Kevin Magnussen’s strategic defensive maneuvers and altercation with a competitor at the Miami Grand Prix have placed the Haas driver in a perilous position, dangerously close to being banned from participating in Formula 1 races.

During the race weekend in Florida, the Danish driver accumulated a significant five penalty points on his super license for multiple infractions, bringing his total for the past 12 months to 10 points, which is just two points shy of receiving a one-race ban.

On Saturday, Magnussen employed his well-honed repertoire of defensive maneuvers to prevent Lewis Hamilton from overtaking him, while also enabling his Haas teammate Nico Hulkenberg to maintain his position in the scoring range.

The strategy was effective, particularly for Haas and Hulkenberg, while Magnussen received time penalties totaling 35 seconds and had 3 penalty points added to his license.

Magnussen conceded that the penalties were “justified,” but expressed dissatisfaction with the circumstances: “Once again, I had to adhere to team strategy, resorting to unwise tactics that I find displeasing.”

Regrettably, Magnussen’s difficulties persisted on Sunday. During lap 28, Logan Sargeant from the Williams team made a risky maneuver that resulted in a 10-second time penalty. As a consequence, he had to go to the stewards’ office again and received two more penalty points.

According to the FIA’s sports regulations, if a driver receives 12 penalty points during a 12-month period, they will be suspended from one race.

Therefore, Magnussen must exercise caution until early March 2025, or for the duration of another 19 races. The current predicament involving the Dane has put Haas reserves Pietro Fittipaldi and Oliver Bearman on high alert.

Following the race in Miami on Sunday, Magnussen, visibly irritated, expressed minimal commentary over his current predicament.

“I would rather refrain from commenting,” the Danish individual informed the journalists. “It would be advisable to refrain from making any comments.”

In addition, he was hesitant to address the remarks made on Saturday by McLaren team boss Andrea Stella, who criticized Magnussen’s defensive tactics as “completely unacceptable” and proposed that the FIA should take stronger action against repeated offenses.

“Indeed,” Magnussen retorted when it was implied that he was unwilling to provide a response to Stella’s critique.

If the Haas charger makes another risky move, it may face a weekend in the penalty box. It appears that the audacious defensive strategies may require some reconsideration.