It was officially confirmed on Thursday morning by Haas that Kevin Magnussen will be departing the team at the end of the season following two spells together.
The 31-year-old unexpectedly returned to the sport in 2022 after Nikita Mazepin’s sudden exit. He finished a stunning 5th in Bahrain to kick off the comeback in the best way possible.
The biggest high came in São Paulo later that year when he took a memorable pole position in tricky conditions in qualifying.
However, since Nico Hülkenberg joined the squad in 2023, he has been consistently a step behind, struggling to match his teammate’s blistering qualifying speed in particular. He trails his teammate 5-22 in points this year, too.
His strong defensive drives in Saudi Arabia and the Miami Sprint helped his teammate out big time. Magnussen has picked up 10 penalty points on his licence so far this season — that’s 2 away from a ban.
Speaking in his Hungarian GP written media session, the Danish driver reacted to the news of his exit from the team, declaring that he feels like he’s very much part of their family.
“I’ve been with this team, what feels from the very beginning of Haas’ time in Formula 1, and 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, you know, it’s still quite early in the season.
“Haas has gone ahead and wants to secure the drivers for next year early enough. There’s still seats available, so that’s understandable and fine by me.”
Although he would have naturally liked to continue at Haas, Magnussen is not giving up on F1 yet.
The 2014 Australian Grand Prix podium finisher says putting in good performances over the next few races will keep him in the mix for a seat next year.
“Would I have liked to continue here? I think, you know, 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, you know, still seats available in Formula 1, that could be interesting.
“And, of course, there’s Carlos kind of still holding up all that process, but eventually it’s going to move, so right now I think 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.”
Confirming that “yes, I am” regarding if he’s talking with other teams, Magnussen says every single team is quite an interesting prospect to drive for in the sport due to the tight gaps that exist from the front to the back right now.
Sauber is the only team yet to score a point in 2024, with every other squad scoring at least one point in multiple races.
“I hope I can stay in Formula 1.
“There are some interesting seats available. I think all the teams by now in F1 are interesting.
“You could look at any team and say they might be a top five team next year. Everyone is so tight together. It feels like there are still interesting opportunities.
“Although Haas is in a good position right now, you could say it’s a pity because they’re doing so well right now.
“But everything could change next year. One of the other seats could be more competitive. You never know.”
