Tag: Kevin Magnussen

Magnussen to lose Haas race seat at end of 2024

Kevin Magnussen will lose his race seat at Haas at the end of the current season, the team has confirmed. The Dane has driven for Haas for all but two of its seasons in Formula 1, joining for its second year in place of Esteban Gutierrez and then …

Kevin Magnussen will lose his race seat at Haas at the end of the current season, the team has confirmed.

The Dane has driven for Haas for all but two of its seasons in Formula 1, joining for its second year in place of Esteban Gutierrez and then losing his drive in 2021 when the team opted for an all-rookie lineup. Haas turned to Magnussen again in 2022 but has now confirmed it will be his last season with the team as it opts for a fresh pairing next season.

“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,” Magnussen said. “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.”

Haas has been linked with Esteban Ocon as a potential replacement for the 31-year-old, with an experienced driver the expected target to partner rookie Ollie Bearman in 2025 and Ocon’s departure from Alpine also already public. While there is so far no confirmation of who will take the second seat, team principal Ayao Komatsu suggests there could still be a role of some kind on offer to Magnussen in future.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1388]

“I’d like to thank Kevin for everything he’s given us as a team — both on and off the track,” Komatsu said. “He’s truly been a bedrock of our driver lineup 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.”

Perez calls for inquiry over lack of Magnussen investigation

Sergio Perez says Red Bull should ask the FIA why the stewards did not deem his first-lap crash with Kevin Magnussen at the Monaco Grand Prix worthy of an investigation. Magnussen is two penalty points away from an automatic one-race ban and was …

Sergio Perez says Red Bull should ask the FIA why the stewards did not deem his first-lap crash with Kevin Magnussen at the Monaco Grand Prix worthy of an investigation.

Magnussen is two penalty points away from an automatic one-race ban and was trying to pull alongside Perez on the climb out of Turn 1, but as the barrier follows the curvature of the road he hit Perez’s left-rear wheel and sent the Red Bull into a high-speed crash. Both Haas drivers were taken out along with Perez — whose car sustained huge damage and admits he “was a little bit shaky” afterward — but race control stated no further investigation was required.

First-lap collisions are often viewed with more leniency than other incidents due to the proximity of other cars — with Nico Hulkenberg to Magnussen’s left on this occasion — but Perez says he doesn’t understand why there wasn’t a penalty for the Dane.

“I’m very surprised because the amount of damage and how dangerous the damage was,” Perez said. “We need to ask for a reason why it’s not been investigated, because without an investigation we don’t get a reason why it wasn’t a penalty.

“I think I got the ‘lap one, let them race,’ but I think this was more dangerous driving just to keep it flat out knowing that they were going to come into contact at some point. I think that was some dangerous driving.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1388]

While Magnussen claimed Perez didn’t leave him any room, the Red Bull driver says it was on the car behind to take avoiding action.

“If you see my onboard… you see Kevin’s car not even close to me, alongside me, and you could see that the wall is just getting closer and closer and to keep it flat out… There was only one way out of it, and it was either contact with my car [or] with the barrier — there were just simply no room for both cars.

“And at some point he had to realize that. I’ve been in that location and many times when you are the car behind, you just have to realize that it’s time to back off before things get closer to you.

“I think he clearly shouldn’t be there in first place because there is just one way to get out of that, where it will be just to hit the wall — he either hit the wall or hit my car. So how does he want me to leave him room if he is not even alongside?

“There’s a point where you see the wall is coming to you and you just have to back off. It has happened to me many times and there is a point where you just have to back off.”

Perez says he isn’t surprised that Magnussen was taking such a risk despite being so close to a race ban, as he believes the potential consequences do not cross his mind.

“I don’t think he really thinks about it, you know, about the outcome. You sometimes find yourself in a position and you have to take a very quick decision to say, ‘OK, there’s only one way of it and it’s going to be contact.’ I think we’ve got more important things to focus on. It’s been a very frustrating weekend. I’m happy that the weekend is over and I can’t wait to get to Montreal now.”

