Komatsu Questions F1 Penalty on Magnussen

Ayao Komatsu, Haas F1’s team principal, criticizes the controversial penalty given to Kevin Magnussen, labeling it as unjustifiable.

Ayao Komatsu, Haas F1 Team Principal, expresses doubts about the penalty imposed on his driver, Kevin Magnussen. The Haas F1 driver collided with Yuki Tsunoda’s RB F1 VCARB 01 exiting a turn after understeering, just as the Japanese driver had successfully negotiated the exit. The Haas boss believes his driver could not have anticipated Tsunoda’s move back in line.

“I don’t think it’s justifiable. I see it simply as a racing incident,” Komatsu stated. “He didn’t force Tsunoda off the track. He dove inside at turn 6, hit the apex, Tsunoda was wide, yet he still left space, Tsunoda came back gradually.”

“He didn’t go off track, so maybe the definition of ‘coming back’ isn’t right. But it’s not as if Kevin is entirely to blame. He had room. So why a penalty? For me, it’s at least 50/50. I think it’s rather Tsunoda’s fault.”

For his part, Kevin Magnussen acknowledges some frustration at being penalized, as he confirms that anticipating Tsunoda’s re-entry was challenging, and he was experiencing understeer at that moment. However, he was indeed the one who collided with the RB F1.

“I don’t know. It felt like he was going too wide. Then he managed to make the turn,” Magnussen remarked. “I was kind of locked in my turn. I couldn’t do anything else. But they judged it to be a penalty for me. So that’s that.”

“I think I did what I could. When we made contact, the car was wide on the outside. So I think we both got it a bit wrong. I need to review everything. But for me, it could well have been just a racing incident.”