Yesterday in an interview with the media, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner has backed Kevin Magnussen’s aggressive driving and thinks it was harsh of the stewards to impose a penalty on him at the Italian Grand Prix.
Magnussen was given a five-second stop/go sanction for having forced Valtteri Bottas off the track at Monza’s first chicane in a fight for position. The stewards’ decision left both Magnussen and McLaren frustrated, especially coming after Nico Rosberg escaped any sanction for colliding with Lewis Hamilton at the Belgian GP.
In his interview with the media yesterday, Horner said he believed that the Magnussen/Bottas incident was nothing out of the ordinary considering they were battling hard with each other. Horner stated the following:-
‘I think he was penalised for not giving him space and I think that it’s a different incident [to] the one that happened in Spa. But personally, I thought it was a racing incident at Turn 1. He had the inside line [and] that’s his prerogative if he keeps going there.
‘It’s not ‘after you sir’ – it’s racing, it’s wheel-to-wheel combat. I thought the move he made into Turn 1 was a legitimate move, but the stewards thought otherwise.’
Even though many pundits and fans would agree with Horner that Magnussen didn’t deserve the penalty he received during the race at Monza last weekend, it would appear that he believes that Magnussen not giving enough space to Bottas was why he was given the penalty.
I think many would agree with Horner and felt that it was a racing incident between Bottas and Magnussen, just like it was with Rosberg and Hamilton at the Belgian Grand Prix. But it is battles like Bottas and Magnussen that we saw in the race last weekend that many fans want to see. This is two of the best drivers in the world battling for position on the track fair and square and according to the regulations.
But the stewards viewed it differently and decided that the incident deserved Magnussen to be punished very harshly in my opinion. But that is what happens in Formula One and I am sure that Magnussen will learn from this and will try to adapt it when in the same position on track once more.
But overall, I think many wouldn’t argue against Horner backing Magnussen’s driving at the Italian Grand Prix last weekend. If anything, Magnussen is gaining in confidence and to keep drivers such as Valtteri Bottas and Fernando Alonso at bay is no mean feat and he deserves the credit for this. He is showing that he has the potential to improve and he deserves to keep his seat at McLaren for next season if he carries on his current level of performance.
And I believe that Magnussen shouldn’t change his driving and that he should keep doing what he is doing on the track at the moment, but just to make sure that he carefully places himself and his car into a position where he doesn’t lose anymore points that McLaren desperately need in the battle with Force India.
As these points that Magnussen has lost recently could make all the difference at the final race in Abu Dhabi in November and McLaren can’t afford to lose any more points than they already have nor another place in the Constructors Championship either.
Two questions; will Magnussen learn from this? Absolutely he will and will be a better driver for it. Secondly, should he change his driving style? Absolutely not and if anything, this is what we want to see from him and every driver on the grid. But this is also what Formula One really needs at the moment in order to pull in the audience figures and show why it is the pinnacle of motorsport and with some of the best drivers in the world.
