Magnussen and Bianchi receive penalty points

2014 Malaysian Grand Prix

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Kevin Magnussen and Jules Bianchi have had penalty points added to their licenses for infractions during the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Each driver was give two points, their first of the season, for the incidents they were involved in.

Bianchi was held responsible for the collision at turn four on the first lap for which he also received a five second time penalty during the race.

However Bianchi insisted he was not to blame: “The situation with Maldonado was a consequence of what happened off the start, when Vergne hit me from behind and punctured my left rear tyre.”

“Quite simply I could not avoid Maldonado – there was nothing I could do.”

Magnussen got the same treatment from the stewards after making contact with Kimi Raikkonen at turn one, leaving the Ferrari with a puncture.

However Magnussen took the blame for his penalty: “I’m sorry for the team that I messed things up going into the second corner, with the incident with Kimi.”

“I think we could have scored some good points today, so I’m disappointed with and for myself, too.”

2014 Malaysian Grand Prix

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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48 comments on “Magnussen and Bianchi receive penalty points”

  1. Do the Stewards earn a commission on how many points they hand out or something?

    Really think Magnussen has been hard done by here. From the onboard footage, you could see Kevin running out onto the kerb trying to avoid the contact. It was as much a racing incident as Kvyat/Alonso was yesterday, in my opinion.

    1. @magnificent-geoffrey The term ‘racing incident’ has been destroyed together with the mighty sound of the V8s it seems.

    2. Agreed . Too harsh for both especially Magnussen .

    3. @magnificent-geoffrey They have a new toy and they’re going to play with it as much as possible.

      Even if Mag’s incident was deemed serious enough to deserve an in race penalty (it did ruin Kimi’s race), surely points on a driver’s license should be reserved for dangerous and reckless driving, or deliberate flouting of the rules. Not a marginal racing incident.

    4. I fully agree with that @magnificent-geoffrey, seems the Stewards were all too happy to use the new toy here. After finally getting to see what happened with Bianchi (he got a cut tyre from Vergne’s FW), I find it hard to see good justification for either K-MAG or Bianchi getting one.

      With hindsight, its almost surprising they didn’t hand Kvyat a penalty yesterday!

    5. Looks like it’s 5 incidents and sit one out… the reserve drivers better get ready before the end of the year! I’m sure we’ll see one in the next year or so driving in a race..

    6. He went into the back of Kimi. How was it a racing incident? It should have been a drive through penalty

    7. I thought they will use the 5s penalty as a DT light but instead it seems they are going to enforce things which wouldn’t have resulted in a reprimand last year.
      what I’ve seen so far in 2014, destroyed already all the excitement I had build up for this season.

  2. I cannot keep up with all the penalties given in the first two races. There have already been to many I’d say. Maybe the stewards should add a few more grid spot penalties to Mercedes for making the best car and destroying the spectacle too?

    1. Is that comment from before or after seeing what Ricciardo got after the race and seeing RBR itself being investigated for one team member not wearing a helmet @ardenflo?

      1. After, I think. I don’t mind what teams gets the penalties. It’s just crazy to see for what people are getting penalised. Especially Magnussen in this case.

    2. What I don’t understand is how it seems to be a ‘double whammy’, i.e. Red card and penalty in Football.

      1. It’s to force the teams to focus on safety as well rather than just speed during pitstops.

        Because wheels coming off is one of the most dangerous things in F1. All the wheel safety features don’t work when the wheel nut isn’t on properly.

        Their procedures need to be absolutely airtight on not sending out a car when it’s not ready. Even if it might cost them a tenth extra.

        Although the debatable point here might be that he didn’t actually leave the pitlane. i was surprised they were allowed to push the car back even. Unlike Mansell’s car when it lost a wheel.

  3. Correct me if I’m wrong here as I only saw the replay once but wasn’t Bianchi pushed into Maldonado. If so, the penalty seems a bit harsh.

    1. I think it was #13 his fault. He came from the outside all the way to the apex. There were four cars between him and the apex. Surely that is either a racing incident or his fault. Not Bianchi for just being there.

    2. @davef1 Vergne hit Bianchi under braking, Bianchi’s rear tyre was damaged and he spun into Maldonado. I think it was a bit harsh.

      1. @yobo01 From memory, I thought Bianchi moved across Vergne’s front wing, which caused him to hit Maldonado?

        1. Yes, Bianchi shot to the inside of the corner from Vergne to get past him, and got his rear tyre cut. That then made him spin and take Maldonado into the gravel a couple of meters later @ciaran, @yobo01

  4. I would quote Fernando Alonso here ” Guys , this is ridiculous “

  5. Very unfair on Bianchi. Do they have any way of protesting the decision?

  6. I thought the initial penalties for both were harsh, this is just mad. Coupled with the unfair penalty for Ricciardo given he was already penalised for the incident, you can’t help but feel the Malaysian stewards are trying to just make some sort of point.

  7. I’m pretty sure someone made contact with Bianchi in the braking zone before his collision. But i guess Donnellly et al took that into consideration.

