Magnussen Shares His Perspective On Illegal Overtake On Tsunoda 'Every Point Matters'
F1Thursday, 14 March 2024 at 07:30
Kevin Magnussen suggested he wasn't happy with his overtake on Yuki Tsunoda during the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix but asserted that every point matters.
Kevin Magnussen left the second race of the season with mixed feelings. On the one hand, he received penalties totaling 20 seconds, which destroyed his race.
On the other hand, he helped his teammate achieve a very valuable point for Haas. Even team principal Ayao Komatsu admitted that one point is like "gold dust" for his team.
However, multiple rivals weren't happy with how Haas achieved this. If Magnussen hadn't made this illegal overtake on Tsunoda, everything could have been different.
The fact that he could get ahead of the Japanese driver allowed him to slow the whole field down, giving his teammate Nico Hulkenberg an advantage.
RB accused the American team with Magnussen of deliberately overtaking Tsunoda at all costs, even illegally, just to back him up and called it "unsportsmanlike behavior."
Magnussen himself told the media at Jeddah Corniche Circuit after the race that he wasn't happy to get the penalties but also suggested it was at least good to help Hulkenberg. He said:
"I overtook Tsunoda and went outside to track, so rules are rules. I’m not happy with myself to get those two penalties, but at least I was able to help the team to create a gap for Nico to pit and get a point."
"It’s a tight battle between the five teams at the back. From P6 down to 10th it’s a real championship, so every point matters."
The question is, did Haas come into the race with a clear plan to sacrifice one driver to allow the other to finish in the points? Some say that Magnussen went into battle with Tsunoda already with a plan to back everyone up afterwards.
On the contrary, as the Danish driver received the 10-second penalty, there wasn't much left for him to do in the race, so it might have been then that he decided to just help his teammate. What do you think?
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