Kevin Magnussen has been the ideal teammate for Nico Hulkenberg this season as he has been playing the team game to help the German secure valuable points for Haas. However, in Austria, the Danish driver could not help but rebel against the team orders whilst being in battle with Hulkenberg.
After pitting for the first time to get on the hard tires, the Haas duo were in close proximity. Both drivers wanted to gain track position as the battle for the lower end of the points was pretty tight. However, Magnussen’s engineer told him to not attack his German teammate, as they wanted both of them to manage their tires for the long haul.
Magnussen reverted asking whether Hulkenberg was also going to manage his tires or if it was a way to stop him from attacking and overtaking his teammate. The engineer affirmed that both drivers have to manage their hard tires. To this, the #20 driver exclaimed, “F**k that!”
After a scrap between the Haas drivers, Magnussen is told he needs to manage the tyres. He asks if it counts for Hulkenberg too and is told both cars, but replies: “F*** that” #F1 #AustrianGP
— Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) June 30, 2024
However, Hulkenberg did not get a similar order on the radio, presumably because he was on fresher tires. On the other hand, Magnussen had warmed up his tires, having pitted earlier, and was desperate to get on with it and pass cars to get into the world championship points.
From the Dane’s perspective, he wasn’t asking for something unreasonable, given the amount of times he has played the team game this year. On several occasions, Magnussen has sacrificed his race to help Hulkenberg secure points for Haas.
Kevin Magnussen going beyond the limits to play the team game for Haas
Kevin Magnussen hasn’t got the rub of the green on his side while going beyond the limits for the team’s sake. Earlier this year in Saudi Arabia, the 31-year-old backed several cars after getting multiple time penalties for contact and collisions to help the German driver secure a P10 finish.
Similarly, during the Miami GP sprint race, Magnussen drove quite unsafely as Lewis Hamilton was pushing him in a faster Mercedes car. The Dane broke track limits several times and got multiple time penalties, and even penalty points on his super license for those multiple transgressions.
Currently, Magnussen has 10 penalty points on his super license. If he picked up two during this season, it could lead to a race ban for the #20 driver. While he has had a major crash in Monaco, the stewards have been considerate toward the Haas driver as he continues to race without a ban.
