Haas’ Kevin Magnussen is just two superlicence penalty points away from a full race ban after accumulating 10 points over the first six races of 2024. The Danish driver doubled his penalty points over the Miami Grand Prix weekend for several reasons, including leaving the track multiple times to gain an advantage and causing a collision with Logan Sargeant.
Magnussen initially called the sprint penalties “well deserved” for his “stupid tactics”, but ahead of the Imola GP he confirmed he will “have to” race differently and “be careful not to get a race ban”.
When questioned about whether he thought there was something wrong with the current penalty point system, Magnussen said: “The fact that I’m at risk of a race ban for driving outside of some white lines – on a piece of Tarmac – I don’t know if I feel that that is right.
“But it is the way the rules are. I accept that but I feel there is room for improvement there. Not only in terms of the [penalty] points. There are more races now than there was back when they were introduced and I feel you can end up getting a race ban effectively for a very minor thing. That’s what I feel.”
Magnussen now leads the F1 grid with the most penalty points this season and faces the risk of a full race ban. The penalty point system is in place to control driver behaviour, and any points will not expire until 12 months after they were awarded.
If a driver receives 12 penalty points on their licence they will face a race ban and will not be allowed to compete in the following grand prix. No driver has faced a race ban under the current penalty point system, which was introduced in 2014.
George Russell, the director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, has since shared the positive impact of a race ban, and added that he did not think the penalty system needed changing. The Mercedes driver said: “If you look over the last 20 years I don’t know how many drivers have been given a race ban. I can only think of one there’s been in 20 years. In a football game people get red cards quite regularly.
“You can look at it saying there’d be an opportunity for a young driver to show what they are capable of if a driver is deserving of a race ban. Maybe a race ban is a bit harsh but things shouldn’t go unpunished.”
Alongside the licence points, there is a range of penalties that can be handed out, depending on the severity of the driver or team’s actions.
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