Kevin Magnussen

**Kevin Jan Magnussen** (born 5 October 1992) is a Danish racing driver who came up through McLaren Formula One team's Young Driver Programme and drove for McLaren in the 2014 Formula 1.5 World Championship, before a stint with Renault in 2016. Magnussen drove for Haas from 2017 until the end of the 2020 season, before returning for the 2022 season.

## Personal Life

Magnussen lived in Woking, Surrey, near the McLaren Technology Centre whilst racing for McLaren. He now lives in Dubai.

Between participating in Formula Ford in 2008 and unexpectedly securing sponsorship for Formula Renault in 2009, Magnussen was forced to abandon his racing career and work as a factory welder due to lack of funding.

In 2019, Magnussen married Louise in a private ceremony. In 2021, Louise gave birth to their first child, 7 weeks premature.

## F1.5 Career

### McLaren (2014- 2015)

#### 2014 Season

Magnussen would drive for McLaren for the 2014 season, replacing Sergio Pérez. In line with a new rule introduced for the 2014 season requiring drivers to choose a car number to use during their Formula 1.5 career, Magnussen raced with number 20 as this was the number he had on his DAMS car in 2013 when he won the Formula Renault 3.5 championship.

At the Jerez and Bahrain pre-season tests he topped the timesheets, and at the first race in Australia, he qualified on pole position in the race itself, Magnussen avoided crashing at the start after his car encountered oversteer through wheelspin. He would go on to win the race, in his first F1.5 race. It would be Magnussen's only win of the season, however he did take 4 more podium's in the season in Austria (3rd), Britain (3rd), Russia (2nd) and The United States (2nd).

Magnussen scored 197 points over the season placing him 5th in the drivers championship, whilst teammate Jenson Button outscored him with 293. McLaren finished the season 2nd in the constructors to Ferrari.

#### 2015 Season

Fernando Alonso replaced Magnussen for the 2015 season and Magnussen became the test and reserve driver for McLaren. Magnussen had talks with Honda-powered team Andretti Autosport to compete in the 2015 IndyCar Series, but McLaren blocked the deal. Magnussen competed in one race, the Australian Grand Prix after doctors advised Alonso to not race due to a concussion sustained during an accident during pre-season testing. However, Magnussen failed to start the race after suffering an engine failure on the formation lap. Magnussen was released from McLaren at the end of the year.

### Renault (2016)

#### 2016 Season

After being released by McLaren, Magnussen was confirmed to have been in discussion to drive for the Haas Team, before Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutiérrez were named as the team's drivers. Magnussen had reportedly also been in talks about a seat at Manor Racing. Magnussen tested a Mercedes DTM car, and Porsche's LMP1 car, hinting that he may have had options outside Formula 1.5 , including IndyCar, where he was believed to have entered talks with Bryan Herta Autosport about a drive.
In early 2016 unconfirmed reports emerged that Magnussen was set to replace Pastor Maldonado at Renault following a breach of contract between Maldonado and the team. Renault had purchased the Lotus F1 Team and were returning to the sport after a four-year hiatus. Renault later confirmed Magnussen had joined their 2016 campaign, partnering rookie Jolyon Palmer.

Magnussen's early season was marred by a string of incidents. He suffered a puncture on the opening lap in Australia and went on to finish 8th. He was forced to start from the pit lane in Bahrain after failing to stop for the weighbridge in practice. He then crashed in practice for the Chinese Grand Prix after a tyre failure and could only finish the race in 12th. Magnussen collided with teammate Palmer in Spain and received a ten-second time penalty, then crashed in practice in Monaco before colliding with Daniil Kvyat in the race. He was forced to miss qualifying in Canada after again crashing during practice, and started from the pit lane in Azerbaijan when his car was modified under parc fermé conditions. The Russian Grand Prix was an exception to these incidents; after qualifying 11th he came back to finish 4th, which would be his joint best result of the season with Singapore.

