Kevin Magnussen is a Danish F1 driver currently driving for the Haas F1 Team. However, this will soon change.
On Thursday, it was announced that Magnussen will depart from the American Formula 1 racing team Haas at the end of this season and may potentially retire completely from F1 racing.
The 31-year-old Dane's contract will not be extended beyond 2024, as announced by the racing team. This decision means that Haas will compete with a new driver lineup in 2025.
It has already been confirmed that German driver Nico Hülkenberg will move to Sauber, leaving his spot at Haas vacant.
In Hülkenberg’s place, 19-year-old Brit Oliver Bearman from the Ferrari junior academy will begin his first season as a regular driver.
The leading candidate to replace Magnussen is Frenchman Esteban Ocon, who will be leaving Alpine at the end of this year.
New Opportunities
"I'm 31 years old and I'm starting to think that it would feel empty if I ended my motorsport career after only driving around the midfield of Formula 1," Magnussen said recently.
"When I look at Le Mans or the Indy 500 and see some of the winners, they look damn happy and I think there is a career outside of Formula 1."
In a press release, Haas boss Ayao Komatsu thanked Kevin Magnussen for his efforts with the team and recalled, among other things, the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2022, where the Dane made a comeback in Formula 1 with a fifth-place finish.
"There are still a lot of races left this year, so I'm looking forward to seeing what we can achieve with Kevin. After that, I hope that with Kevin's special relationship with the team, we can find a way to work together," Komatsu stated.
Kevin Magnussen has driven 135 of his total of 175 Formula 1 races for Haas. This weekend, he will drive another one when the Formula 1 field competes in Hungary.
