Haas F1 drivers penalised, Magnussen drops to P10
- Published on 19 Jul 2020 20:22
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- By: Fergal Walsh
Both Haas drivers have had ten seconds added on to their final race time at the Hungarian Grand Prix, dropping Kevin Magnussen from ninth to tenth.
The American squad was under investigation for using driver aids during the formation lap prior to the start of the grand prix.
Both Romain Grosjean and Magnussen entered the pit lane at the end of the formation lap to attach a set of slick tyres to their cars, with the Hungaroring track rapidly drying.
However, they did so under instruction from the team, which breaches the sporting regulations.
A statement from the stewards reads: “Having considered the matter extensively, the Stewards determined that the team instructed the driver to pit.
“The team could not prove that one of the exemptions made under paragraph A. 2. a) to g) of the Technical Directive 011-17 was applicable.
“Therefore, the Stewards consider there is breach of Art. 27.1 of the Sporting Regulations, that the driver must drive the car alone and unaided.”
Nevertheless, the decision proved to be valuable, as after the rest of the field had pitted a handful of laps later, Magnussen and Grosjean found themselves running in third and fourth place respectively.
The duo slipped down the order as the race went on, especially Grosjean, who picked up front wing damage following a minor collision with Alexander Albon.
Grosjean finished outside the points however Magnussen crossed the line in ninth to secure Haas' first points of the year.
Despite having its tally cut into, Haas is still on the scoreboard, meaning Williams remains the only team to not secure a top ten finish so far this year.
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Replies (15)
Login to replySnooky
Posts: 121
What an absolute shambles of a decision. How exactly is this any different to a team deciding which tyre to put a driver on during the race. How many times do we hear over the radio “we’re using this tyre, the softs won’t last the race” is that to be taken as a driver aid? This rule was meant for Traction control or advising of clutch positions, not a change of tyre
abhidbgt
Posts: 283
It did feel a bit of gamble from Haas point of view but it was brave too if the track was not sufficiently dry that same decision then could have destroyed their race. As such Haas this year can gain points by taking such gambles only as on pure pace they aren't there.
Jutlandia
Posts: 191
This system is so fucked up.
They pit on formation lap and start from pit, no advance there.
Bottas makes a jump start and nothing happens.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
difference is, Bottas aborted the jump and directly harmed himself with the move. These fellas did nothing but gain by doing this.
Dert38
Posts: 377
doing what? nothing wrong here, why other teams didn't change tyres?
Manto02
Posts: 93
Nothing but gain is not totally correct, they were like 25 seconds behind the last car at the end of the first lap
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
@Dert pitting early by team order isn't exactly nothing, is it? Had they done it on own volition, it'd be one thing, but the team ordered them in using telemetry. It was a wellinformed risk the others chose not to take. Team commands prerace ain't legal, whether we like it or not.
@Manto it more or less is the case though. They were already far behind, so an early stop to beneficial tyres was a major boost for them. The loss you mention was more or less "just cosmetics".
f1dave
Posts: 782
"the driver must drive the car alone and unaided.” is the biggest joke in F1.
Dert38
Posts: 377
yeah, especially called reason looking ridiculous. At least we now know that no pit are allowed after formation lap (to avoid chaos?).
Manto02
Posts: 93
Completely, I always heard team radios on formation lap. Also the drivers are aided during all the races, why in hell he can't be aided during the formation lap
Dert38
Posts: 377
that's a shame. the rules never say no pit after formation lap
Kean
Posts: 692
Wait, don't they always instruct the drivers to pit? You hear it all the time "box, box, box". The team always keeps track of the best time to pit, trying to make sure the driver does not rejoin in too much traffic for instance. This was a very strange call imo.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
but you cannot dobso during the formation lapm 's a bit weird, but such are the rules.
Kean
Posts: 692
And I call BS on those rules, it would make more sense to just close the pits during the formation lap.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I agree to some extent, but that'd lead to an insta-DNF for any driver who'd been involved in pre-race mishaps. I'd rather they'd just remove this penalty.