Former F1 driver escapes fight with rival: 'Was about to throw a punch'

Magnussen exchanged heated words with Noah Gragson after the Anduril 250 in San Diego, in which he told the American driver to "f*** off" and "get out of my face". Magnussen hit the back of Gragson early in the race before they then banged wheels on the straight as the American aggressively blocked a move. Later in the race, Magnussen wrecked Gragson while attempting an overtake move.

Gragson waited for Magnussen in pit road and asked the Danish driver "what's your f***ing problem". The pair continued to throw expletives at each other during an argument which lasted for around 90 seconds, before a PR rep ultimately stepped in.

In an interview with SiriusXM, Gragson, who has appeared in the NASCAR Cup Series since 2021, admitted that he "really wanted to fight" Magnussen, but was warned about the serious consequences if he had gone ahead with his plans.

It wouldn't have been the first time that Gragson got involved in a physical altercation, having done so with Harrison Burton in 2020, Daniel Hemric a year later and Ross Chastain in 2023. Magnussen has not been involved in any physical confrontation with another driver but was involved in a famous moment with Nico Hulkenberg at the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Magnussen was given a five-second penalty after forcing Hulkenberg onto the grass. Hulkenberg stormed over to Magnussen post race and congratulated him for being "once again the most unsporting driver". Magnussen replied: "Suck my balls, honey."

After waiting for Magnussen, Gragson was seen on video telling the former F1 driver "you hit me once and then again." Gragson then appeared to take a shot at drivers who come from open wheel cars, insisting: "You guys come overe here, you f***ing drive off into the corner, just because you got fenders on it."

"Get the f*** out of my face," Magnussen said in response, before Gragson continued to press the issue saying "Or what, what are you going to do?" He repeatedly asked Magnussen what his problem was, to which the Dane replied: "My problem is you in my face" before adding "you don't understand English, or what? I'm saying f*** off."

While Magnussen did not get into a fight, he said that he felt like he had been in one throughout the entirety of his NASCAR debut. He told reporters after the race as per Frontstretch: "He (Gragson) was playing a bit stupid out there. He could've had a good race, but he chose not to. I felt like I was in a fistfight the whole race through. Honestly, everyone was driving so well. It's tough racing. You can't mess around, you'll find out. I like that kind of racing. Big respect to everyone, except that one guy."

Magnussen did set the fastest lap of the race on his debut and finished in 27th, after running inside the top 20 for a large portion of the race.