Alan Permane left fuming with 31-year-old rival driver at Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

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Visa Cash App RB racing director Alan Permane was angered by Kevin Magnussen in last weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Magnussen finished 12th in Jeddah despite amassing 20 seconds’ worth of penalties, while Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo came home 15th and 16th for RB.

And Permane felt that the Haas driver crossed the line with some of his conduct during the race.

The stewards handed Magnussen a 10-second penalty after he left the track to complete a move on Tsunoda.

And he received the same punishment when they decided he’d caused a collision with the Williams of Alex Albon.

Alan Permane angry with Kevin Magnussen

Speaking in RB’s race debrief, 57-year-old F1 veteran Permane accused Magnussen of ‘deliberately’ overshooting the corner when he passed Tsunoda to ensure he was ahead.

He says the Dane then slowed down to create a buffer for teammate Nico Hulkenberg, who needed to make a pit stop

The German driver eventually came home in 10th place to grab a point for Haas.

Permane felt it constituted ‘unsportsmanlike behaviour’ and has resolved to speak to the FIA about the matter ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.

“With Yuki, we did a conventional race like most others. We started him on the medium tyre, and when the Safety Car came out, pitted him for the hard compound.

“What then happened was a little difficult to take. Magnussen drove off the track to deliberately put himself in front of Yuki and then slowed him down by up to two seconds a lap, which allowed Hulkenberg, who hadn’t stopped yet, to create a gap and of course pit in front of all the cars behind.

“That, to me, doesn’t seem correct and is the very definition of unsportsmanlike behaviour.

“I’m sure we and other teams will talk to the FIA about it for future races.”

RB have yet to score a point since their relaunch in the off-season, but the same can be said for Alpine, Williams and Stake F1 Team.

Magnussen driving for Haas future

With Hulkenberg ahead on the road, Magnussen opted to play the team game in Saudi Arabia.

He’ll hope that his selfless, if controversial driving, gives him credit in the bank as Haas assess their options for the 2025 season.

Both Magnussen and Hulkenberg are out of contract at the end of the current campaign.

The former McLaren driver was with the team for the first four years of their existence and then returned in 2022 after he was initially axed.

Oliver Bearman, who shone for Ferrari when deputising for Carlos Sainz last weekend, will compete in six FP1 sessions for the team this season.

The 18-year-old may hope to secure his first full-time F1 drive with the American outfit next year.