Unlike in 2020, Kevin Magnussen knows he will be departing the Haas Formula 1 team with half a season remaining – this boosts both his chances of remaining in grand prix racing or shifting his pursuits elsewhere.
For the second time in his career, Magnussen has been dropped by Haas, which sensationally brought him back to F1 in 2022 when he had been “on a beach in Miami five days prior to the [season-opening] Bahrain Grand Prix, with a margarita in my hand” in the wake of the American team dropping Nikita Mazepin amid Russian’s invasion of Ukraine.
Magnussen “absolutely” feels he’s in a better position compared to four years ago, when he and Romain Grosjean were replaced by the all-rookie line-up of Mazepin and Mick Schumacher.
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At the time, Haas was entering a rebuilding phase after owner Gene Haas rowed back from being close to ending his F1 project during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant Magnussen and Grosjean were left with uncertain F1 futures until late in the year.
Grosjean has since raced in IndyCar and sportscars, while Magnussen’s path into the same spheres suddenly changed when Haas brought him back to F1.
“It's a lot better to have clarity early on,” Magnussen says of his situation in 2024. “But at the moment I just know I'm not going to be racing here [at Haas] next year. So, it's not like full clarity. Could still be months. It's just the way it is.”
Magnussen, who represents himself in trying to secure race seats, now has three options available as he enters a fifth phase in his motorsport career – after his junior category rise, first F1 stint with McLaren, Renault and Haas, his 2021 efforts and his second spell with Haas.
Finding a new F1 race seat for 2025
As it stands, there are still six seats open for the 2025 season – at Mercedes, RB, Alpine, Williams, Sauber and Haas, where Esteban Ocon is expected to soon sign a final contract to replace Magnussen.
“It would have been cool to see the fruits of the momentum that's been built here recently,” Magnussen said of what he’s leaving behind at Haas. But he nevertheless feels “there are also other interesting projects out there, and there are still seats available in Formula 1 that could be interesting”.
Magnussen’s problem is that with Ollie Bearman already set to graduate from Formula 2 to join Haas, plus the possibility of Andrea Kimi Antonelli rising alongside his Prema Racing team-mate for 2025, two established stars could exit.
Magnussen insists though that “the best thing is just to focus on doing good races and then I'll be in contention for these seats available and things will fall into place eventually”.
Finding a new race seat outside F1
Magnussen, 31, says he does not “see [himself] putting an end to racing anytime soon”, which means he will once again seek to extend his career in another category if he cannot find a way to stay in F1.
His love of sportscars and racing at Le Mans with his father Jan [also in 2021], plus the current major expansion of the Hypercar category, means such a switch would be a logical step for the Dane.
However, he told Autosport back in Monaco that had not kept in close contact with the Peugeot Hypercar squad he had been set to race with in 2022 before his Haas recall.
“F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport,” said Magnussen. “But I've always been of the opinion that racing outside of Formula 1 is also awesome.
“In 2021 I was out of F1, but I was racing in IMSA. It's actually quite a busy schedule. You're going to America 11 or 12 times during the year, and it wasn't like a quiet year.
“Remember, my whole life, since I was a little kid, was about getting to Formula 1, and then I had 10 years in the sport. So, it was interesting and kind of exciting to see a different side of life in 2021.
“And it wasn't frightening, it was it was actually very positive and fun. I think that changed my mindset in terms of [how] I had a lot of fear before that – of losing Formula 1 because I didn't know what was on the outside.
“And that kind of showed me, ‘hold on to Formula 1 as long as you can, but don't fear the outside’. Afterlife is going to be good.”
Staying at Haas in a non-driving capacity
In announcing Magnussen would be departing, Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu revealed his hope “we can find a way to keep working together in some capacity”.
Magnussen said this would only work if he failed to sign elsewhere in F1, but said he would be open to “some kind of advisory role or however they see fit”.
“I'll definitely look at that,” he added. “I've been with this team for many years now. I know the operation very well. I have a lot of experience in Formula 1. So, it would be good to keep making use of that instead of just leaving the sport altogether.”
But Magnussen is not “interested in a reserve driver role” with Haas in the future.
“If I'm able to take some kind of role with Haas, it means that I didn't land a seat in Formula 1.
“And in that case, I think I'd call it a day in Formula 1. I wouldn't want to just go to every race [as a reserve, not racing] and I'd want to focus on other things that would be exciting and fulfilling for me.
“I think being a reserve driver, waiting around for someone to break his leg, I don't think that's very exciting,” he concluded.
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