Magnussen clarifies 'I will die' comments after Gasly incident

Kevin Magnussen says he has apologised to Pierre Gasly after almost causing a huge accident at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as well as moving to clear up comments in a pre-race interview in which he said he was prepared to die while racing rather than curb his attacking instincts.

Speaking to Reuters before last weekend's race in Baku, Magnussen said: "I don't like compromises. I will give everything. I will die in the car. I won't hold back. I would put my life on [the line]. Absolutely."

The interview was widely reported in the aftermath of the race, in which Magnussen almost put Gasly into the wall at close to 200mph, prompting the Toro Rosso driver to label Magnussen "the most dangerous guy" he had encountered on a track.

????This sequence provoked a *very* strong reaction from Pierre Gasly, who subsequently referred to Kevin Magnussen as “the most dangerous driver on the grid” . #Formula1 #F1 #AzerbaijanGP #PierreGasly #KevinMagnussen #ToroRosso #HaasF1Team #InstaSport @bakucitycircuit

A post shared by FORMULA 1® (@f1) on Apr 30, 2018 at 10:05am PDT

And Magnussen says the sentiments of his eye-catching interview were not in his mind as he edged Gasly closer and closerto the wall.

"The interview was done before the race in Baku and is not minded on the incident with Pierre in the race," Magnussen posted on Twitter.

Read more: 'I will die in the car' - Magnussen
Read more: 'Magnussen nearly put me in the wall'

"I didn't squeeze Pierre on purpose and have apologised to him many times after the incident."

https://t.co/tE6tRw6VYS

So I feel like this one needs a little clarification: pic.twitter.com/grGW4jbpeX — Kevin Magnussen (@KevinMagnussen) May 2, 2018

Magnussen had said that his attitude to racing was borne out of the competitive nature of the midfield battle in F1, and though willing to risk everything, says his comments have been interpreted wrong in some circles.

"I don't want to die in a race car," he added. "I was expressing my willingness to give absolutely everything in my power to achieve success.

"Success to me obviously isn't having accidents or getting penalties but finishing races in as high a position as possible.

"I am living my childhood dream of racing in Formula 1 and I've put my whole life into achieving that dream so it is only natural for me to be giving absolutely everything I've got, to achieve success in racing and the day I no longer do that I will retire from racing immediately."