Kevin Magnussen talks about understanding the decision of his Haas F1 exit, the memories associated with it and being in a better place.
Magnussen wasn’t surprised by the decision of Haas to sign Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon in an all-new line-up for 2025 F1 season. While Nico Hulkenberg has a seat at Sauber/Audi, the Dane may face a departure from the sport for the second time.
Even though he would like to continue in F1 for more seasons, whether at Haas and or elsewhere, Magnussen feels satisfied after getting a second opportunity. He feels fulfilled considering not many get a first go, leave alone a second one.
He looks back at the time when he initially joined Haas to what it is now and how the team has progressed from a low point. He also shares the highlights he has with the American outfit, as he looks to create few more in the remainder of 10 rounds.
Haas decision, how it all happened –
Magnussen: What did he say? He told me the situation. By telephone. It’s a lot better to have clarity early on. But at the moment I just know I’m not going to be racing here next year. So it’s not like fully clarity. Could still be months. It’s just the way it is. I’ve been with this team, feels like, from the very beginning of Haas’ time in Formula 1. I feel very much a part of the family. It’s going to be strange to leave the team at the end of the year. But everything comes to an end and it’s still quite early in the season. Haas have gone ahead and wants to secure the drivers for next year early enough.
“There are still seats available. That’s understandable and fine by me. I knew for a while that at least Oliver would probably come here. He has a Ferrari backing, and he had that race and there’s a lot of hype around him. So I thought that was like him. But honestly, I’ve just tried to be patient. There’s no reason to really put my case forward. They know very well they have in me. It’s actually been pretty straightforward.”
Felt like could continue, understand –
Magnussen: “I mean, yes and no. Would I have liked to continue here? Had I continued it would have been cool to see the fruits of the momentum that’s been built here recently. That would have been interesting. But I think there’s also other interesting projects out there, and there’s still seats available in Formula 1 that could be interesting. Of course, there’s Carlos kind of still holding up all that process, but it’s, eventually it’s going to move. So right now, 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.
“Do I understand the decision? You do not always need to understand or agree. It’s Formula 1. Things happen and you move on. You can look at these drivers coming in and you think, are they better than me or not? And it doesn’t really matter because it’s a fact. They are racing and uh, and that’s the way it is. So it doesn’t really matter whether you understand or not.
Co-operation till the end –
Magnussen: “If I’m racing elsewhere in Formula 1 and another team, it doesn’t work. But it’s nice of him to say that. If I won’t be racing in Formula 1 next year, then absolutely I’ll definitely look at that, some kind of role advisory or however they see fit. 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. Although, I hope I can stay in Formula 1. There’s some interesting seeds available.
“All the teams by now in Formula One are interesting, the whole bunch. You could look at any team and say they might be a top 5 team next year. Everyone’s so tight together that it feels like there’s still interesting opportunities. Although Haas is in a good position right now. You could say, okay, it’s a pity because they they’re doing so well right now. But everything could change like next year. And one of the other seats could be more competitive. You never know.”
Loyal to team, changes from then to now –
Magnussen: “It shows that the team 1) they’ve been very loyal; 2) it also shows that they valued my contributions to the team. I am someone that that works very hard. I fight very hard on track. I give myself to the team, I think I’m a team player, I’ve shown that many times. So you know that’s probably part of why I’ve been here for so long. Wouldn’t have been here otherwise. From then to now, the team is much more established. When I joined maybe I expected things to change quicker. You came into Formula 1 with, with this model that hadn’t been seen before of outsourcing as much as possible and buying all the parts, as the regs allowed.
“And then for a while it didn’t really evolve. I think recently it started to really evolve. I think that’s, that’s an exciting process. And I and I do believe this team has a bright future. Actually with the model and the structure that’s been in place since the beginning, the results have been quite impressive given the resource and the number of people. It’s been an overachievement. Gene always wants more and that’s why he is in the position he is. But actually I think, as a pat on the shoulder to all the people in this team, I think they’ve really overachieved in terms of what they had to work with.”
Impressed by team’s survival –
Magnussen: “Well, around Covid, it really looked dismal. It looked like team was really in trouble. And they had to get rid of both me and Grosjean on the basis of that. And taking in drivers that that could help them survive. So at that time I didn’t know what was going to happen to Haas. But the situation right now is completely different to back then, much more sustainable. There’s this team right now that than it was, and also a lot more competitive. If you look at the trajectory also on track in terms of performance, it’s the first time that we actually make progress throughout the season.
“Other years we’ve kind of started the year with a good car and then just not made progress because it’s just been too difficult to run a season and develop at the same time. Whereas they go in into the winter and they have more resource. They can take the people that usually are focused on the race and everything becomes more quiet. But this year, it seems like we can do both: race fairly well and also develop at the same time.”
Highlights –
Magnussen: “I would say so, Interlagos has been. Nothing beats being number one. So you have those good days when you get a top five or a good bunch of points, but it doesn’t feel the same as a pole position. I would say that even felt better than my second place in Melbourne in my first race. There’s something special about that number 1. I would say the whole of 2018 was a fantastic year. It was it was only the third year of the team. Prior to that season the whole team had only two seasons of experience. And we went and fought and beat some of the big established teams.
“That year was a fantastic year, really feeling like the underdog and taking the fight to the big teams often. I thought that was a highlight. But of course, that’s a whole year. Highlight was also coming back to Formula 1, being on a beach in Miami five days prior to the Bahrain Grand Prix. I was with a margarita in my hand and not prepared at all and then came to Bahrain and got a top five finish. After a tough run of years for Haas to come back and that whole thing was also a bit of a highlight.”
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