Miami F1 News: FIA Stewards Call for Rule Change Despite Magnussen Exoneration

The Miami Sprint Race incident of alleged 'unsportsmanlike behavior' involving Kevin Magnussen has led to a proposed overhaul of FIA’s penalty system.

MoneyGram Haas driver Kevin Magnussen waves to the crowd as he leaves the stage during driver / Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman /

In the aftermath of the Miami Sprint race, the FIA stewards have proposed changes to the penalty system despite clearing Haas driver Kevin Magnussen of unsportsmanlike conduct. The decision follows Magnussen’s repeated track departures during the Sprint race, earning him multiple time penalties.

During the Sprint race, Magnussen repeatedly left the track to gain an advantage over his competitors, specifically in a heated battle with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton. This maneuver, reminiscent of tactics seen earlier in the season in Saudi Arabia, drew not only penalties but significant scrutiny.

After being hit with three successive 10-second penalties during the race, Magnussen openly admitted to the legality of the punishment and expressed dissatisfaction with the use of such tactics. In his post-race interview with Sky Sports F1, the Danish driver commented:

"All the penalties were well deserved - no doubt about it. I was in a very good position behind Nico there. In the beginning of the race, I gained a lot of positions and was up in P8. I was protecting well from Lewis because I had the DRS from Nico and I had good pace.

"Then Nico cut the chicane and I lost the DRS. Nico could have given that back to give me the DRS to protect because then we would have easily been P7 and P8. Instead, I was really vulnerable to Lewis. Started fighting with him like crazy and I had to just create the gap like I did in Jeddah.

"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.

"Not the way I like to go racing at all, but it was what I had to do today."

The review by the stewards was comprehensive, ultimately deciding against labeling Magnussen's actions as unsportsmanlike. Their detailed report noted:

“The driver candidly explained that he thought that he was entitled to race with Car 44 in the manner that he did and also that he was willing to accept what he considered to be standard penalties that would have been imposed on him for any infringements that occurred while he was battling for position.

“He was also of the view that building a gap between himself and the cars ahead was perfectly within the regulations and it was not uncommon for a driver to seek to assist his team-mate in the course of a race by doing so.

“He did not at any point in time think that what he was doing was wrong or that it was in any way unsportsmanlike.

“He highlighted that the Stewards would typically not increase the severity of the penalties for repeat offences.”

However, despite the exoneration, the stewards expressed their disapproval of how Car 20 was navigated during the race. This has sparked a call for revisiting and possibly revising the rulebook, especially concerning repeated offenses within a single race event.

“Moving forward, the Stewards will need to consider if, in appropriate situations, especially in the case of repeat infringements, the penalties to be applied for each infringement need to be increased to discourage scenarios such as those that we found today.

“This is something that we will raise explicitly with the FIA and the Stewarding team.”