Magnussen reprimanded, explains slow in-lap error

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Kevin Magnussen has been given a reprimand for exceeding the maximum permitted lap time on an in-lap during qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Both Magnussen and Williams driver Felipe Massa were called to the stewards for exceeding the maximum permitted time - set at 1m57.0s in Suzuka by the FIA - between the Safety Car lines at the pit exit and pit entry during qualifying. Magnussen's incident came at the end of Q1 as he was returning to the pits, with the Renault driver reprimanded by the stewards after the session.

AS IT HAPPENED: Japanese Grand Prix - Qualifying

"You have a maximum time you can take to do one lap and I was just a little bit over that," Magnussen said. "You do [have a delta] but we forgot to activate it.

"We usually have reminders and stuff but somehow we didn't do it. It's not a big mistake."

Magnussen's reprimand is his first of the season, with the stewards deciding his slow pace did not impact on any other driver during the lap.

"As no driver was impeded, the Stewards consider a reprimand to be sufficient in this case," the stewards' decision read.

Magnussen qualified in 18th place for tomorrow's race, while team-mate Jolyon Palmer will start from 16th on the grid after advancing to Q2 on Saturday.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.