Hulkenberg: "Magnussen is just a wannabe Verstappen"

Nico Hulkenberg has hit back after the press pen spat between himself and Kevin Magnussen, calling him a wannabe Verstappen. The spat, where Magnussen told Hulkenberg to "suck my balls," came after a series of run-ins with Haas drivers in the race, with Hulkenberg coming together with Grosjean at the first corner and later being aggressively forced off of the track by Magnussen.

This effectively ruined Hulkenberg’s race and any chance of points, as he lost track position to a number of cars and eventually caused him to retire. Hulkenberg later went up to Magnussen in the press pen and sarcastically congratulated him on being the "most unsporting driver," before Magnussen retorted; and causing somewhat of a furore.

Hulkenberg had already been to the stewards at this point, trying to push them into giving Magnussen a more severe penalty than the five second time penalty he had already received, which angered the Haas driver.

Hulkenberg has now commented on the incident, heavily insulting Magnussen’s manner towards him, and criticising the way he has attempted to gain support of the public. He said in his own newspaper column: "I wish there were as many people talking about the race, At the moment we have different challenges in Formula 1 than the balls of a wannabe Verstappen. I'm not the kind of guy to carry favour with the public after the race, and I don't need to insult someone.

"If I have a problem with somebody, I go ahead and say what's on my mind. But the fans are happy about seeing a sport in which competition is being lived and somebody is speaking his mind. This is the fun thing about F1, especially with hot-headed sensitive people. With Kevin it's like having a little brother. You know he is not able to defend himself in any other way. Therefore, it's easy to take his remarks with a smile on your face."

Sam Gale