Defense at all costs
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is now archived, but some controversies persist over two episodes which saw the center of attention, during the race, Kevin Magnussen. In the first case, the Dane tightened too much Alex Albon in a defensive maneuver at the start, pushing the Williams driver towards the wall and causing damage to the Anglo-Thai's FW46. The second episode instead took place against Yuki Tsunoda: in the battle between the two, the Haas driver went off the track, cutting the chicane with all four tyres, but rejoining ahead of the Japanese without returning the position. In both circumstances, Magnussen suffered a 10 second penalty, which however proved 'insufficient' for the riders behind him. The Dane, in fact, implemented a team effort by closing the door on every overtaking attempt, slowing down his rivals and at the same time allowing Hulkenberg's second Haas to defend its 10th place until the finish line, thus entering the points zone.
Albon's protest
Although Haas and many other fans praised the strategy implemented by Magnussen, other drivers and professionals did not like the Dane's behavior at all, especially with two penalties to serve. Among these is the aforementioned Albon. Although he did not protest what happened to him at the start, the Williams driver did not accept the lenient penalty for overtaking Tsunoda.
“I think it was righta – referring to your case at the entrance to turn-3 at the start – happens, it's a bit of a stretch. I don't like the shape of that curve. You have to leave more room than you think because of how it sticks out at the end. The other one was a little cheeky, the 10 second one with Yuki. I mean, basically grant points to your teammate for a 10 second penalty. I don't think 5-10 seconds is correct. I think it is necessary to return the position and leave things as they are.”
Has a precedent been created?
The lenient penalty dictated by leaving the track without giving up the position, and then slowing down the riders behind in order to create a sufficient gap for his teammate to score points, was a problem that Albon already feared could materialize in the past, and now it has actually occurred. An episode that, right now, could to create a precedent: “You saw it – he added – I think any team would do the same thing if a driver could be sacrificed to get guaranteed points. Maybe the top teams don't, but the mid-table teams, who need to take points at every opportunity, would always do so. I think that there will be more drivers who will do it just to secure points for a teammate“.
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