Kevin Magnussen has finally secured a drive for 2025 after much speculation about his future. He would be stepping away from the world of Formula 1 and will join BMW, trading speed for reliability as he prepares to compete in the World Endurance Championship (WEC). Perhaps it’s poetic that BMW is now giving Magnussen’s racing career a new chapter—after all, when he was just two years old, its boss saved his life.
Vincent Vosse, who is the head of BMW’s factory programme in IMSA and the WEC, has been close to Magnussen and his family for a long time. The Haas drivers’ dad Jan Magnussen was a big name in endurance racing, having won the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times.
That’s how his family knew Vosse, and that’s how a young Kevin found himself in the Belgian’s home all those years ago. Unknowingly, Kevin jumped into the swimming pool despite not knowing how to swim.
Vosse, however, came to the rescue and jumped in to save him from drowning. “So he was in a suit, dressed up for some gala thing that he was going to and he jumped in the pool,” Kevin said.
Kevin Magnussen will be a works BMW driver when he leaves #F1 this season. His new boss saved his life when Kev was just two years old! Little K-Mag, who couldn’t swim, jumped into the swimming pool at Vincent Vosse’s house. Vosse (who is head of WRT, which runs the BMW cars),…
— Scott Mitchell-Malm (@SMitchellF1) December 5, 2024
“So, it ruined his day. But hopefully, I can make up for that now,” he added while expressing his happiness over returning to sportscar racing in the Abu Dhabi GP press conference.
Kevin’s duties with BMW Motorsport will begin shortly after his final F1 race. In addition to the WEC, he will also take part in the IMSA, having confirmed his participation in the 24 Hours of Daytona earlier this week.
Magnussen’s farewell race in F1?
Kevin has been a Haas driver since 2017 and has been one of the key figures behind establishing its foundations in F1. The one-time podium sitter in F1 has represented the Kannapolis-based outfit 144 times, with his final appearance set to come this weekend in Abu Dhabi.
Let’s give a heartfelt welcome to Kevin Magnussen as he joins the BMW M family! ✨
The 32-year-old Danish racing star is officially becoming a BMW M works driver and will take the wheel of the BMW M Hybrid V8 next year. ️ pic.twitter.com/mtSiwJj0ox
— BMW M Motorsport (@BMWMotorsport) December 5, 2024
Haas, looking to make the next step in its future, wanted a shake-up in their driver line-up heading into 2025 and beyond. For that, they handed the pink slip to Kevin, while his teammate Nico Hulkenberg decided to join Sauber. Together, they did a solid job for the American side for the last two years.
At his age, making a strong comeback to F1 will be a challenging prospect for Kevin. But he would be looking to end his time on a high, having already contributed to Haas’ bid for P6 in the Championship standings. Just five points behind Alpine heading into the final race weekend at Yas Island, Kevin will surely give it his all.
