What are Magnussen’s options after Haas F1 exit?

Unlike in 2020, Kevin Magnussen knows he will be departing the Haas Formula 1 team with half a season remaining – this boosts both his chances of remaining in grand prix racing or shifting his pursuits elsewhere.

For the second time in his career, Magnussen has been dropped by Haas, which sensationally brought him back to F1 in 2022 when he had been “on a beach in Miami five days prior to the [season-opening] Bahrain Grand Prix, with a margarita in my hand” in the wake of the American team dropping Nikita Mazepin amid Russian’s invasion of Ukraine.

Magnussen “absolutely” feels he’s in a better position compared to four years ago, when he and Romain Grosjean were replaced by the all-rookie line-up of Mazepin and Mick Schumacher.

At the time, Haas was entering a rebuilding phase after owner Gene Haas rowed back from being close to ending his F1 project during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant Magnussen and Grosjean were left with uncertain F1 futures until late in the year.

Grosjean has since raced in IndyCar and sportscars, while Magnussen’s path into the same spheres suddenly changed when Haas brought him back to F1.

“It’s a lot better to have clarity early on,” Magnussen says of his situation in 2024. “But at the moment I just know I’m not going to be racing here [at Haas] next year. So, it’s not like full clarity. Could still be months. It’s just the way it is.”

Magnussen, who represents himself in trying to secure race seats, now has three options available as he enters a fifth phase in his motorsport career – after his junior category rise, first F1 stint with McLaren, Renault and Haas, his 2021 efforts and his second spell with Haas.

Finding a new F1 race seat for 2025

Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24

Photo by: Erik Junius

As it stands, there are still six seats open for the 2025 season – at Mercedes, RB, Alpine, Williams, Sauber and Haas, where Esteban Ocon is expected to soon sign a final contract to replace Magnussen.

“It would have been cool to see the fruits of the momentum that’s been built here recently,” Magnussen said of what he’s leaving behind at Haas. But he nevertheless feels “there are also other interesting projects out there, and there are still seats available in Formula 1 that could be interesting”.

Magnussen’s problem is that with Ollie Bearman…