Haas has announced the departure of Kevin Magnussen at the end of the 2024 F1 season, thereby ending a long-term association.
It was speculated to happen for some weeks and it has now been confirmed by Haas that their relationship with Magnussen will end at the end of the 2024 F1 season. This was their second stint together after the first ended in 2020.
Magnussen joined Haas back in 2017 and was part of the team until 2020 after which he moved away from F1. He made a dramatic return with the American outfit as a replacement to Nikita Mazepin in 2022 and has been part of the team since.
But rumours about non-renewal of the current deal started to surface as the season progressed. After the departure of Nico Hulkenberg and his replacement with Oliver Bearman, things started to surge towards an all-new line-up.
Esteban Ocon is heavily tipped to join Haas as a replacement to Magnussen. “I’d like to thank Kevin for everything he’s given us as a team – both on and off the track,” said team boss Ayao Komatsu. “He’s truly been a bedrock of our driver line-up over the years. Nobody’s driven more races for us and we’ve had some memorable highlights together – not least a remarkable fifth place finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2022 when Kevin returned to start his second spell with the team.
“He wasn’t expecting to be driving a Formula 1 car that weekend, but he put in a remarkable performance that was a tremendous boost to the entire organization and once again showcased his own talents behind the wheel. There’s plenty of racing to go this year so I’m looking forward to seeing what else we can achieve with Kevin as we push together in the championship.
“Beyond that, and with Kevin’s special relationship with the team, I’m hoping we can find a way to keep working together in some capacity. We can hopefully define that in the near future, but his extensive experience in Formula 1 and knowledge of our working operations are undoubtedly of value in our on-going growth and development.”
At the same time, Magnussen added: “I’d like to extend my thanks to everyone at MoneyGram Haas F1 Team – I’m proud to have raced for such a great team of people these last few years. In particular I’d like to thank Gene Haas for his commitment to me, notably in bringing me back once again in 2022 when I thought, at that time at least, my time in Formula 1 had ended.
“I’ve enjoyed some great moments with this team – memories I’ll never forget. While I’m looking forward to the next chapter of my racing career, I remain fully focused on giving everything I’ve got for the rest of 2024 with MoneyGram Haas F1 Team.”
Here’s latest from Uralkali
Here’s Haas and Ferrari extend
Here’s Oliver Bearman opening up on his F1 deal
Here’s Nico Hulkenberg, Kevin Magnussen on Haas’ updates
Here’s link to a F1 Discord channel, join in to interact
