Kevin Magnussen portrait

Kevin Magnussen

Kevin Magnussen was fast tracked to Formula 1 as McLaren looked for its next superstar. A Grand Prix driver by the age of 21, the Dane finished second on his debut in the 2014 Australian Grand Prix. However, it was an inconclusive maiden campaign and Magnussen was eventually overlooked for the following season.

The immediate F1 future of this combative driver was saved by a late deal to race for Renault in 2016 and subsequent move to Haas which ended in a dramatic exit from the series at the end of the 2020 season. But a return to his former side in 2022 has lit a few fire under the Dane’s hopes to return to the front of the grid.

A second generation racer with success of his own

The son of sometime F1 driver and GT star Jan Magnussen, Kevin raced in karts before making the switch to car racing in the 2008 Danish Formula Ford Championship. He swept all before him at home with his Fukamuni Racing Aquilla FD1 winning 11 times as he clinched the title. He then travelled to Brands Hatch to finish seventh in the Festival, a race his father had won in 1992.

He joined Motopark Academy for the 2009 Formula Renault 2.0 season – winning from pole position at the Nurburgring as he finished second in the Northern European Cup behind António Félix da Costa. He was also classified seventh in that year’s Eurocup.

Magnussen then graduated to German Formula 3 with Motopark’s Dallara F307-Volkswagen. That 2010 campaign began with victory at Oschersleben – the first of three wins as the youngster challenged Tom Dillmann and Daniel Abt for the title. Eventually third overall, he made a one-off appearance in the F3 Euroseries at Valencia – winning the reverse grid second race of the weekend.

Subsequent seasons with Haas

He switched to Haas F1 in 2017 and scored five points’ finishes on the way to 14th in the World Championship. He benefitted from the chaos in Baku to finish seventh and man-handled his uncompetitive car into eighth position in Mexico. With improved Ferrari engines strengthening Haas’ performances in 2018, Magnussen finished fifth in Bahrain and Austria as he outscored team-mate Romain Grosjean in the standings. He was outpaced by his team-mate by the end of the campaign but Magnussen completed the season in a career-best ninth overall.

From the archive

Magnussen and Grosjean remained with Haas for 2019 but were hampered by the unpredictable VF-19, which often qualified well only for that pace to evaporate on Sunday. Criticised at times for his overly forceful driving, Magnussen was sixth in the opening race in Melbourne but only scored points on three more occasions. The team-mates tested Team Principal Günther Steiner’s patience by repeated contact, including on the first lap at Silverstone.

Magnussen was retained by Haas for 2020 but it was his final season with the team. The American outfit struggled and scored points on just two occasions all year to end up ninth in the constructors’ championship on three points.

A switch to the British F3 Championship in 2011 was with Carlin’s Dallara F308-Volkswagen. Team-mate Felipe Nasr established a championship-winning margin during the first half of the season while Magnussen recovered from a slow start to finish as runner-up – eventually matching the new champion’s seven race wins. The Dane then escaped injury after being launched high into the fence at Macau at over 160 mph.

McLaren protégé – F1 tests and title success

By now part of McLaren’s driver development programme, Magnussen raced for Carlin in the 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 Championship. Victory from pole position in the second race at Spa-Francorchamps provided the highlight of an inconsistent campaign that included just two additional podium finishes. However, he completed the year by setting the quickest time in Abu Dhabi’s young driver F1 test after two days behind the wheel of a McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes-Benz.

Magnussen moved to DAMS in 2013 for his second F.Renault 3.5 season for what proved to be a final audition for a McLaren F1 race seat. The Dane eclipsed team-mate and pre-season favourite da Costa to win five times (including pole to flag victories at the last three rounds) and beat fellow McLaren protégé Stoffel Vandoorne to the title. That was a crucial success for Magnussen was soon announced as part of McLaren’s 2014 race team and da Costa, so long expected to be Red Bull’s next F1 graduate, was overlooked in favour of GP3 champion Daniil Kvyat.

Formula 1 with McLaren

McLaren’s 2014 season began with Magnussen and Jenson Button classified second and third in Australia after Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull was disqualified on a technicality. However, that masked the inadequacies of the new MP4/29 and they struggled in the midfield for much of the campaign. Censored for his sometimes overly forceful driving style, Magnussen often outpaced his vastly experienced team-mate but it was not enough to be included in the initial race line-up for 2015.

Button was announced as the returning Fernando Alonso’s team-mate for the 2015 F1 World Championship with Magnussen relegated to reserve driver for the season. With new engine partner Honda struggling to develop its V6 turbocharged engine, Magnussen was scheduled to race in the Australian GP after Alonso crashed in testing. However, his engine failed on the way to the grid – a portent for the team’s frustrating season to come.

Formula 1 reprieve with Renault

McLaren decided not to retain Magnussen and the Dane’s F1 career appeared over before a late call to replace Pastor Maldonado in Renault’s line-up for the 2016 World Championship. The team languished in the lower midfield although Magnussen hauled his RE16 into seventh-place in Russia. That was the highlight of an inconsistent campaign which included just one more points’ finish when 10th in Singapore.

Subsequent seasons with Haas

He switched to Haas F1 in 2017 and scored five points’ finishes on the way to 14th in the World Championship. He benefitted from the chaos in Baku to finish seventh and man-handled his uncompetitive car into eighth position in Mexico. With improved Ferrari engines strengthening Haas’ performances in 2018, Magnussen finished fifth in Bahrain and Austria as he outscored team-mate Romain Grosjean in the standings. He was outpaced by his team-mate by the end of the campaign but Magnussen completed the season in a career-best ninth overall.

Magnussen and Grosjean remained with Haas for 2019 but were hampered by the unpredictable VF-19, which often qualified well only for that pace to evaporate on Sunday. Criticised at times for his overly forceful driving, Magnussen was sixth in the opening race in Melbourne but only scored points on three more occasions. The team-mates tested Team Principal Günther Steiner’s patience by repeated contact, including on the first lap at Silverstone.

Magnussen was retained by Haas for 2020 but it was his final season with the team. The American outfit struggled and scored points on just two occasions all year to end up ninth in the constructors’ championship on three points.

The return

A year without Magnussen was enough to convince Haas team principal Guenther Steiner to have the Dane return in 2022, replacing Nikita Mazepin. Magnussen’s wealth of experience proved valuable, as in his first race back he qualified seventh and crossed the line in fifth – the teams’ highest finishing position since 2018.

Good performance continued for Haas throughout the first half of the 2022 campaign, collecting top ten finishes in Saudi Arabia, Imola, Silverstone, and Austria. After the summer break, Magnussen continued to lead the team, picking up its only points finishes in the second half of the season. A nail biting last lap battle against Sebastian Vettel in the United States showed the Dane’s ability to compete against the very best – a fact he then proved two races later, taking a debut pole position in Sao Paulo.

Magnussen signed a multi-year deal with Haas upon his return, keeping him with the team until the end of 2023.

 

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