Juan Pablo Montoya is never banal when he speaks. And he certainly also has a past that makes him one of the ideal people to comment on one of the most debated topics of recent weeks: penalties and the points system of the Super License.
Especially after the amount of penalties accumulated by Kevin Magnussen in Miami, when he forced his defense against Lewis Hamilton to allow Nico Hulkenberg’s other Haas to take off and score a few points in the Sprint.
Sanctions that brought him only 2 penalty points away from that 12 point which would mean disqualification for a GP. A scenario that has become quite probable, given that these points remain for 12 months and the Dane will therefore not “discharge” them until next season.
Montoya, who has always been known for the determination with which he approached duels with his opponents, often going over the top, does not believe that this is the right way to intervene. Or rather, he supports the points system, but not what it leads to.
“I think the points system is good, but the penalty is too severe. I understand the idea behind it, but in the end it’s difficult to ban a driver from racing when his sponsors are counting on him and all that. It’s different if a driver gets injured and misses a race, but putting a driver in a position like that is difficult,” Montoya told Motorsport.com.
Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“In short, I understand that the stewards and the FIA are trying to make the races ‘cleaner’ and they have done a good job, but personally I believe that there are other ways to penalize the drivers.”
“I think everyone talks about Kevin (Magnussen), what he did and all that, but in a way he made the races interesting. If he was a bit too much and deserves a punishment, then yes, let him go last in a couple of races or something.”
“It’s always a gray area but, like everything, I think F1 and the FIA are doing a good job of trying to understand and manage things better. I don’t think they ever thought anyone would be close to being suspended for the system points, but we will see how the situation will be managed.”
The best answer, however, was given when asked how he would have handled it if there had been a Super License points system in his day: “I probably would have been suspended every five races,” he said with a nice laugh.
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