Magnussen fighting for Haas future – Komatsu

Kevin Magnussen is fighting for his future at Haas but helped his cause with a strong performance in Imola, according to team principal Ayao Komatsu. Nico Hulkenberg has already announced his departure from Haas at the end of this season, heading to …

Kevin Magnussen is fighting for his future at Haas but helped his cause with a strong performance in Imola, according to team principal Ayao Komatsu.

Nico Hulkenberg has already announced his departure from Haas at the end of this season, heading to Stake before it becomes Audi in 2026. Magnussen has been part of the Haas lineup for all but two of the seasons the team has raced in Formula 1 so far, but with the likes of Ollie Bearman heavily linked with a drive and multiple other experienced names available on the market, Komatsu says the Dane’s place is under threat.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1388]

“Yes [he’s fighting for his seat],” Komatsu told SpeedCity Broadcasting. “I can’t say much but of course yes, he needs to perform. But then a drive like [Imola] is very, very good. So now Kevin needs to put the whole weekend together.”

Magnussen finished 12th in Imola, 8.5 seconds off Yuki Tsunoda in the final points-paying position, but Komatsu says a strategic team error cost him a chance of 10th.

“I think we could have got P10 for sure, especially with Kevin,” he said. “Kevin started from the back, but he had a good start, he had decent pace on the medium and we went long and were looking at the gap to [Guaynu] Zhou, and then we got the pit stop lap wrong.

“One lap too late, so we came out behind Zhou. It shouldn’t have happened, and if we came out in front of Zhou, with the pace he had, he would have got Tsunoda, I’m pretty sure. So that’s really frustrating.

“I think the good thing is [drivers are interested] because we are performing out on the track, but that’s why it’s so frustrating that we should have had P10, and then other people will see that we are a proper race team now. Our best chance to attract good drivers is through the on-track sporting stuff, so that’s what we’re trying to do.”

However, pushed on names of who he might be in discussions with, Komatsu refused to make any of them public.

“I can’t, that would be very unfair to the people I am talking to,” he said. “You wouldn’t be happy if you were talking to me in confidence and I said I’m talking to you about something!”

Magnussen urges F1 to learn from U.S. style of racing and racetracks

Kevin Magnussen says Formula 1 should learn from the style of racing and circuits used in American race series to help create a better product and lessen the need for stewards to hand out penalties. The Dane is on the verge of a race ban after …

Kevin Magnussen says Formula 1 should learn from the style of racing and circuits used in American race series to help create a better product and lessen the need for stewards to hand out penalties.

The Dane is on the verge of a race ban after picking up multiple penalties — predominantly for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, but also for causing a collision with Logan Sargeant — at the Miami Grand Prix. Two more penalty points this season would result in a ban for Magnussen, and he says F1 could find solutions by following the examples set in IndyCar and IMSA, having made a one-off appearance for Arrow McLaren at Road America alongside his full IMSA season with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021.

“The best thing would be for the FIA to tell us to give back positions, and then the consequence for not doing that being harsh — like really harsh, so you make sure that’s being done,” Magnussen said. “I think firstly it gets too complicated, and also too big a consequence. You have to be able to leave a bit of room to go over the limit and then come back from that, whereas now if they judge it to be an unfair advantage and it’s a drive-through penalty, I think that’s not good.

“I’ve raced in IndyCar, and I love the way they race over there — I feel the rules are very clear and very simple, and the racing is great. The racing has to be great amongst the 20 best drivers in the world. Formula 1 drivers are fast, but also very good at racing. You have to showcase that. That has to be part of it.

“We all came from karting and learned to race each other, and I feel now — certainly for myself with the guidelines this year — some of that is going against the natural racing dynamic that we’ve all learned from young kids. I know that’s a separate issue to going off and holding people back and all the stuff I got penalties for. I think that can be solved with telling us to give back positions, and the penalty for not doing that being very harsh.

“Tracks, that’s a big part too. I raced in IndyCar and also in sports cars in America and one thing that stood out was the tracks and how unbelievably different they are to F1 tracks.

“The cars over there, they’re low as well — we bounce around in the sports cars over there. I feel that we’re very sensitive to track stuff in Formula 1.

“I like the rough tracks; I prefer those. But also to the racing issue, tracks that have grass or gravel on the outside, you put this natural limit in and that sorts itself out. I feel that’s also an issue in Formula 1, just the tracks in general.”

