Kevin Magnussen said that Haas team boss Guenther Steiner called him and ruined everything as the former makes a return to the F1.
Haas signed Kevin Magnussen as the team terminated Nikita Mazepin and Uralkali’s contract following the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Danish driver spoke to the media for the first time after he made his return and joked that Guenther ruined everything.
The 29-year-old has previously driven with the Haas f1 team between 2017 and 2020. The Danish driver said that he was about to go to the USA with his family before he received a call from Guenther.
“I decided to go [to Florida] because I was like, let’s see if it happens or not. So then I got to Miami and Guenther called back and said, OK, let’s do it. So I travelled back here [to Bahrain],” he said.
Also Read: Nikita Mazepin feels that Haas completely ignored him as the team terminated his contract
Kevin Magnussen had no F1 clause in his contracts
Outside of Formula 1, Magnussen was obliged to race in the IMSA SportsCar series with Chip Ganassi Racing this season, and with Peugeot’s Hypercar project in the World Endurance Championship.
He explained that a lot of things had to be taken care of as he was contracted to Peugeot and Ganassi. He said that it was nice of Ganassi to let him out as he was supposed to race with him at the Sebring 12-hour race next weekend.
Kevin Magnussen says it’s a ‘big surprise’ to be back in F1, but that he’s looking forward to a ‘fun’ year back with Haas 🙌 pic.twitter.com/OYNcnwDWkX
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) March 10, 2022
He also said that he had no F1 clause in his current contracts. “No, none of the guys that I was committed to had to let me go. I’ve been very privileged to be with these two organisations that are so professional, and I think they understood.
“They weren’t happy about it, of course, but I think they understood,” he added.
Also Read: Mercedes boss Toto Wolff offers support to Mazepin after the Russian’s contract termination by Haas
Guenther Steiner ruined everything
When asked what got him excited to return to F1 in a midfield car after having spent so many years away from it, Magnussen said, “I think I could have stayed in Formula 1 in a different team if I really wanted to [after 2020].”
He explained that it would have been messy as he did not have any motivation left. He ran at the back of the grid for two years. Magnussen said that before that he was racing in the midfield and that was more exciting.
“Then I went away, did some other racing, got podiums, pole positions and that was all really fun. I was enjoying it. But then Guenther called me and ruined all that!
“I could feel in my stomach that, Yeah, I want to do this. I didn’t know that I missed it that much. But, when I got the opportunity, I was like, Yeah, I want this,” he further added.
Also Read: Sacked Mazepins asks for repayment of sponsorship
