15 March 2024 , 13:16
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Haas have been accused of using underhand tactics to earn their first point of the new Formula 1 season.
It came at last weekend's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Nico Hulkenberg finished the race in 10th and was helped to do so by team-mate Kevin Magnussen acting as a roadblock on track behind him.
The Dane had already been slapped with a 10-second time penalty for squeezing Alex Albon into the wall and damaging the front wing of the Williams. And then that punishment was doubled after he overtook Yuki Tsunoda by cutting a corner and refusing to give the place back.
That manoeuvre put Magnussen directly behind his team-mate and in a position to slow the train of cars behind him right down so that the German could pit without losing track position. After that, the American team was clear to secure that hard-fought point.
But the manner in which they did so has left their rivals unimpressed. Alan Permane, racing director for Tsunoda's RB team, described Haas' actions as "unsportsmanlike conduct", while Williams chief James Vowles felt his team should have snatched the point instead.
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He said: "I know we had a car that could score a point there, and yet we walk away without anything to our name. Now in part, that was because Alex's car was damaged by Magnussen pushing him into the wall, receiving a penalty as a result of it, but then using tactics to back up the remainder of the field and create a gap so that Hulkenberg could score that additional point.
"Now those questions on whether or not those tactics are viable or not, or sportsmanlike, let's review that as an organisation and a sport going forward. My opinion from it is that's not how I want to go racing."
James Vowles was unimpressed with the way he feels his team was denied a point in Jeddah (Getty Images)Without intervention from F1 rulemakers, Vowles warned that other teams may use it as a precedent to pull off similar stunts in the future. Describing the tactic as a "bit cheeky", he added: "You saw it this weekend [and] I think any team would do the same thing if you sacrifice one driver for guaranteed points.
"Maybe the top teams won't do it, but the midfield teams who need to take points at any opportunity, you would do it every single time. I think you might see more drivers doing it just to guarantee a team-mate to have points.
"I mean, you basically guarantee your team-mate points for a 10-second penalty. Why wouldn't you do that everywhere? I don't think five to 10 seconds is correct. I think it needs to be you must return the position back, and just leave it like that."
Speaking after the race, Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu admitted that Magnussen should have allowed Tsunoda to move back ahead of him after his illegal overtake. But both he and the Dane were happy with the point the team earned anyway.
Komatsu said: "Of course, we should have given the place back, we should have tried to overtake him. I believe with our pace we could have done that. So, I think the end result we are still looking for P10. Whether we could have achieved it is another story."
And Magnussen added: "I overtook Tsunoda and went outside to track, so rules are rules. I'm not happy with myself to get those two penalties, but at least I was able to help the team to create a gap for Nico to pit and get a point. It's a tight battle between the five teams at the back. From P6 down to 10th it's a real championship, so every point matters."