Steiner: "B*tching" rivals trying to undermine Magnussen failed

Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner believes Kevin Magnussen's rivals have tried to get under the Dane's skin by criticizing him for his driving, but ultimately have failed to strip him of his confidence.

Magnussen is carrying Haas F1 this season, as he's collected 45 points for the team, sitting eighth in the championship table. You could see it as second place behind Nico Hülkenberg, as he's the highest placed non-big three driver on the grid.

Magnussen's team boss Steiner likes to see the Dane scrapping on the track, and thinks the complaints from other drivers are just a way of trying to knock him.

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

"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'.

"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."

Magnussen has been in a few scraps here and there, but he only has three penalty points on his racing licence. Twelve will automatically suspend you from a race. In comparison, his teammate Romain Grosjean has seven, and so does Sauber's Marcus Ericsson.