Piastri doesn't understand Magnussen: 'Sets a dangerous precedent'
F1 News
Kevin Magnussen was a much-discussed driver on Saturday in Miami. The Dane received a whopping 35-seconds time penalty in the sprint race, plus three penalty points on his licence. According to the stewards, the Haas driver had used improper tactics to keep drivers - especially Lewis Hamilton - behind him during the sprint race. Remarkably, Magnussen openly admitted afterwards that he deserved all the penalty.
That admission in particular raises eyebrows, for example with Oscar Piastri. The McLaren driver said he did not see all of Magnussen's actions during the sprint race, but his comments afterwards. "I think the fact that the driver getting the penalties is saying he deserves all the penalties and that's kind of the route they chose to go down is..," the Australian stated, before letting out a silence for a moment.
"It sets a precedent for everyone. I think getting penalties and saying, well, it was a bit 50-50 or I got hard done by it is one thing, but getting that many penalties and saying, yeah, I deserve them all, I feel like that's pretty average. It sets a very risky precedent. I think it should be policed a bit harder."
Drivers often talk to FIA
According to Piastri, there have been frequent discussions with the stewards and the FIA about what to do if you go off track as a driver and benefit from it. "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 asks you to give it back. But they've then dropped behind more people. Is it still fair or not? But, I think in that situation, clearly, all those problems would be fixed if the FIA said, ‘you need to give the position back and if you don't, it's a drive-through’. Or just get him out of the way somehow"
The Australian driver also believes there is a responsibility for the driver involved. "If you know you're going to face a drive-through, you're going to give the position back. I think we should be harsher on that. I think the fact that it's not the first time that it's happened. I mean, irrespective that it's the same team. But I think the fact that it's not the first time and the driver getting the penalties is openly admitting he deserves the penalties and did it for the team. To me, that's wrong."