Red Bull Racing is significantly dissatisfied with Kevin Magnussen’s performance for Haas and intends to express their dissatisfaction to Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA.
Magnussen had a challenging race at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, accumulating 20 seconds worth of time penalties. However, despite this, he continued to play a crucial role for Haas and teammate Nico Hulkenberg. Red Bull finds this situation “difficult to accept”.
Magnussen received his initial 10-second time penalty for causing a collision with Alex Albon. He then incurred another penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage during a battle with Yuki Tsunoda.
However, Red Bull Racing believes that Magnussen’s clear strategy was to surpass Tsunoda, slow him down, and enable Nico Hulkenberg, who had yet to make a pit stop following an early Safety Car period, to establish a sufficient gap. This would allow Hulkenberg to pit and rejoin the race ahead of Tsunoda and the cluster of cars in the midfield.
This purported plan proved successful, with Hulkenberg ultimately finishing in 10th place and securing a point. Despite this outcome, Red Bull Racing is discontent with the events and intends to address the matter with the FIA.
Speaking to the media regarding Tsunoda’s race, RB Racing Director Alan Permane expressed his sentiments about the Japanese racer’s classification in 15th place. He stated, “We started him on the medium tyre and, when the Safety Car emerged, we pitted him for the hard compound. However, what ensued was rather hard to accept.
Permane elaborated, “Magnussen intentionally drove off the track to position himself in front of Yuki and subsequently slowed him down by as much as two seconds per lap. This allowed Hulkenberg, who had not yet made a pit stop, to create a gap and pit ahead of all the cars behind.”
He added, “Such actions do not appear to be fair and are indicative of unsportsmanlike behavior. I am certain that we, along with other teams, will discuss this matter with the FIA for future races.”