Sam Bloxham/Motorsport Images

Magnussen also believes the fact there are more races per season compared to when the 12 penalty points rule was brought in — with each point lasting for 12 months from when they are earned — means the system needs updating.

“The fact I’m at risk of a race ban for driving outside of some white lines on a piece of tarmac, I don’t know if I feel that is right. But it is the way the rules are. So you know, I accept that. But I feel there’s room for improvement there, not only in terms of the points.

“There are more races now than there was when they were introduced. I feel you can end up getting a race ban effectively for a very minor thing.”

Magnussen nearing race ban after latest Miami GP penalty

Kevin Magnussen is on the verge of a race ban after picking up another penalty in the Miami Grand Prix. Saturday’s sprint race saw Magnussen pick up three penalty points for repeat offenses when fighting with Lewis Hamilton, having already earned a …

Kevin Magnussen is on the verge of a race ban after picking up another penalty in the Miami Grand Prix.

Saturday’s sprint race saw Magnussen pick up three penalty points for repeat offenses when fighting with Lewis Hamilton, having already earned a time penalty that was going to drop him out of the top eight. Then on Sunday, Magnussen was deemed to be wholly to blame for causing a collision with Logan Sargeant, sending the Williams out of the race, and earning another two penalty points.

The penalties over the Miami weekend lead to five points, and with Magnussen also earning five across incidents in Saudi Arabia and China — for colliding with Yuki Tsunoda on each occasion — he is now on 10 penalty points since early March. Two further points between now and 9 March 2025 — the date one year from the first incident — would trigger an automatic one-race ban for the Haas driver.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1388]

Explaining the latest decision, the stewards pointed to the fact that Magnussen was not far enough alongside Sargeant to be entitled to racing room.

“Per the Driving Standards Guidelines, in order for car No. 20 to be given room for an overtaking attempt on the outside, car No. 20 needed to have the front axle at least alongside the front axle of the other car at the apex of Turn 2.

“It was clear that car No. 20 did not have its front axle in that position such that it was entitled to room in that corner. Further, if this is looked at purely as an overtaking on the inside of Turn 3, car No. 20 would also not have had the right to the corner, by the standards for an inside overtake.

“Even if this was viewed as a sequence of corners or a chicane, the decision remains the same. Per the guidelines, priority will be given to the first corner and if you do not have the right to be given room, then you do not get the benefit for the next corner.”

Should Magnussen miss a race at any point this season, Haas can call on either Ollie Bearman or Pietro Fittipaldi as its reserve drivers.

Magnussen says Hulkenberg didn’t play team game in Miami sprint

Kevin Magnussen says his multiple penalties in the sprint at the Miami Grand Prix were justified as he protected Nico Hulkenberg, but felt his teammate instigated the situation himself. Hulkenberg and Magnussen were running in seventh and eighth …

Kevin Magnussen says his multiple penalties in the sprint at the Miami Grand Prix were justified as he protected Nico Hulkenberg, but felt his teammate instigated the situation himself.

Hulkenberg and Magnussen were running in seventh and eighth early on in the Sprint, keeping Hamilton at bay outside of the points in the shorter race. However, once Hulkenberg pulled more than a second clear of Magnussen, he lost DRS and was struggling to keep Hamilton at bay, receiving multiple penalties for leaving the track and gaining an advantage or exceeding track limits in his battle.

“They were fair; all the penalties were fair,” Magnussen said after picking up a total of 35s of time penalties across four different incidents. “But I had to do my thing to protect Nico, make the space, same story as Jeddah.

“So I got some penalties, we got some points as a team. It kind of sucks for me because I think we probably could have just finished there, both cars, had we played the game together, kept me in the DRS, but Nico cut the chicane at one point and broke the DRS. Then I was vulnerable to Lewis, started fighting with him, lost ground to Nico and that was it.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1388]

“I had to play the sporting game not to have him be overtaken as well. Not the way I want to go racing, but what I had to do.”

Hamilton was involved in contact with the Aston Martins at the start of the race and then was left frustrated by Magnussen’s defense, although he later received a retrospective drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane that demoted him from eighth at the checkered flag to 16th place.

