“I had pretty high expectations”- Kevin Magnussen hoped to challenge for championship after debut podium

“I had pretty high expectations”- Kevin Magnussen hoped to compete for the championship after winning his maiden podium on his debut.

Kevin Magnussen had an impactful start to his Formula 1 and registered P2 while driving for McLaren, causing a rise in his hype. Still, since then Magnussen’s career only went downhill and only recording a next-best finish of fifth.

His last couple of years were underwhelming for Magnussen, which resulted in his exit from the sport, reflecting on his disappointments. The Danish race driver mentioned that after his debut he had built huge aspirations post the P2 performance.

“It’s hard to know how things are going to go,” Magnussen told Motorsport.com when reflecting on his time in F1. “I have to say, when I started my F1 career in Melbourne 2014, I had pretty high expectations.

“I thought I was going to be fighting for the championship in my first year after that first race. You can’t ever predict how things are going to go in Formula 1. You’ve just got to do the best, and enjoy it while it lasts.”

Thankful to McLaren

Magnussen fished 11th in his rookie season for McLaren, 329 points behind the World Champion, and for 2015 was relegated as the test driver in the team to make room for Fernando Alonso. Still, Magnussen till date is thankful to McLaren for the opportunity.

“I can’t complain, I’m thankful for the opportunity McLaren gave me as a rookie,” Magnussen said. “I can’t really say that I regret anything. I thought I was going to get into Formula 1 with Force India back then.

“That was almost a done deal, that was my expectation, and what McLaren was telling me, that they would place me in Force India. “At the last minute, it changed, and they put me in McLaren. It was also a very hectic time around my debut, but I’m happy with how things turned out at the end of the day.

“You can always look back and find things that I would have done differently if I could do it again, and decisions I would have done differently if I could do it again.

“But at the end of the day, I got a career in Formula 1. Not many people get to do that. As a young kid dreaming of Formula 1, it’s a pretty difficult dream to realise.

“I did that, and I’m thankful for that, and pleased that I got the opportunity.”

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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