Kevin Magnussen punished for blocking Sergio Perez in F1 qualifying

Force India driver Perez complained on the radio during Q1 after being blocked by Magnussen through Turns 13 and 14.

"I had to use an extra set of tyres, which meant I went into Q3 with a single [fresh] set, so that hurt me a lot," said Perez, who went on to qualify in 10th position.

"He didn't do it on purpose, but they are quite often, him or Haas, getting it wrong. So it's something they have to improve at."

Magnussen said after the session that his Haas team had mistakenly told him that Perez was not on a flying lap, and he admitted the penalty was expected.

"I was told that he was on an out-lap so I didn't let him through, so I can understand if he's pretty angry with that," he told TV crews.

"I can only say it was a mistake. I'm sorry about that. I definitely impeded his lap so that gives you a penalty, so I'm expecting a penalty."

As a result, Magnussen was given a three-place grid penalty and a penalty point for a total of eight over the past 12 months.

"The driver of car 20 admitted he had impeded car 11, and the team admitted it had inadvertently incorrectly advised the driver that [Perez] was on an out lap. The driver and team apologised to the driver of car 11 for the error," said the stewards.

Despite the penalty, Magnussen - who had qualified last - is set to start from 18th position thanks to other penalties for drivers ahead of him.