Fernando Alonso has expressed disagreement with the suspension of Kevin Magnussen. The Danish driver received two penalty points during the race weekend in Monza for an incident involving Pierre Gasly. This made him the first driver to accumulate enough points to warrant a race suspension. Alonso has come to Magnussen’s defense, questioning the decision.
Kevin Magnussen himself was barely able to believe it when he heard that he had been banned from a race. According to him, the incident with Pierre Gasly was not that significant. However, the stewards saw it differently; his tenth place and his chance to compete in Azerbaijan in mid-September were taken away from him. Magnussen received his twelfth penalty point within a year in Monza, which automatically leads to a suspension.
‘It’s Just Part of Racing’
Fernando Alonso defended Kevin Magnussen after the race – the Spaniard also didn’t understand the racing ban. He questioned some of the ‘violations’ that the Danish driver was alleged to have committed. “Penalty points, I’ve said it so many times, are meant to punish dangerous driving,” Alonso told The News Tribune. “They should only be handed out when you pose a danger to the sport and to others.”
“I don’t think all the points he has collected fall under that category,” Alonso said about the twelve penalty points on Magnussen’s license. “I don’t have a list, but I know he has also been punished for violations in the pit lane, crossing the white line, unsafe releases, and so on. That’s just part of racing. I can understand getting a time penalty for that, but handing out penalty points goes a bit too far.”
Video: The Incident Between Magnussen and Gasly
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