“I feel OK,” Hamilton said. “It’s obviously tough battling out there. Of course Turn 1 wasn’t intentional to be touching with anyone, but everyone’s pushing as much as possible. I went for a gap but I think those guys went wide and then came back across so that’s kind of where we connected.

“And then after that was just fighting, trying to get past [the Haas cars]. It was really tough battling, but I would just enjoy that I was racing. I wasn’t going backwards at least. The penalty, definitely it sucks, but it’s one point.”

Magnussen playing the long game at Haas

Kevin Magnussen believes Haas is right to have low expectations for the start of the 2024 season, but is encouraged by its potential to improve through development as the year goes on. Haas ended last year bottom of the constructors’ championship …

Kevin Magnussen believes Haas is right to have low expectations for the start of the 2024 season, but is encouraged by its potential to improve through development as the year goes on.

Haas ended last year bottom of the constructors’ championship and the result played a key role in Guenther Steiner being replaced as team principal by Ayao Komatsu. The Japanese engineer has already stated he expects to be at the back of the grid in Bahrain but is targeting a stronger development plan than in the past – something Magnussen is on board with.

“I think expectations are being managed quite well this year,” Magnussen said. “I think some years there has been some unrealistic optimism going into seasons and I’ve been affected by it as well.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1388]

“Certainly, Ayao is very clear that he doesn’t think we’ve moved out of last year’s position yet, but he’s clear in that he sees the development trajectory looking a lot stronger, so he’s actually optimistic that we can move forward through this year.

“The entire field is so close together and I think last year we completely ran into a wall in terms of development. We couldn’t really break that barrier until we shifted the concept, and this year is looking a lot better. Expectations are low to begin with but high for the season as a whole.”

Magnussen admits there’s a chance Haas doesn’t make any progress at the first race compared to where it ended 2023, as the team gets to grips with a new concept that was initially introduced last year.

“The update was more of an experiment last year.” he said. “It’s hard to call it an update or upgrade because it wasn’t really upwards, it was just sideways, but it was a very good experiment in terms of committing to the concept of car that we have this year. I think we wanted to see the potential and characteristics on track with this concept of car and this year is in that direction.

“I hope we can take a step forward. We committed to this year’s car quite late in development, so we’ve had quite a short time to develop, and it’s actually been going quite well. Although I don’t think we can guarantee that it’s a step forward straightaway in Bahrain at the first race, I think the development looks more interesting, at least.”

Haas to split car specifications between drivers in Las Vegas

Haas will run two different specifications of car for Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen at the Las Vegas Grand Prix this weekend, based on driver preference. Guenther Steiner’s team introduced a major update at the United States Grand Prix last …

Haas will run two different specifications of car for Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen at the Las Vegas Grand Prix this weekend, based on driver preference.

Guenther Steiner’s team introduced a major update at the United States Grand Prix last month but still found itself struggling with many of the race pace issues that had impacted its season. While the upgrade has had an impact, Hulkenberg prefers the previous specification of car so Steiner says the team is allowing the drivers to choose the parts they want to run in Las Vegas.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1388]

“The main drive behind this was Nico feels that for him the old spec suits him better, and Kevin is the opposite,” Steiner said. “We’ve opted to give them what they want, we have two races to go and nothing to lose, so we’ve tried to do what we can.

“We could discuss gathering data, but we’ve got enough data, it’s a decision based on what each driver likes more than anything else. It puts them in a comfortable position so that they’re as happy as they can be with the car they get.”

Away from the sporting challenge of the new race in Las Vegas, Steiner is impressed simply by the attempt to host a grand prix on the Strip, and expand Formula 1’s footprint in the United States.

“I think we all have an expectation, but we know what Las Vegas is about. It’s hard to imagine exactly what it will be like, but it will be a very cool event and something completely different from anything done before in Formula 1.

“To put such effort into racing in a city like Las Vegas is challenging, to say the least, and to make it happen a few years ago was impossible to think about, let alone say. Let’s see what it will be like, but it will surely set a standard for a lot of things in the sport going forward.

