‘He was racing hard, but who am I to complain?’ - Magnussen on de Vries clash

When attempting to overtake the Haas driver into Turn 3, de Vries locked up, forcing both drivers to take to the run-off area.

It concluded a clumsy battle between the pair which ended in comical fashion as both drivers were forced to reverse from Turn 3.

Magnussen has a reputation for aggressive driving wheel-to-wheel and the Dane was very self aware in his response after the race on Sunday.

“I was on the outside, and I was blocked and ended up on the run-off with him, so that was unlucky for me,” he explained.

“He was racing pretty hard, that's for sure, but who am I to complain about that?

“I think the problem was he missed his braking in Turn 3 and took me with him. I don't think he did that on purpose.”

De Vries simply described the clash as a ‘racing incident’.

“We were just racing each other hard through [Turns] 1, 2, and I undercut and was on the dirt," he added.

“[We were] pushing each other hard into that braking point and I locked up and went straight [on]. [It was] kind of a racing fight and incident.

“I felt like I had the momentum and I thought I kind of had him, but then he almost went through the grass on the kerb to get me back and we were just fighting. I guess that's racing.

“Certainly we would have finished higher up but, if we are honest to ourselves, I don't think we had the package to fight for points.”