The United States Grand Prix stewards’ decision not to issue a black and orange flag to Sergio Perez due to a mechanical fault has been blasted by Kevin Magnussen. He said it was “bulls**t.”
The Haas driver has broken the rule, which requires drivers to make a forced pitstop to fix potential safety issues as a result of the endplate of the front wing being loose through impact, three different times this season.
Due to the FIA’s lack of intervention in recent seasons for similar situations, all three occurrences put Magnussen out of position to earn points and left him furious.
At the Circuit of the Americas, Sergio Perez made contact with Bottas’ C42 on the opening lap, and although Perez’s RB18’s endplate fluttered for a couple of laps, race control did not issue a pit call.
During the race, Perez attempted to pass Lance Stroll’s AMR22 and the bodywork finally flew off. However, Perez was able to finish the race without it. Fernando Alonso is also believed to have violated a technical rule in one of the two post-race protests that Haas filed, one against Red Bull and the other against Alpine.
Red Bull and Perez were spared punishment, but the 41-year-old received a penalty that Alpine has contested. Magnussen reacted strongly when informed of Perez’s damage before the protests and the fact that the Mexican wasn’t instructed to pit, saying, “Well that’s bulls**t, isn’t it?”
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Magnussen started the race 13th on the grid using alternate hard tyres and Carlos Sainz’s spinning Ferrari briefly slowed him down.
Safety cars in the opening half of the race could have disrupted Haas’ plan, however, the Dane was capable of prolonging his second stint on a set of medium tyres to secure a ninth-place finish, which will become eighth if Alpine’s appeal against Alonso is unsuccessfully challenged.
Magnussen said: “I have to say, the team did a great job,”
“We pulled off a one-stop strategy, which is just great work from the team.
“I couldn’t have done that without the guidance and preparation that the team provided, so really proud of them.
“We got a bit of our luck back after getting boxed in on turn one. I was in a decent position in P13 or something and then just got stopped by that Ferrari and was last, so happy to at least get some of that fortune back.”
