Kevin Magnussen arrived at the Mexican Grand Prix wrapped in a great commotion without having wanted it. The Danish driver witnessed his team, Haas, decide to lodge a protest against Alpine with the FIA for failing to stop Fernando Alonso at the United States Grand Prix, despite having a dangling rear-view mirror.
The Asturian would end up losing the mirror, and continued in the race until the checkered flag. That did not like in the American box, and it did not take long to claim. The FIA decided to impose a 30-second penalty on the man from Oviedo, taking away that seventh position, although they finally retracted it.
But why did Haas make such a determination? The truth is that Magnussen had to see the black and orange flag this season, which forces the driver to stop in the pits to repair any damage to his car. A flag that, however, neither Sergio Pérez nor Alonso saw in Austin.
“I don’t really know what to think about the black and orange flag issue,” said the Dane upon arrival at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. “I think it’s…if it’s really about safety, then I get it…you know, safety comes first, right? So I totally understand that.”
“I have a feeling it’s a bit of an exaggeration to call us [into the pits] if we have these little things hanging off. But if the front wing is completely off the hook or something, then I do understand,” Magnussen said.
His main claim, on the other hand, is that there be a common criterion and that it be applied diligently: ” Any direction they take seems fine to me, as long as it is the same for everyone. And it is clear that in Austin it was not the same for everyone . I’ve had that [black and orange] flag drawn three times this year.”
“As well as being mad at myself for breaking the front wing, I still have to do the flags. And then it’s not fair, when you see that in a race like Austin, where there are a lot of damaged cars and you don’t know they take it out [the flag],” said the Dane.
“The way I see it, I don’t care what decision they make, as long as it’s the same for everyone. But I think I’d prefer it to be a little more free, so you can have a little contact and still be fine, because you know that having a dangling endplate barely affects the handling,” he added.
“The car is still raceworthy and it’s fast. So obviously I understand the argument that it can end up hitting someone in the head, but I don’t know if that part is big enough to be able to do any kind of damage or damage. whatever”.
“And then there’s the issue that they don’t fall off as easily, because the shape and how it’s structured makes it very difficult for it to come off. It all comes down to it being the same for everyone anyway.”
Asked directly if he thinks a rear-view mirror is reason enough to make a driver go through the pit lane , Magnussen was clear : “There is no reason to stop it.”
“The mirror is difficult,” he added, referring to the fact that the mirror is not something that can be changed or repaired in a few seconds. “I understand. But… I don’t know. It’s not my… I didn’t make the protest, it’s not my thing,” he concluded.
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