Italian GP: Kevin Magnussen Suffers Crash In FP2 After Hefty FP1 Fine

Kevin Magnussen experienced a crash in FP2 at the Italian GP following a hefty fine for impeding another driver in FP1.

Jun 18, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Haas F1 Team driver Kevin Magnussen (DEN) parades and salutes the crowd before the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports / David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Magnussen's weekend at the Italian Grand Prix went from bad to worse after a crash during Free Practice 2 (FP2), following a hefty fine for Haas after an infraction in Free Practice 1 (FP1).

During FP2, the Danish driver lost control at the Second Lesmo, Turn 7, striking the barriers after experiencing significant oversteer. This incident brought out the red flag, causing a temporary halt to the session.

Sky Sports F1 analyst Karun Chandhok offered his insights into the crash, explaining during the live broadcast:

"He turns in, loses the rear end on entry. The car was quite loose as soon as he turns the wheel.

"It looks like he had more speed than the grip would allow. As soon as he got on the dust, he was off.

"Lesmo 2, you always get an oversteery feeling and have to pre-empt it a bit. Maybe just a bit too much speed on the way in."

RED FLAG 🔴

K-Mag spins into the barriers at the second Lesmo 😔#F1 #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/qv5sdjQNiR

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 30, 2024

As a red flag has been waved on the session, Lewis Hamilton is currently at the top of the time sheets followed by Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz.

The Danish driver's troubles began earlier in FP1, where Haas was fined €7,500 by the FIA stewards after he impeded Carlos Sainz at Turns 6 and 7. The incident caused Sainz to abort his fast lap, and the stewards' report highlighted a crucial communication failure by the Haas team.

The team’s miscommunication failed to warn Magnussen of Sainz's rapid approach, as indicated by telemetry data that should have prompted earlier alerts. The stewards' investigation included thorough reviews of positioning data, video footage, timing, telemetry, and team radio exchanges.

The official report from the stewards detaile:

"Session: Practice 1

"Fact: Car 20 impeded Car 55 in turn 7.

"Infringement: Breach of Article 37.5 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.

"Decision: The competitor (MoneyGram Haas F1 Team) is fined €7,500.

"Reason: The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 20 (Kevin Magnussen), the driver of Car 55 (Carlos Sainz), team representatives and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, timing, telemetry, team radio and in-car video evidence.

"The team radio of Car 20 revealed that no warning of the approach of Car 55 was given until the very moment that Car 55 was immediately behind it. The driver of Car 20 explained that he checked his mirrors and because of the track layout at that point, Car 55 was not visible. Further, between Turns 6 and 7 there was one other car driving slowly between Cars 20 and 55, off the racing line.

"The driver of Car 55 stated in evidence that the situation was not dangerous.

"It was obvious from the GPS data, available to the Team, that Car 55 was rapidly approaching and overtaking cars behind Car 20 and therefore adequate prior warning should have been given to the driver of Car 20.

"Normally, in accordance with our Penalty Guidelines, a formal warning would be issued to the driver of Car 20 however in this case we consider that because the track layout at this point did not facilitate visibility of Car 55's approach, such a warning is undeserved.

"Impeding incidents in Free Practice are normally not investigated unless they are potentially dangerous or involve an error by the Team. In this case, although the Team made an error, the situation was not potentially dangerous and hence the penalty on the Team is reduced to half that of the previous two precedents this year."