Kevin Magnussen nears race ban after Miami collision

MIAMI — Kevin Magnussen could be one penalty away from a race ban following his collision with Williams driver Logan Sargeant.

Magnussen clumsily tangled with Sargeant midway through the Miami Grand Prix, an incident that triggered the race-altering safety car that helped propel Lando Norris to a maiden F1 win.

The race stewards were clear in who they believed was to blame, giving Magnussen a 10-second penalty during the race and handing him two penalty points.

A driver gets a one-race ban if he accumulates 12 points in a rolling 12-month period. Magnussen’s latest transgression brings him up to 10.

Magnussen has accumulated five penalty points alone this week, with three handed out after he repeatedly incurred time penalties to keep Haas teammate Nico Hülkenberg ahead of rival cars during Saturday’s sprint race.

The Danish driver will be on thin ice for the rest of the year, as he will not have any existing points expire until early April of next year.

On Sunday’s incident, the stewards’ verdict read: “It was clear that Car 20 did not have its front axle in that position such that it was entitled to room in that corner. Further, if this is looked at purely as an overtaking of the inside of Turn 3, Car 20 would also not have had the right to the corner, by the standards for an inside overtake.

“Even if this was viewed as a sequence of corners or a chicane, the decision remains the same. Per the guidelines, priority will be given to the first corner and if you do not have the right to be given room, then you do not get the benefit for the next corner.

“Car 20 was therefore wholly to blame for the collision that occurred.”