Magnussen abandoned by FIA after crash in Brazil

F1 News

16 November 2022 at 13:05
Last update 16 November 2022 at 13:53
  • GPblog.com

Kevin Magnussen had been forgotten by the FIA after crashing out at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Normally, a retired driver is picked up by the medical car but that did not happen in this case.

The Brazilian Grand Prix was a disappointing end to a promising weekend for Magnussen. In qualifying on Friday, he still managed to grab a surprising pole position, although he fell back to eighth during the sprint race on Saturday. The final blow came during the real race, when Magnussen was hit by Daniel Ricciardo's McLaren on the first lap, eliminating both drivers.

Normally when a driver drops out, the medical car is sent to pick up the driver. But as Formula One journalist Adam Cooper reports on Twitter the car in this case only picked up Ricciardo. The car was then not sent back to pick up Magnussen as well, leaving Magnussen on his own and having to wait on the track for a car that just didn't come.

Magnussen left the track on foot

In the end, Magnussen gave up and left the track but on foot. Apparently, however, the crash took place at an awkward point in the circuit, as there was no convenient way for him to get off the track either. According to Cooper, the gate had to be cut open to let Magnussen through. There was also no other vehicle ready to pick him up off the track and so Magnussen had to go back to the Haas pit box on foot, past the many fans standing next to the track.

It is not the first time the FIA has left drivers alone. Earlier this season, Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez also had to find their own way back to their teams because the FIA did not help them.