Kevin Magnussen’s time in F1 was defined by his performances in the midfield, as he never managed to reach the top. However, there was a time when he was presented with an opportunity to succeed with a top team.
Magnussen narrated his anecdotes about an offer from Red Bull in a recent interview with Motorsport-Total. He was in the hunt for a top seat, and after Ricciardo announced he would join Renault, the Dane offered his services to Red Bull. However, the best Red Bull could do was have him at Toro Rosso — something Magnussen rejected.
“I said: ‘No, no, we’re not doing that’ [joining Toro Rosso] – which I probably should have done,” the Haas driver said. Back then, Red Bull was a top team, but not in its best competitive state. So, that could have probed Magnussen to negotiate for something bigger than joining its sister team.
Red Bull could have done with Magnussen‘s experience, as they faced difficulties with promoting Pierre Gasly. Just midway into the 2019 campaign, Gasly was replaced by Alex Albon, who was driving for Toro Rosso at the moment. This is where the Danish driver’s regret kicked in.
“It was Gasly who got that seat. Albon was promoted from Formula 2 to Toro Rosso, and then Gasly didn’t do a good job – and Albon came in! So the guy who got that Toro Rosso seat ended up at Red Bull,” he added.
Magnussen continued with Haas as a result, spending only the 2021 season away from the Kannapolis-based outfit before returning. Until his last race in Abu Dhabi earlier this month, Haas remained far from competing for wins or podiums. As a result, the highlight of Magnussen’s career remained his debut race in 2014, where he finished second for McLaren at the Australian GP.
#OnThisDay in 2014:
Kevin Magnussen scored his first and only podium to date with a P2 finish for McLaren in his #F1 debut at the 2014 Australian Grand Prix. pic.twitter.com/ZiWREYVi4h
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) March 16, 2022
Still, the effort he put into developing Haas into a competitive midfield team was commendable. However, the American team chose to move on from the 32-year-old to bring in younger talents in Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon, which is why they did not offer him a contract beyond 2024.
This most likely marks the end of Magnussen’s time in the sport unless he makes a surprise comeback in 2026. However, he will continue racing and has secured a lucrative opportunity with BMW for their HyperCar program in 2025, competing in either the World Endurance Championship (WEC) or the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
