Magnussen still has respect for Alonso

The two McLaren drivers, past and present, haven’t been best of friends on the track this year, being embroiled in plenty of scrappy battles with the occasional contact and incident, but Kevin Magnussen reveals that these skirmishes have not dented the respect he holds for two-time champion Fernando Alonso.

Magnussen, who raced for McLaren in 2014, is now at Haas and has been involved in plenty of incidents with other drivers this year, namely the retiring two-time former world champion Alonso.

The Dane verbally attacked Alonso after their Italian Grand Prix qualifying troubles, calling Alonso “disrespectful” and revealing how he was looking forward to the Spaniard’s retirement.

But when speaking about Alonso, Magnussen admitted his respect for him had not waned.

He said: “My respect for Fernando as a driver is very big.

“There’s no doubt he’s definitely one of the best drivers on the grid.

“Even though we’ve had some tough fights and a few arguments, there’s no damage to my respect for him as a driver.”

Will we see one last incident between the pair at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix next week?