Magnussen 'doesn't care what others think'

Outspoken Haas F1 driver Kevin Magnussen insists that he doesn't care what other drivers on the grid think of him. Which is just as well, because the 25-year-old Dane is fast attracting a reputation as Formula 1's current 'bad boy'.

Renault's Nico Hulkenberg called him "the most unsportive driver on the grid" after they clashed in last year's Hungarian Grand Prix. Magnussen memorably responded by telling his rival to "suck my balls".

Toro Rosso driver Pierre Gasly labelled him "the most dangerous" rival he had ever faced after this year's race in Baku. And in the most recent weekend in Spain, Magnussen was again visiting the race stewards and receiving a reprimand for a "potentially dangerous manoeuvre" during practice.

Since then, former F1 champion Mika Hakkinen has warned that Magnussen risks a permanently tarnished reputation within the sport if he goes on like this. But none of that seems to matter to the driver himself.

"I don't care what the other drivers think of me," Magnussen told ESPN this week. "They can say what they want.

"I focus on the team and I block out all the outside media stuff," he insisted. "It's so irrelevant and uncontrollable.

"There's never one story from an interview, there's always so many different stories," he continued. "Generally I stay out of it.

"I don't look at social media. I have some people who look after it so whenever I want to post anything I send it to those guys so I don't have to look at the apps.

"I don't look at websites, what they're writing and all that. It's a distraction, unnecessary, because you cannot change it.

"That part is really something about this job that is very irrelevant for me because it can be really frustrating if you really let it enter your mind."

However even Magnussen sometimes can't stay above the fray. His recent comments about expecting to "die in the car" went viral and forced him to issue a clarification.

• Mika Hakkinen has a warning for 'bad boy' Kevin Magnussen

"It depicted me as something that I didn't like and it was wrong, completely wrong. And it looked like I wanted to die in the car, which is crazy.

"If there's something like that where a story came out wrong [then it needs correcting]," he said. "But unless it's something like that, something which is incorrect, I don't care what anyone thinks."

Magnussen went some way to balancing the scales by clinching sixth place in the most recent Grand Prix.

"We obviously had a good weekend in Spain," he agreed. “I feel like we’ve made steps in the right direction with tyre management and tyre understanding.

"We’ve moved closer to a better understanding of the tyres, in general. That’s a very positive thing and part of the reason why we’re stronger and more consistent this year.”

Meanwhile team boss Guenther Steiner remains a staunch defender of his young driver, regardless of the 'bad boy' tag.

“I just think he’s very comfortable with this year’s car and he knows the team," Steiner explained. "He has confidence and he knows his guys.

"It’s just a combination of a lot of little things that makes him comfortable. He’s just put himself in a good spot to be able to deliver the performances he has."

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