
He says the stewards can give out drive-through penalties, which is allowed by the rulebook. They just need to use the tools they have to stop this from happening.
