Kevin Magnussen speaks out on Haas exit and reveals dreaded exit call

Kevin Magnussen has said he’s open to continuing work with Haas if other F1 opportunities fail to pan out for 2025.

The Danish driver will not be racing for Haas in 2025, with the American team choosing to part ways with their long-time driver as speculation suggests Esteban Ocon is en route to replace him.

Kevin Magnussen: There are still other interesting projects

Magnussen, who was previously dropped by Haas at the end of 2020 as the American squad turned towards drivers with significant financial backing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, returned to F1 in 2022 when the team dropped Nikita Mazepin.

Having previously raced for Haas between 2017 and ’20, the Danish driver has thus become the team’s longest-serving driver as he has only not been part of their line-up in 2016, the team’s debut year, and 2021.

Magnussen revealed that team boss Ayao Komatsu, who succeeded Guenther Steiner at the start of this season, called him in the week after the British Grand Prix in order to deliver the news that his services will not be retained for 2025.

Haas has already signed Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman for one of their seats as Nico Hulkenberg departs for Sauber, while the seat currently occupied by Magnussen is widely expected to be taken by current Alpine driver Esteban Ocon as he leaves the Enstone-based squad.

Faced with the prospect of leaving F1 again, Magnussen cut a resigned but disappointed figure as he spoke to media ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix as he bids to find a seat elsewhere on the grid.

“I’ve been with this team from the very beginning of Haas’ time in F1, so I’m very much a part of the family and it’s gonna be strange to leave the team at the end of the year,” he said.

“But everything comes to an end,  it’s still quite early in the season. Haas has gone ahead and wants to secure the drivers for next year early enough, and there are still seats available.

“So that’s understandable and fine by me.”

With Haas appearing far more competitive this year than it has over many of the recent seasons, the future looks bright for the Kannapolis-based squad – only earlier this week, the team announced a long-term continuation of its technical arrangement with Ferrari, while speculation has also hinted Toyota is interested in coming aboard in a technical capacity.

“I would have liked to continue here,” Magnussen said.

“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 are also other interesting projects out there, there are still seats available in F1 that could be interesting.”

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With several of the teams with vacant cockpits currently awaiting a decision from current Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz on who he signs with, Magnussen said he’s hopeful of being able to be in the mix once the Spaniard makes his call.

“Carlos [Sainz] is kind of still holding up that process, but it’s eventually going to move,” he said.

“So, right now, I think the best thing is just to focus on doing good races, and then I’ll be in contention for the seats available and things will fall into place eventually.”

Asked whether he believes he deserves another chance in F1, Magnussen said he believes he does.

“Yeah, I think so,” he said.

“Do I understand the decision? I don’t think you always need to understand or agree. It’s F1. Things happen and you move on. Look at these drivers coming in… are they better than me or not?

“It doesn’t really matter, because it’s a fact they’re racing and that’s the way it is. It doesn’t matter whether you understand.

“I knew for a while that, at least, Ollie would probably come. He has Ferrari backing, and he’s someone who had that race [standing in at Ferrari in the Saudi Arabian GP] and there’s a lot of hype around him.

“Honestly, I’ve just tried to be patient, and there’s no reason to really put my case forward, [Haas] know very well what they have in me, so it’s actually been pretty straightforward.”

Could Kevin Magnussen stay on at Haas in another role?

Komatsu had hinted at leaving the door open for Magnussen, saying in the team’s announcement of his departure from a race seat that “W ith 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 ongoing growth and development.”

Confirming that he’s not particularly interested in taking on a reserve driver role with the team, Magnussen said he’d be interested in exploring alternative avenues with Haas if another F1 opportunity doesn’t unfold.

“I don’t see myself putting an end to racing anytime soon,” he said.

“Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport, but I’ve always been of the opinion that racing outside of F1 is also awesome. I think, while you have a chance to be here, you need to do that – it is the top of motorsport. I’ve had a few chances actually, but you don’t get a chance every day to race in F1 so it’s natural, that everyone tries to stay here.

“If I’m racing in Formula 1 at another team, it doesn’t work. But it’s nice of him to say that and, if I won’t be racing F1 next year, 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 and 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.”

But, while Magnussen is now a free agent on the driver market with quite a few open cockpits still available, the Danish driver isn’t optimistic about a quick resolution of his own future – that’s despite the confirmation of his departure from Haas coming much earlier than it did at the conclusion of the 2020 season when the grid was already mostly decided for the following year.

“It’s a lot better to have clarity early on but, at the moment, I just know I’m not gonna be racing here next year,” he said.

“So it’s not like full clarity – it could still be months.”

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