Piastri: Magnussen penalty honesty ‘sets a very risky precedent’
Oscar Piastri thinks that the strategies used by Kevin Magnussen in the sprint in the Miami Grand Prix ought to be “policed a bit harsher” in the race. In an attempt to hold Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton behind him, Magnussen collected 35 seconds in penalties while defending teammate Nico Hulkenberg.
In the end, the German driver’s strategy was successful, as he finished in seventh place, earning two points.
Subsequently, Magnussen was open about the strategy he used, frank in his admission that every instance called for a punishment. Piastri was not impressed by the 31-year-old’s explanation that he did it to play the team game, even if he did not enjoy employing such strategies.
The Australian told reporters, including RacingNews365, “I saw his comments after the [sprint] race, saying that he deserved to have all the penalties he got.”
It’s kind of the path they took, and it doesn’t really set a good example for everyone, but in my opinion, the driver receiving the fines is saying he deserves them all.
“Getting penalties and saying, ‘Well, it was a bit 50/50, or I got hard done by’ is one thing, but getting that many penalties and saying ‘Yeah, I deserve them all’, it sets a very risky precedent that should probably be policed a bit harsher.”
‘Just get him out of the way somehow’
Given the length of the discussions the 23-year-old had with the stewards and the FIA over the matter, he believed there was room for harsher penalties when a definite offence had been committed.
Piastri proposed that a drive-through penalty be applied in order to get the at-fault driver “out of the way”.
“We discussed that with the stewards and FIA quite a bit about what happens if you go off the track and gain an advantage,” he said.
“I think there’s certain scenarios where giving the position back is very difficult. Say you overtake somebody, and then if it’s a 50/50, and the FIA asked you to give it back, but they’ve then dropped behind more people, is it still fair or not?
But if the FIA had stated, ‘You need to give the position back, and if you don’t it’s a drive-through [penalty],’ then I think that scenario would have resolved all those issues.
Just find a way to get him out of the way. “If you run the risk of, ‘Do I need to give the position back or not?’, if you know you’re going to face a drive-through, you’re going to give the position back.”
‘To me, that’s wrong’
Returning to his initial remark, the McLaren driver reiterated his position, claiming that a driver who employed Magnussen’s tactics and his subsequent candour was “wrong.” The Haas driver has faced criticism for his driving standards previously this season.
He picked up five penalty points over the course of the Miami Grand Prix weekend, putting him just two points away from a racing ban.
His identical strategies eventually paid off in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, as Hulkenberg raced long and Magnussen held up cars who had pitted behind him to help him score a point.
Piastri argued, “So, I think we should be harsher on that.” “I believe that the fact that this is not the first time it has happened—regardless of whether it involves the same team—and that the driver receiving penalties is frank in his admission that he deserves them and that he performed the action on behalf of the team. That seems incorrect to me.
