Magnussen has silenced rivals 'bitching'

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner says rival drivers have stopped "bitching" about Kevin Magnussen's driving style after failing to scare the Dane off his fiery approach. Magnussen has tangled with numerous drivers, including notable duels with Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso this season.

Magnussen almost put Gasly into the wall at 230 mph at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, earning two points on his licence in the process.

The Dane notably clashed with Nico Hulkenberg in Hungary last year - telling the German to "suck my balls" when confronted in the media pen after another defensive manoeuvre on the edge of acceptability.

With Haas battling in the 'best of the rest' race with the likes of Renault and Force India this year, Magnussen has scored 45 of Haas' 66 points so far this season, and Steiner attributes his impressive campaign to sticking to his guns, despite public complaints from other drivers.

"We want him to race and sometimes you have to ruffle feathers if you want to get something," Steiner told Autosport.

"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 aggressive. He doesn't say, 'I'm going to go aggressive here, I'm not a pushover'.

"That creates more criticism [from] the established drivers. 'Is this young guy coming and wanting to tell me, I cannot get pass? I will bitch about it'.

"Everybody plays the game here and you need to. I'm not critiquing other drivers, they try their best to knock his confidence but they don't achieve it.

"A lot of them let go already, because they see there's no point, he's not a pushover anymore."