Kevin Magnussen: 'McLaren chose me over Button. Then the shareholders overruled everyone'

Kevin Magnussen had finished on the podium in his first-ever F1 race; he’d shown the speed to compete at the front for McLaren; and he had the backing of most of his team. Then, towards the end of 2014, the 22-year-old discovered just how brutal F1 could be.

In the June issue of Motor Sport, Magnussen recalls how the McLaren board voted overwhelmingly to keep him for the following season and drop team-mate Jenson Button to make way for Fernando Alonso.

Seven board members were in favour of the young Dane, including CEO Ron Dennis, with only two opting for Button. Unfortunately for Magnussen, the objectors were Mansour Ojjeh and Shaikh Mohammed Bin Essa Al Khalifa, McLaren’s majority shareholders who simply overruled the vote.

A year that had started with one of the most successful F1 debuts ended with Magnussen back on the sidelines.

“I became depressed in 2015,” he says. “I don’t mind admitting that. I lived to race, and I wasn’t racing.”

Now a veteran of 185 grands prix starts, Magnussen looks back on his F1 career with Matt Bishop in the latest Motor Sport Interview, including his sensational finish at the 2014 Australian Grand Prix that made him the first rookie since Jacques Villeneuve in 1996 to score a podium on debut.

He went on to score points in 12 races on his way to 11th in the standings, three places behind 2009 world champion Button before being demoted to a reserve position for 2015, as Alonso took his place.

“Together, Mohammed and Mansour had a majority shareholding, so they used that power to overrule everyone else, including Ron, who’d voted for me, and in 2015 I ended up being the reserve driver, which meant nothing really,” said Magnussen.

“But Ron said, ‘Trust me, you’ll race for us in 2016, or maybe even before the end of the 2015 season.’ And, honestly, I think he was being sincere. That really was his plan for me.

“So, when Williams contacted my then manager Dorte [Riis Madsen] about me racing for them in 2016, I talked to Éric [Boullier, racing director] about it, and he said, ‘No, stay with us, you’ll race for us with Fernando next season.’ And, honestly, I think he was being sincere, too. So, reassured by both Ron and Éric, I didn’t pursue the Williams option.”

Magnussen got the chance to replace Alonso in the 2015 season-opener after the Spaniard’s crash in pre-season testing, but couldn’t even complete a lap as his Honda engine broke down on his way to the grid.

Having pinned his hopes on a future with McLaren, Magnussen became increasingly despondent at being the lack of racing. “I had an offer to do some Super Formula races in Japan, which would have been cool, but Ron said I shouldn’t.

“In 2016, when Stoffel was the McLaren reserve driver, Ron let him race in Super Formula, and he loved it, winning a couple of races, so I don’t know why Ron didn’t allow me to do the same thing the year before, but anyway he didn’t.”

Ridiculous expectations

Magnussen’s podium in the Australian GP remained his best F1 race result in a career where he drove for McLaren, Renault and Haas.