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Haas F1 team boss defends under-fire Magnussen

Published on 02 Oct 2017 12:08
19
By: Rob Veenstra

Kevin Magnussen's boss has defended the under-fire Danish driver. In Hungary, Haas driver Magnussen famously told Nico Hulkenberg to "suck my b-lls", after the German called him "unsporting" following an on-track clash.

And Fernando Alonso agreed after Sunday's Malaysian grand prix: "Hulkenberg was right." Alonso called Magnussen an "idiot" after their wheel-to-wheel clash at Sepang. "More or less the drivers agree. It's 19-1 (against Magnussen)," the McLaren-Honda driver added.

But Magnussen's Haas team boss Gunther Steiner has hit back, defending his driver on the basis that fans want to see a hard wheel-to-wheel battle. "Alonso is a very charismatic and skilled driver," he told Ekstra Bladet newspaper. "And if someone confronts him, then that's how he reacts. I think both of them pushed it to the limit, which is what people want to see," Steiner added.

He said Magnussen is right to be pushing hard on the track, tipping him to eventually emerge from his reputation as the 'bad boy' of F1. "You have to go through tough periods and earn respect," said Steiner.

"If you always move out of the way, people think they can walk over you. So you have your battles as long as you don't overdo them or become a bully. So even if he gets a little of a bad reputation now, it can turn around later," he added. (GMM)

F1 News Kevin Magnussen Haas

Replies (19)

Orchide

Posts: 82
He is a twat on and off the track...
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- Oct 2 2017 - 12:16
- pdolm
  
  Posts: 5
  So you know KMAG of track?....I don't think so
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  Oct 2 2017 - 13:03
- Bhurt
  
  Posts: 320
  @PDOLM ... I'm pretty sure ORCHIDE read an article somewhere which he interpreted incorrectly before jumping to conclusions.
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  Oct 2 2017 - 14:51
- RenaultFM1
  
  Posts: 100
  PDOLM...He meant that Alsono is a twat..how you able misunderstand that:)
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  Oct 2 2017 - 15:34
- Orchide
  
  Posts: 82
  Nope. He is a defenately an arrogant little twat...
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  Oct 2 2017 - 17:59
- Savio
  
  Posts: 145
  So it really doesn't matter because.. Kev "suck my b-lls" Magnussen is still better than Marcus "the notorious" Ericsson ; )
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  Oct 2 2017 - 18:11
- Orchide
  
  Posts: 82
  If K-Mag disn't have another year on the contract he would have been kicked out of f1.
  Too bad he's on the grid for another year, after 2018 he will be driving taxi in Copenhagen.
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  Oct 2 2017 - 19:08
- Savio
  
  Posts: 145
  I hope Marcus "30 mln $ in pocket" Ericsson will be driving taxi too ; )
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  Oct 2 2017 - 19:13
- Orchide
  
  Posts: 82
  At least his not gonna insult his customers...
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  Oct 2 2017 - 19:23
- Savio
  
  Posts: 145
  So..I agree with it ; )
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  Oct 2 2017 - 19:28
f1ski

Posts: 726
"If you always move out of the way, people think they can walk over you." I have to agree with that comment and say that what makes hamilton a great passer is that other drivers know he won't back out and they can't afford another dnf. I think Verstappen is responsible for many of his DNfs but as he gets more results people will get out of his way. Schumacher,
senna also had many stupid crashes being too aggressive for the situation at hand. Showing u can fight back for 1 corner is acceptable 3 is too many look how Alonso put him in his place side to side wheel contact very professional. If he had a more competitive car would we be saying the same thing
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- Oct 2 2017 - 15:04
mbmwe36

Posts: 533
There's a difference between being reckless and being a pain to overtake. Magnussen by and large is not reckless. There was one time at Spa where he basically tried to push somebody trying to overtake him off the track at the straight. I think that night even have been Alonso. That was reckless, no doubt. Otherwise, he is no worse than Hamilton, Kimi, Vettel, Verstappen and even Internet-darling Alonso.

Massa tried to push him into a wall at Singapore at 250+ km/h. But for some reason that doesn't get talked about. Maybe because Magnussen didn't complain for ages like a little bitch.
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- Oct 2 2017 - 15:53
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Wasnt it Hulkenberg?
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  Oct 2 2017 - 16:08
- mbmwe36
  
  Posts: 533
  The Hulkenberg incident was at Hungary I believe.
  
  This is the one I'm talking about with Alonso.
  m.youtube.com/watch?v=flskupzJZZg
  
  This is the one in talking about with Massa.
  m.youtube.com/watch?v=nIXFT_TX5Ps
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  Oct 2 2017 - 16:20
- mbmwe36
  
  Posts: 533
  That's strange. My reply disappeared, isn't it possible to post links here?
  Anyway, both instances are on YouTube. Just search for Alonso Magnussen Spa, it's a 16 second clip.
  The other one is named Massa Magnussen epic battle.
  
  The Hulkenberg incident was at Hungary if memory serves. That one was blown completely out of proportion mostly due to the remarks afterwards.
  
  The funny thing is even though he's my countryman I'm not that big of a fan of him. I think he's above average on track, but incredibly boring in interviews, and on Danish TV we are treated to a bunch of them. Lucky us.
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  Oct 2 2017 - 16:28
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  I think I've uploaded links before... I'll try posting one now, and see what happens. If there is no second reply regarding Boglin Watch, then this site removes linked replies. Only the reply with the link appeared a while later. Ah, right, I must admit I dont tend to memorize such incidents. Im not a big fan of Ericsson either despite being Swedish, if they should back a Swede they should back Rosenqvist, and fortunately Swedish media isnt very pushy about Ericsson. Sure, there are extra interviews and such with him, but thats about it. And as you say about K-Mag, he is pretty boring.
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  Oct 2 2017 - 17:11
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rCmv9MFSJ8 POGS! BOGLINS! POGLINS!
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  Oct 2 2017 - 17:12
RenaultFM1

Posts: 100
@ORCHIDE maybe you should try suck his balls instead off those once from Ikea..Maybe you will change your mind about kevin:)
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- Oct 3 2017 - 02:41
- Savio
  
  Posts: 145
  Brilliant post!
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  Oct 3 2017 - 08:41