Magnussen to depart from Haas at the end of the 2024 F1 season
Kevin Magnussen will leave Haas at the end of the 2024 F1 season when the Dane’s contract expires at the end of the season, the American outfit has announced ahead of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.
Haas has confirmed that Kevin Magnussen will depart his race seat upon the conclusion of his current contract at the end of the season.
Magnussen is currently in his seventh season with Haas, split across two spells (2017-2020 and 2022-2024), and has scored five points to team mate Nico Hulkenberg’s 22 this season.
Commenting on Haas' decision, team boss Ayao Komatsu insisted that the Dane will end his work at Haas in his racing capacity, but he might return in "some other capacity."
“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.
"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.
"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. 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.”
Magnussen has started in a total of 175 F1 races from which he completed 135 grands prix for Haas. The Danish racer scored a career-high ninth place finish in the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship with Haas in 2018 – scoring top 10 finishes in 11 out of 21 races – assisting the team on its way to its best-ever finish of fifth in the Constructors’ Championship that season.
Kevin Magnussen stated: “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. 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," Magnussen concluded.
