Kevin Magnussen has said that he will not go out of his way to become "best friends" with his new F1 teammate.
Recent reports have suggested that the former McLaren and Renault driver often struggles to get along with colleagues.
Now, as the Dane switches to the small American team Haas, Magnussen is paired with Frenchman Romain Grosjean.
"Of course it's important to beat him, as it is important to beat every teammate," Magnussen, 24, told Danish newspaper BT.
"The relationship so far is as it should be. We must of course be open and work to bring the team forward, but we also have the freedom to race against each other and don't have to be best friends."
"But that doesn't mean we're against one another - not at all!"
In fact, Magnussen says that he expects his relationship with 30-year-old Grosjean to be similar to the way he worked alongside veteran Jenson Button at McLaren.
Some recall that Button 'helped' the then-rookie Magnussen adjust to life in F1.
"No," Magnussen insisted. "I remember there were many who thought Jenson helped me a lot in 2014, but he didn't do anything specific.
"There are some teammates who deliberately try to fuck you with incorrect information and so on, but Jenson did not and I have great respect for that.
"I do not know Romain particularly well yet, but I expect that it will be a bit like with Jenson."
Magnussen picked up seven points for Renault in the 2016 championship.
