Steiner: I don't need my drivers to get on off-track

Haas Formula 1 team boss Günther Steiner says he does not need drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen to get on with each other off-track - so long as it does not spill over into the team and affect its performance.

Haas drivers Grosjean and Magnussen have got caught up in a number of on-track incidents so far this season, with clashes at Silverstone and Hockenheim prompting Steiner to take a firmer approach in managing them via team orders.

Grosjean was particularly critical of Magnussen over team radio after the two made contact when battling for position late in the race, saying: “This guy is incredible, he will never learn.”

Asked by Crash.net if there were any concerns about the relationship between his two drivers, Steiner said it was not something he saw any need to get involved in.

“I’ll leave that to them. I don’t want to get involved in their personal [matters],” Steiner said.

“As long as they respect the team and do what they need to do for the team - if they don’t get on personally, I cannot fix that.

“You guys all know how hard it is to fix a relationship between two people. I wouldn’t think I’m the best one to do that anyway! As long as they respect the team and do what the team wants them to do, I’m fine with that.

“If they don’t speak with each other, as long as they don’t do anything negative towards the team, I have to live with that and I can live with that.

“Trying to force someone to have a good relationship does not work. We know that. I’m no psychologist, but I know this much.”

However, both Grosjean and Magnussen were quick to stress that their personal relationship had not been affected by the recent incidents, claiming it remained good.

“People could think that it doesn’t look good, but actually the relationship with Kevin is really good,” Grosjean said.

“We phone each other once a week or so. We sat down and said, ‘what can we do better’, just to make sure that’s not happening again.

“Honestly, the relationship is very good. I like working with Kevin. I think he likes it also. We work well together and we get on nicely.”

Magnussen added: “Apart from those incidents on track, I feel that we have a pretty good working relationship. And actually, Romain is a cool guy, and we have a good time when we go to work.

“So, it’s being blown out of proportion a little bit. I know you guys love a bit of a conflict and stuff like that, but it isn’t as bad as it looks.”