Former F1 driver makes bold Magnussen ‘dangerous’ claim

Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has claimed that Kevin Magnussen is “dangerous” and “too aggressive”. 

The now ex-Haas driver became the first in the sport’s history to receive a one-race ban earlier in the year, since the introduction of the penalty point system.

He accumulated 12 penalty points within a year, resulting in Oliver Bearman replacing the Danish driver for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

According to Montoya, several drivers agree with the Colombian’s claim that Magnussen goes beyond the limit.

“The drivers feel that they’re not given enough respect [by the FIA],” Montoya told Instant Casino. “I know where they’re coming from because it sucks getting penalties because I used to get a lot of them.

“But if you make a mistake you need to be penalised. There’s been a lot of incidents.

“I’ll give you an example, and I don’t have anything against Magnussen, but if you ask any driver what he thinks about Magnussen, everybody thinks he’s a weapon. 

“He’s dangerous, he’s too aggressive, he’ll drive you off the track. But if Magnussen does that today, he’s going to get a penalty.”

There has been an increasing divide between the drivers and the FIA this year, with penalties having been a significant talking point. 

Magnussen’s one-race ban was controversial, as many drivers argued that he did not deserve penalty points for some of the incidents in which he received them.

Another issue has been racing side by side in the apex of a corner, most notably between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. 

Drivers have called for the FIA to adjust the rules when racing into a corner; however, Montoya has questioned why complaints are being made.

“The rules are very simple,” insisted Montoya. “If you’re side by side in the apex, you need to share the road, you need to give space, you need to do something. And people are not doing that. 

“And in F1, they always got away with it. But the drivers wrote most of the rules, didn’t they? I believe a lot of the driving standards come from the GPDA. 

“So, if you were part of the decision-making the rules to make it fair, then why are you complaining?”