How Magnussen became the first F1 driver to be banned in 12 years

Ever since the Miami Grand Prix weekend, Kevin Magnussen has been walking a disciplinary tightrope with his 10 penalty points. 

A combative driver who sometimes goes a little too far, as he did in the Miami sprint especially, Magnussen was facing nearly a year on the cusp of a suspension, with the threshold for a penalty being 12 points in the 12-month period.

Unfortunately for Magnussen, his next set of points were not due to be wiped until March 9th, 2025 meaning even a minor incident on track could hand him a ban – the first for an F1 driver since Romain Grosjean was benched for the 2012 Italian GP after causing the first-lap pile-up at the Belgian GP the week earlier.

In the end, Magnussen triggered the ban after an ambitious, if not tight, overtaking attempt on Pierre Gasly at Turn 4 at Monza. He heavily locked up, but the two only made minor contact and both were able to go on their way, relatively unscathed.

Gasly, upon learning of Magnussen’s ban, was even prepared to go the stewards to defend the Dane and make the case that the 10-second time penalty was enough and the two penalty points were not required. 

But the stewards confirmed the suspension of Magnussen’s super-licence for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, meaning Magnussen will not be making the trip to race in Baku. 

Here is how he earned the ban.

What happens to Magnussen next?

Apart from having a weekend off in Baku, Magnussen is set to return to the Haas for the Singapore Grand Prix weekend across September 20th-22nd. 

When he does so, his super-licence will be returned with 0 points as it resets after the ban was triggered, with the Haas racer already set to leave grand prix racing at the end of the season after boss Ayao Komatsu elected to drop him for 2025. 

As to who will be Magnussen’s replacement for the Azerbaijan GP, nothing has been confirmed as of the day after the Italian GP – but the favourite will be Ferrari protege Oliver Bearman. 

Bearman has already been confirmed as a 2025 Haas driver, and was set to be in Baku for the supporting F2 races. 

As he is not in the title fight, Ferrari and Haas will feel more comfortable in handing him a second F1 drive of the season – after he deputised for the appendicitis-stricken Carlos Sainz at the Scuderia in Saudi Arabia, finishing seventh.