Haas has announced it will part ways with its longest-serving driver, Kevin Magnussen, at the end of this season.
With Nico Hulkenberg already due to leave the team and join Sauber next year, the news means Haas will have an all-new driver line-up for 2025. It has previously announced Ferrari Driver Academy member Oliver Bearman as one half of its line-up.
Magnussen has driven for Haas in seven of the last eight seasons. He was previously dropped at the end of his first, four-year stint when the team opted to bring in two rookie drivers, and the sponsorship they attracted for 2021, having run into financial trouble the year before.
However Magnussen made a surprise return to the team in 2022 as a replacement for one of those drivers, Nikita Mazepin, who was dropped as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which led the team to cancel its sponsorship deal with his father’s company. Magnussen starred in his first race back for the team, claiming a valuable fifth place in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
He has fared less well against Hulkenberg over the last two seasons. However team principal Ayao Komatsu, who replaced Guenther Steiner at the beginning of the year, expressed his gratitude for Magnussen’s service.
“I’d like to thank Kevin for everything he’s given us as a team, both on and off the track,” said Komatsu. “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 organisation and once again showcased his own talents behind the wheel.”
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While Magnussen is yet to confirm his future plans, Komatsu hopes to persuade him to continue working with them. “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 ongoing growth and development.”
Magnussen said he is “proud to have raced for such a great team of people these last few years.”
“In particular I’d like to…
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