Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has once again defended his driver against criticism that the Dane drives too aggressively. Magnussen has built up a reputation of being the sport's 'bad boy' and has often been unyielding when it comes to wheel-to-wheel combat.
Some of Magnussen's fellow F1 drivers have criticised his style, with Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly labelling him as the "most dangerous driver" he's raced against in his career. However, Steiner says that in order to succeed, you must sometimes play rough.
"We want him to race," he stated. "And sometimes you have to ruffle feathers if you want to get something. Nobody gives anything for free here. People say he does it on purpose. No! He wants to make a mark, but he doesn't drive aggressively. He doesn't say, 'I'm going to go aggressive here, I'm not a pushover'."
And Steiner believes that Magnussen is driving within the rules, as he has accumulated fewer penalty points than many of his rivals. The 26-year-old currently has three points on his licence, while Gasly has four and teammate Romain Grosjean seven.
"Everybody plays the game here, and you need to," Steiner said. "That creates more criticism [from] established drivers: 'Is this young guy coming and wanting to tell me, I cannot get past? I will bitch about it!' I'm not critiquing other drivers, they try their best to knock his confidence," he added. "But they don't achieve it."
Fergal Walsh
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
@PDOLM First of all, I wouldn't say Max gets "away with it" totally. He was heavily criticized this year, even discounted as no longer being top talent. He has gotten penalized too, and he has whined a lot too. But I would say the comparison as not totally crazy. Magnussen has been a disaster at ... [Read more]