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Haas confirmed on Thursday that Kevin Magnussen is out at the end of 2024. What comes next for both sides?
The latest domino in the Formula 1 driver transfer market has fallen.
On Thursday, Haas confirmed that Kevin Magnussen will not be back racing for the team in 2025. In a statement released to the media, Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu praised the driver for being a “bedrock” of the organization over his tenure.
“I’d like to thank Kevin for everything he’s given us as a team – both on and off the track. 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,” stated Komatsu. “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.”
Magnussen thanked the entire organization in the statement, starting with team owner Gene Haas
“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. 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,” stated Magnussen. “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.”
While the two sides are committed to ending on a positive note, what comes next for both Magnussen and Haas? And is their relationship truly over?
Who will drive alongside Oliver Bearman?
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Before Thursday’s announcement, Haas had already confirmed one of their two drivers for the 2025 campaign, announcing earlier this month that young Oliver Bearman would be in a seat at Haas next year on a “multi-year” contract.
Bearman currently competes for Prema Racing in F2 and is a reserve for both Ferrari and Haas. The young British driver showed his mettle earlier this year by stepping in for Carlos Sainz Jr. when an appendectomy sidelined him at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. With just one hour of practice time in Jeddah under his belt, Bearman advanced to Q2 during qualifying, narrowly missing out on Q3.
He started the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in P11 and finished seventh, holding off Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton down the stretch to bank six points in his debut. At the moment that result has Bearman sitting 14th in the F1 Drivers’ Championship standings.
With Haas turning to a rookie for one of their seats, it is expected that a driver with more experience will be in the other spot. Until Thursday’s announcement, Magnussen seemed a contender for that role, given his years of experience in both F1 and at Haas.
Now that Magnussen has been confirmed to be exiting Haas at the end of the season, is there a favorite to land in this role?
At the moment, that seems to be Esteban Ocon. Reports in recent weeks have named Ocon as the likely second driver at Haas, with additional reporting indicating such an announcement was “imminent.”
Ocon may seem an interesting choice for Haas, but he remains one of the few drivers on the current grid to have won a Grand Prix. This weekend marks the return of Ocon to the place where his single F1 victory happened, as he stormed to a victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix back in 2021. That win marked the first win for Alpine since the team rebranded from the Renault flag, and it remains Ocon’s only F1 win.
If, however, Ocon is not an option for the team another veteran driver in the mix is Valtteri Bottas. Earlier this summer Bottas was linked with a move to Haas, among other teams, as Sauber is starting to fill out their own driver lineup. Before the Miami Grand Prix Sauber announced that Nico Hülkenberg would be joining the team next year on a “multi-year” deal, ahead of Sauber becoming the Audi works operation in 2026.
While that does not mean that Bottas is necessarily out at Sauber — the team still has another seat available — it made a move for Bottas more likely.
With his own years of experience and resume of race wins, Bottas might be an ideal candidate to drive alongside Bearman next season.
What comes next for Magnussen?
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This is the next question: What comes next for Magnussen himself?
At the moment there are six spots available for next season, but only five potential options for Magnussen. These six teams currently have a seat available for next year: Haas, Visa Cash App RB F1 Team, Sauber, Williams, Mercedes, and Alpine.
Haas is now out of that mix for Magnussen.
We can likely rule VCARB and Mercedes out as well. Both teams have drivers in their programs that are likely options, and at VCARB they still could decide to retain Daniel Ricciardo for next season. Beyond Ricciardo for VCARB, the team could promote Liam Lawson to that seat.
Over at Mercedes, there is every expectation that Andrea Kimi Antonelli will be promoted to the team next to George Russell, although Carlos Sainz Jr. has become more of an option for the team in recent weeks, should Mercedes decide to play things a bit slower with the young Italian driver.
That leaves Williams, Alpine, and Sauber as options for Magnussen.
Williams has Logan Sargeant in that seat at the moment, and while the American driver has made progress in recent weeks — including outqualifying Sergio Pérez on multiple occasions — there is a strong indication that the team will go in a different direction. Williams has been linked with both Bottas and Sainz in recent weeks, and could even be a spot for Antonelli should Mercedes decide to take their time with the young driver.
Alpine has some internal options as well, including both Mick Schumacher and Jack Doohan. Those two drivers conducted recent testing for the team, at Paul Ricard Circuit in France, and Doohan was also in the A522 this week at Silverstone. The French-based team has also made a play for Sainz recently, another indication that they have options available to them at the moment.
Could Sauber be a landing spot for him? When the year began there was every belief in the paddock that given Audi’s links with Carlos Sainz Sr., who competes for Audi in rally car racing, that his son would be headed to the team for next year.
But that move has yet to materialize, and with Sauber signing Hülkenberg, could they add his current teammate for next year?
The two drivers have worked well together this season — most notably Magnussen, who on multiple occasions has played his team role to perfection in aiding Hülkenberg with scoring points — and the German driver praised his teammate earlier this season.
“Obviously, it’s not my responsibility and not my decision at all. But Kevin’s been also very consistent this year,” started Hülkenberg.
“There were a few moments in sessions where really small details made a difference between him and myself and, often on TV, the outcome or the result looks massive but, actually, it’s really small stuff from when I look at it, and obviously I have more access to data and see exactly what happened on his side.
“So I think he’s doing a solid job. I think he’s still a candidate, very much, for Haas or maybe some other teams.”
That would be a fascinating storyline: The two current Haas drivers moving over to Sauber for next year.
That might make Sauber the likely option for Magnussen, should he stay in F1. But the Danish driver may have driving options outside F1. He has driven in IndyCar before, driving for Arrow McLaren back in 2021 at the Grand Prix of Road America where he filled in for an injured Felix Rosenqvist.
Endurance racing is also a likely destination for Magnussen. His father Jan Magnussen was not only a F1 driver, but a notable endurance driver. The elder Magnussen won the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times, and while he stopped competing in that event following the 2019 season he drove in the IMSA — a North American endurance racing series — as recently as last season.
During his hiatus from F1, the younger Magnussen drove in the IMSA in both 2021 and 2022. He finished seventh in the series in 2021 — winning the Detroit Sports Car Classic alongside Renger van der Zande at Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing — and started the 2022 season with a sixth-place finish at the 24 Hours of Daytona.
That is when Haas called about a seat for that year.
Speaking of Haas, could he return to the team in some capacity next year?
Komatsu did not rule that out.
In the team’s statement Thursday, the Haas Team Principal not only talked about the work left to be done this year but opened the door to Magnussen serving the team in some capacity next season. “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,” said Komatsu. “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.”
Could the team carve out some sort of role for him, while allowing Magnussen to compete in another series as a driver? If a seat on the current grid — perhaps at Sauber — is not an option then competing elsewhere while helping Haas in “some capacity” might be Magnussen’s future.
But for now, his present includes helping Haas this year, in their fight with VCARB for sixth in the F1 Constructors’ Championship.