“I think it’s fantastic to have three races in the States, especially as the American team. Five or 10 years ago, who’d have thought that we’d have more than one race in the US, now we’ve got three and they’re all very different events – as they would be if we were racing in different continents, not just country. I think it’s good for Formula 1 and the American fans who are coming more to watch and support.

“The standout point for me is the difference between each race. You go to Austin, which is a more ‘traditional’ race with lots of hardcore fans, and then you go to Miami where it’s party central, and then let’s see what Vegas brings. We know it won’t ever be sleeping and we’re racing at night, which is completely different again.”

‘I don’t think I’ve ever fought so hard for a point’ – Magnussen

Kevin Magnussen believes his tenth place at the Singapore Grand Prix was the hardest-fought point of his career so far, but isn’t expecting a repeat any time soon. Haas hadn’t scored on a Sunday since the Miami Grand Prix, but had a golden …

Kevin Magnussen believes his tenth place at the Singapore Grand Prix was the hardest-fought point of his career so far, but isn’t expecting a repeat any time soon.

Haas hadn’t scored on a Sunday since the Miami Grand Prix, but had a golden opportunity with Magnussen starting sixth and Nico Hulkenberg ninth in Singapore. As has often been the case, the race pace didn’t match the qualifying performance but Magnussen recovered from losing multiple positions at one stage to climb back into 11th and then inherit 10th when George Russell crashed on the final lap.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1388]

“We’re pleased with that,” Magnussen said. “It was a hard fight and I don’t think I’ve ever fought so hard for a point, but I really, really wanted it and after a good qualifying it would have been so disappointing not to get anything out of it.

“It looked tough at one point, and once I had that off in Turn 1 and 2 I thought it was game over, my tires were just done.

“So we pitted for a soft and it worked really well. The pace was good, I made up a few positions and then a few people crashed and I got a point, so I’m glad I worked so hard for that.

“I just tried as hard as I could. I wanted to make sure there was nothing left out there and it paid off.”

Magnussen was particularly proud of the way Haas took advantage of the chance to score on Sunday, although he believes the track characteristics at Suzuka this coming weekend will prove painful for the team.

“We got an opportunity and we took it – we were ready to capitalize. That’s what I always say. We go into these races and we know the race pace isn’t going to be that good and tire degradation is not on our side and we’ve just got to be ready to take any opportunity there is and we did that.

“I think (Singapore) with the sharp 90-degree corners, you don’t have to combine so long. The entry phase is very sharp, so that phase is a lot shorter on this track for most of the lap, so that means we’re not as exposed in the weakness we have in the car.

“Suzuka is the opposite to that, very, very long entries and exits, it’s not really what we like so much!”

Haas F1 re-signs Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg

The American F1 team is looking to continue fielding an experienced driver pair for 2024.

Haas has its driver lineup for the 2024 season locked in.

There will be no changes for the American team in 2024, as the team announced Thursday it had re-signed current drivers [autotag]Nico Hulkenberg[/autotag] and [autotag]Kevin Magnussen[/autotag] to the team for the next season. As of now, it seems that the two have been renewed for just the 2024 season.

Hulkenberg and Magnussen both have experience in Formula 1, having both started a combined 346 races. As it stands, Hulkenberg sits in 14th place with nine points in the World Drivers Championship while Magnussen is in 18th with two points. Hulkenberg has Haas’ best result of the year, a 7th-place finish in the Australian Grand Prix.

Team principal Guenther Steiner told Formula1.com that the team currently has an “extremely solid driver pairing” and that the experience that the two bring to the team is invaluable. Here’s what he had to say about renewing the two drivers:

“Kevin is obviously a very well-known quantity to us, and I’m delighted he’ll return for what will be his seventh season in Haas colours. With 113 starts for our team alone, we know where his strengths lie and his knowledge and experience of our organisation pairs very well with that too.

On the other side of the garage, Nico’s simply slotted in without fuss or fanfare and proved himself to be a valuable member of the team. He’s approaching 200 starts in Formula 1 and we’re very happy to be the beneficiary of that experience behind the wheel.”

The two will attempt to take Haas to greater heights in 2024. The team is currently eighth in the constructors championship with 11 points, so both Hulkenberg and Magnussen will hope they signed up for a more competitive car in the future.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]