F1 Penalty System Under Review After Kevin Magnussen Suspension

The FIA and F1 teams are set to review and possibly amend the penalty system after Haas F1 Team driver Kevin Magnussen was suspended for the first time.

The system, in which reaching 12 points results in a suspension from racing, has become a key target for F1 drivers after Magnussen achieved 10 points in the opening races of 2024 – especially since his breach at the Miami round in May.

When Kevin Magnussen collided with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly at Monza, he was given two further penalty points and a 10-second time penalty, and was suspended from last weekend’s race in Azerbaijan. Haas’s 2025 contract driver Oliver Bearman will take his place.

Gasly has challenged the penalty points given to Magnussen for his crash in Italy. Magnussen received a penalty during the race, sparking a debate over the double penalty, with several drivers commenting on the issue in Baku.

The issue was raised in the drivers’ briefing for this weekend’s event and Gasly revealed after qualifying that the FIA was “open” to reviewing the current rules after hearing the drivers’ views.

“Yes, I asked them about progress,” Gasly told Autosport magazine. “As a sport, I don’t think it’s ever good for someone to be penalised like that, and I was of the opinion that it was a bit too harsh.”

“So yeah, I think they’re definitely willing to go ahead and watch it. That’s the most important thing.”

Review Process

According to Autosport, no review process of the penalty points system has ever been carried out by F1 officials.

First, the F1 Sporting Advisory Committee (made up of officials from the FOM and FIA and the sporting director of each team) must discuss the issue.

This will be implemented at the end of the season. This is because the FIA policy is not to change the sporting regulations during a season to avoid changes that impact the sport as a whole.

If the SAC agrees that a review is needed, the FIA will conduct the review and the rule changes will be presented to F1 stakeholders before being approved by vote.

However, the FIA told drivers at a briefing in Baku that an analysis of the number of penalty points awarded at each round in 2024 found the number was just 2.2, according to Autosport magazine.

When this figure is combined with the number of management decisions Magnussen has been involved in this year (17), drivers appear to be more understanding of what has happened.

Any review and change to F1’s penalty point rules would follow the FIA’s policy to review all rules relating to sporting incidents after the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

As a result, the application of penalty points for minor violations such as track boundary violations will be abolished.

Category: Formula 1 / Kevin Magnussen / Haas F1 Team