Formula 1’s penalty points system has been a topic of heavy debate in recent times and Logan Sargeant called for the system to be reviewed ahead of the Miami Grand Prix saying its application is “extremely frustrating” and “a bit of a joke.”
Sargeant was awarded two points on his FIA Super License in controversial circumstances during the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.
The Williams driver was punished for passing Nico Hulkenberg during a safety car.
It was adjudged Sargeant was marginally behind the German at the point of Safety Car Line 1 as the Haas exited the pits and the guilty party felt the penalty was too harsh.
“I think [my situation] was extremely frustrating,” Sargeant told media in Miami.
“I think the penalty is one thing. I think to get penalty points for what it was, was a bit of a joke.
“I think a lot worse things happen throughout the weekend that you just get reprimanded for.
“I’ve had people in qualifying slow down in front of me, nearly have huge crashes, and nothing happens.
“But then when I cross the line at the same time as someone else and you can’t even see it, you get two penalty points. And I think it’s not a great direction to be heading in.”
Prior to Kevin Magnussen picking up a further five penalty points in Miami, thus taking his overall tally to 10 and two away from a race ban, Sergio Perez was the self-declared championship leader on penalty points with eight.
Perez believed that often the time penalties applied in the race themselves are sufficient a punishment and it ought to be looked into whether penalty points need to be applied to every incident.
“I think that already the penalties, sometimes you already pay the consequences for that and to add some penalty points, and given that we have now more races, it’s something that definitely should be looked at,” he said.
“Every incident, if you see all the points that every driver gets, there are a lot of points that are probably over the line, but the rule is there.
“But hopefully, in the future, it’s something that can be reviewed.”
Perez’s argument however could be arguably written off after Magnussen’s driving at Miami.
The Dane accumulated 35 seconds worth of time penalties during the Miami Sprint, but at no point did he let up in his dogged defence of the cars behind, desperate to adhere to his team’s call to protect Nico Hulkenberg up ahead.
If it weren’t for the penalty points accrued in tandem with the time penalties, there’d be little incentive for Haas and Magnussen not to employ similar tactics in the future.
Magnussen picked up three penalty points in the Miami Sprint, before collecting two more for causing a collision with Sargeant during the Miami GP.
Applying penalty points to Magnussen for these incidents is more than fair, but also backs up Sargeant’s complaints.
Magnussen received two penalty points for ending Sargeant’s race via the barrier, meanwhile, the Williams driver received the same amount for passing a competitor under the safety car when the distance between him and Hulkenberg approaching the safety car line in Shanghai was barely divisible by the naked eye.
The lack of consistency with how many penalty points are applied to each offence is something that race stewards and the FIA will need to consider to avoid further dismay amongst the F1 drivers.
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