Kevin Magnussen, Haas, Albert Park, 2019

Magnussen avoids grid penalty for unsafe release

2019 Australian Grand Prix

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Kevin Magnussen has avoided a grid penalty after his team were found to have released his car from the garage unsafely during qualifying.

Haas has been fined €5,000 for the infraction, which the stewards noted “resulted in car 11 (Sergio Perez) having to take evasive action”.

McLaren was also fiend €5,000 for the unsafe release of Lando Norris’s car during final practice. The team conceded it had made an error in sending Norris out of the garage while Robert Kubica was approaching, causing the Williams driver to swerve.

A third unsafe release investigation involving Racing Point resulted in no action being taken. The stewards ruled the team’s release of Perez’s car during qualifying “was not unsafe in the circumstances”.

Last year both Haas drivers retired from the Australian Grand Prix after being released from their pit stops before their wheels were fully tightened.

The team brought an old chassis to pre-season testing to give its mechanics more opportunities to practice pit stops ahead of this year’s season opener. Magnussen said they are much better prepared now.

“The team has done like 300 pit stops leading up to this race whereas last year it was more like 20. Maybe not even [that]. You can never say you’re 100% sure nothing will happen but we’ve prepared a lot better this year. So that’s the first box ticked.”

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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6 comments on “Magnussen avoids grid penalty for unsafe release”

  1. As with last year the culprits always seem to be the midfield teams. Whilst only minor, it shows a lack of operational awareness and concentration that surely can’t be justified with the whole “midfield budget” argument.

  2. Massi, Charlie’s replacement, fails his first test?

    Unsafe release is a serious safety issue and leniency is really not appropriate imho

    1. Islander, actually, the penalty that has been levied – a €5,000 fine – is exactly the same penalty that was applied in most cases of an unsafe release last year that were similar (i.e. where the driver in the fast lane had to slow down slightly, but otherwise there were no serious consequences).

      The penalties that Massi has levied are therefore consistent with the precedent that had been set in the past – the harsher penalties for an unsafe release are usually applied in cases where the car was in a more dangerous condition e.g. with a loose wheel, or if there was a more significant risk of injury to those in the pit lane.

      1. There is a tariff of penalties that is only deviated from in exceptional circumstances. EU5k is the norm, regardless of who the Race Director is – simply because the stewards, not the Race Director, decide the sanction.

    2. Looking to blame someone rather than accept the rules were enforced – shame.

  3. How the frigg could they meet in at work last year, with only sub-20 practices of pit stops…. ???

    I guess they asked for it…

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