Kevin Magnussen had no complaints to formulate against Nyck de Vries after the pair's fierce battle in the Canadian Grand Prix that ended with a tangle down a run-off area.Magnussen in 12th position was leading his AlphaTauri rival as the race neared its halfway mark. But as they barreled down towards Turn 1, de Vries attempted to overtake the Haas driver into the corner.
They ran wheel-to-wheel through Turn 2 but Magnussen managed to maintain a small edge over the Dutchman. However, the Dane was positioned on the outside as they powered towards Turn 3.
But de Vries locked up his left front wheel on the approach and veered down the escape road, with Magnussen on his left unable to steer into the corner.
The two drivers collected themselves, reversed and eventually rejoined the track, but both tumbled down the order, their hope of securing a top-ten finish in tatters.
The clash was investigated by the stewards who deemed the run-in a racing incident, a call that Magnussen agreed with.
"He was racing pretty hard, that's for sure. But who am I to complain about that?" said Magnussen, who rarely cedes ground when going wheel-to-wheel racing with his peers.
"I think the problem was he missed his braking in Turn 3 and took me with him. That was it. He had the inside but then outbraked himself and couldn't make the corner.
"I was on the outside, so I was blocked, and we ended up on the run-off with him. That was unlucky for me."
Commenting on the tussle, de Vries said the lack of grip and bumpy inside line into Turn 3 had caused his lock-up.
"We were just racing each other hard through [Turns] 1, 2," he said. "I was kind of on the dirt, pushing each other hard into that braking point, and I locked up and went straight.
"There was less grip and it was very bumpy, which didn't help. It's also not really a straight braking zone, you're constantly turning a bit, which is tricky."
©AlphaTauri
De Vries also agreed that the squabble with his Danish rival was a proper racing incident.
"I felt like I had the momentum and thought I kind of had him, but then he almost went for the grass, on the kerb to get me back," he said.
"But I don't blame him, that's part of the game. It was a racing incident, nothing more or less."
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
