“Little bit sour because of that” : Kevin Magnussen surprised at Valtteri Bottas not getting penalised
Kevin Magnussen
Kevin Magnussen questioned why Valtteri Bottas was not reprimanded for reportedly not decelerating on a yellow flag during Q1. When a Lance Stroll-caused red flag meant there was only 2:30 left in Saturday’s qualifying, the Haas driver was excluded at the earliest possible opportunity.
Magnussen was not in the drop zone at the beginning, but he was eager to get out on circuit and then over the start line for a hot lap before the session ended. He did this, but his opportunities were dashed when Alpine’s Fernando Alonso induced a yellow flag by entering the run-off area at Turn 15.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YOr41KBgzQ
As a result, Alfa Romeo’s Bottas tended to outpace him and force Magnussen out of Q1. After the qualifying race, the 29-year-old questioned why the Finn was not pressured for supposedly not backing off when the yellow flag was displayed. “You mentioned Bottas. I mean, nothing against him. He was just doing his thing, but I mean, he did improve on the yellow. So I don’t know. Apparently, you can do that,” said the Dane.
Kevin Magnussen gives his take on what went down in the qualifying session
“You know, he got through to Q2 and knocked me out because of that. Everyone else backed off and, again, nothing against the Valtteri, he’s just racing trying to do his thing but yeah, little bit sour because of that,” added Magnussen. Magnussen and his Haas teammate Mick Schumacher were probed for their pit lane exit and were ultimately found to be innocent, but the Dane said that was probable to result when everyone was trying to rush out around the same time.
“When the red flag comes out at that time, there’s just enough time to go out on another lap, then, you know, the people at the back of the queue always struggle to get through before the timer runs out. So being the first in the pit lane, you’re kind of stuck. Because soon as there’s two or three people queuing up in the pit lane, you can’t get out. So yeah, we missed out on the last lap. P16, it’s a long day tomorrow,” concluded Magnussen.
Magnussen’s initiation in 16th place is his combined worst of the season and his worst in three races. He begun from P16 the previous two times, finished at P14 in Australia, and retired in Miami. It was not a pleasant afternoon for American-based racing team Haas, as Schumacher also retired during Q1, and the German will start last on the grid.
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