MAGNUSSEN TO DEPART HAAS AFTER 2024 F1 SEASON, OCON CLOSES ON 2025 DEAL

Kevin Magnussen will leave the Haas Formula 1 team at the end of the 2024 season, the American squad announced on Thursday.

Magnussen holds the record for most F1 races started for Haas – 135, out of a career total of 175 which included time racing for McLaren and Renault.

The Dane is currently in his second stint racing for Haas, having initially been let go after the 2020 season before being brought back for 2022 when the team dropped Nikita Mazepin and his sponsor Uralkali on the eve of that season due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Magnussen scored an impressive fifth in the first race of the 2022 campaign, where his strong showings across from then-team-mate Mick Schumacher contributed to the German being replaced by Nico Hulkenberg for 2023.

But since then, fellow veteran Hulkenberg has shaded Magnussen – scoring nearly 75% of Haas’s 39 points and taking its best finishes of sixth (twice, in the last two 2024 races) in that period.

Hulkenberg has opted to join the Sauber/Audi project for 2025 and with Ollie Bearman already signed in one of Haas’s seats for next year, Magnussen’s exit had nevertheless long been expected – his early 2024 campaign complicated by a series of penalties that will keep him on the verge of a race ban until the year’s end at least.

There was also an uncomfortable phase around the Miami Grand Prix, where Magnussen’s insistence that his very aggressive defence against Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton had been done on behalf of Haas (with Hulkenberg scoring two points ahead with seventh in the sprint contest) not going down well internally as no such instruction was given.

Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-22

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

“I’d like to extend my thanks to everyone at Haas F1 Team – I’m proud to have raced for such a great team of people these last few years,” said Magnussen.

“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 Haas F1 Team.”

Magnussen’s exit mirrors that of Esteban Ocon’s from Alpine, with the Frenchman, who is understood to be close to signing a deal to race with Haas from 2025, being announced back in early June as leaving his current squad without his replacement being named.

Although Magnussen’s news clears the path for Haas to announce Ocon, it is understood he is yet to formally sign to final contract with the team.

Speaking about Magnussen, who first began to race for Haas in 2017, the squad’s second F1 season, team principal Ayao Komatsu said: “I’d like to thank Kevin for everything he’s given us as a team – both on and off the track.

Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

“He’s truly been a bedrock of our driver line-up 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.”

Komastu also teased that “beyond that” and given “Kevin’s special relationship with the team”, Magnussen may yet be offered a non-racing role to stay aligned with Haas for the future.

“I’m hoping we can find a way to keep working together in some capacity,” Komatsu added.

“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.”

Watch: Behind The Visor with Nico Hulkenberg

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