Haas has announced that Kevin Magnussen will leave the team when his contract expires at the end of the 2024 F1 season.
Magnussen has been at Haas for longer than any other driver in the American team’s history, with stints throughout 2017 – 2020 and 2022 – 2024. He scored a career-high ninth place finish in the Drivers’ Championship in 2018 with 11 top 10 finishes, as Haas secured fifth in the Constructors’ Championship that season.
The 31-year-old secured top 10 finishes in Australia and Austria earlier this year, too, but both he and Nico Hulkenberg will be leaving after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December. Haas has already announced that youngster Oliver Bearman will take one of its seats for 2025, but it remains to be seen whether it’ll go for two rookie drivers again next year. The last time it did that in 2021, Haas finished the season with zero points. We think Guenther Steiner might still be having nightmares.
“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,” said Magnussen on the news of his departure.
“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.”
Ayao Komatsu, Haas Team Principal said: “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 organisation 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.”
Will Magnussen find another spot on the grid for 2025?
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