    1. Old Martin “triple L” Donnelly there.

  8. This weekend’s been like a football match spoiled by a crazy ref sending lots of players off.

  9. Both of these are incredibly harsh. I’ve watched the onboard of the Magnussen/Raikkonen incident and I don’t think Magnussen is to blame, it was a racing incident and there was barely any contact. As for Bianchi, I think there may have been contact with Vergne, but it wasn’t as clear.

    The simple fact is that both of these incidents were pure racing incidents worthy of nothing more than a reprimand at best. If the stewards are going to start handing out penalty points for every racing incidents then more than a few reserve drivers will be forced into action this season.

    1. Spot on – the stewards are acting as though they have some pathetic need to justify their new powers. Any kind of racing incident seems to necessitate being investigated and some blame assigned.

      Penalties should be handed out for reckless and unsporting driving – not because two guys tangled into one another or may have been “put off” (as opposed to being blocked) by running behind someone in qualifying.

      I can’t help but think the penalties are also being handed out to “mix up” the race order a bit and create just a little bit more fake racing amongst the DRS overtakes and comedy tyres.

  10. Welcome to Formula Penalty.

  11. Ive kept optimism through rule changes, double points, fuel regulations, and any other nonsense but now im down right disgusted. I honestly thought I would never have this feeling of utter hopelessness for this sport but the seemingly need to hand out.penalties and overlook genuine racing incidents has shattered my hope and enthusiasm.

  12. but he already got a penalty in the race? why the need for penalty points?

  13. So we’re was alonso’s 2 penalty points for running into dannil kvyat during qualifying. Sounds like one rule for one and one rule for Ferrari

  14. if a driver does get 12 penalty points does that mean he has to sit out for the rest of the season or just one race

    1. One Race

  15. Looks like Maldonado is getting some revenge for those collisions, in which he eliminated all those drivers. lol

  16. Bianchi’s penalty is ridiculous. He was doing everything possibke to slow his car after taking a whack from behind. Stewards need to look at the facts

    1. I guess the reason for Biachi’s penalty is because was trying to overtake a car from the inside and was taking a very tight line into the corner, but it was really more of a racing accident.

  17. Not seen replays of Bianchi so can’t judge. Thought Magnussen’s was a racing incident.

  18. While I understand the concept of penalty points to deter drivers from unsafe or unsporting actions, how exactly does it make sense to penalize a driver for an action out of his control? Unsafe releases from the pit box are wholly in the team’s hands, as the driver cannot know if all for wheels are mounted properly until they’ve already departed the box. I dislike being so cynical as to apply my work idiom of “if it makes sense, do something else,” but really, FIA? The logical thing to do is deduct Constructor’s points for team infractions that do not unfairly give advantage to a driver. Considering the RB10 isn’t quicker with three wheels, it’s incomprehensible to me that Riccardo should be given a ten-second stop-and-go penalty for something he was powerless to avoid.

  19. Magnussen’s penalty is absolutely ludicrous. What did Raikkonen expect him to do? If you run wide and leave a gap more than big enough for a car to pass through, you shouldn’t be surprised if a driver chooses to pass through the gap. Raikkonen opened the door and then slammed it in Kevin’s face. At absolute worst it was a racing incident.

    It’s almost as if now that we have DRS, the FIA views it as the only acceptable form of overtaking. Opportunistic overtaking is a thing of the past.

    1. Magnussen was on the outside of Raikkonen when the accident occurred.

    2. Can’t agree more, overtaking is taking risks. We want less DRS passes, not more …

  20. I’ve been against the penalty points rule since it was announced, now seeing how liberal they’re being with it is very worrying. As I said before, deciding if a driver should be banned should be a stewarding decision taking the evidence into account, not because they’ve collected an arbitrary number of small offenses.

    1. Hardik Panjwani
      31st March 2014, 5:40

      I think the penalty points make sense as it would force erratic drivers to correct for their earlier actions. But there needs to be a lot more restraint in handing them out, the incidents today were racing incidents. The penalty points should be reserved for monumentally stupid actions.

  21. Really, what are these stewards thinking? The contract already messed up his race due to the front wing change and the 5 seconds penalty … Penalties seem to be very harsh this year.

  22. The stewards are setting a dangerously high precedent here, does this mean every similar collision will result in two points? Considering impeding in quali is also a two point offence (presumably making ignoring blue flags in a race a two point offence also), i’m struggling to see where a one point offence might be applied.
    That also paves the way for a 3 or 4 point deduction for a more serious accident (think maldonado at the start at monaco last year) then maybe 5 points for a “grosjean at spa” style pile-up.
    At this rate, it won’t be long till a driver is banned for committing only 3 or 4 offences, which in isolation could all be relatively minor.

  23. F1 is turning into basket…

  24. Magnussens 5s penalty is ok if they really want to “teach him a lesson” but the two points are redicilous.
    They are ment for dangerous and hazzardus driving, not for bumping another car. Do they want to give penalty points for every driver who touches a car in the future?

    F1 is not the top of racing anymore with the latest rulings. It has become a club of sunday drivers. If thats what they want to turn it into, then we will be done with the races in a couple of years

  25. If Magnussen’s incident is the kind of thing that earns you penalty points then I fear the powers-that-be have once again found a way of making F1 a bit more rubbish. That was a racing incident. Nothing more. A ridiculous decision.

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