Magnussen had a gearbox failure in the closing laps of the British Grand Prix. He suffered a high-speed crash at the Eau Rouge–Raidillon complex whilst running in the points at the Belgian Grand Prix, causing minor injuries and bringing out the red flag. Two more mechanical retirements came before the end of the season; power loss in Malaysia and suspension damage in Abu Dhabi. Magnussen finished the season in 11th in the championship, scoring 56 points.

### Haas (2017-2020, 2022-)

#### 2017 Season

Magnussen signed a contract with Haas for 2017, joining Romain Grosjean and replacing Esteban Gutiérrez.

Magnussen retired from his first race with Haas in Australia with reported suspension failure, however it later emerged that he had actually suffered a puncture and that his retirement was unnecessary. At the second race in China, Magnussen finished 2nd taking his first podium since The United States GP in 2014, however this was followed by yet another retirment in Bahrain. It would be more points in the fourth round at Russia taking 4 points, but in Spain he made contact with Daniil Kvyat late in the race, causing him to fall to 14th with a puncture. In Monaco, Magnussen finished fourth whilst his new teammate Grosjean finished third, which was the best result for Haas in their history to date. A chaotic race in Baku saw him lead for a few laps however slipped down to third, to take his second podium of the season.

Seven more races came along however Magnussen failed to score big in any of them with multiple incidents happening along the way including a hydraulic failure in Austria, engine issues in Singapore, and an incident in Hungary where he forced Nico Hülkenberg off the track, damaging Hülkenberg's car and forcing him to retire. Hülkenberg confronted Magnussen after the race, branding him the "most unsporting driver on the grid". Magnussen finished third in Japan to take his third and final podium of the season.

Magnussen ended the season 8th in the championship with 115 points, 34 points short of teammate Grosjean.

#### 2018 Season

Magnussen retained his seat at Haas for the 2018 season. The Haas VF-18 was a vast improvement on its predecessor, enabling Magnussen to compete at the front of the field. At the opening race in Australia, Magnussen lined up on pole position, a feat that had never been acheived by a Haas driver in F1.5. The team were running 1st and 2nd in the race, however both Haas cars would retire from the race after their wheels were fitted incorrectly during their pit stops. Magnussen followed up the next race in strong form with a second place finish behind Pierre Gasly. A fourth place finish was acheived at China. At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix he collided with Pierre Gasly, who criticised Magnussen's defensive driving and branded him "the most dangerous guy" he had ever raced with.

Magnussen scored valuable points again with his first win of the season in Spain. Another win came at France, followed by a second place finish at Austria in the next race where teammate Romain Grosjean lead a Haas 1-2. Magnussen took three more podiums during the season at Hungary, Russia and Brazil. At the Italian Grand Prix, Magnussen clashed for position with Fernando Alonso in qualifying. Magnussen later commented that Alonso "thinks he's God" and "I can’t wait for him to retire". Magnussen collided with Sergio Pérez during the race, damaging the Haas's floor and eventually causing Magnussen to finish last of the running cars. Similar woes came in Singapore, when he failed to progress out of the first part of qualifying and he struggled to overtake during the race.

More controversy came at the Japanese Grand Prix, when Sauber driver Charles Leclerc called Magnussen "stupid" over the radio after his attempt to pass the Haas resulted in contact. Magnussen received a puncture, which damaged his floor and forced him into retirement. He finished the United States Grand Prix in 9th place, but was later disqualified after his car was found to have used more than the legal limit of fuel.

He finished the season 4th in the championship with 203 points, 54 ahead of Grojsean. Magnussen also took the Pole Position Award for 2018, taking 5 poles over the season at Australia, Spain, Great Britain, Germany and Russia.

#### 2019 Season

Magnussen continued to drive for Haas for the 2019 season alongside Grosjean. Unfortunately for Magnussen, the Haas VF-19 proved uncompetitive and became more so as the season went on. The car often performed well during qualifying but suffered during the race. At the first race in Australia, Magnussen took the win, something he would only go on to do twice in the season. The other win was at Spain.

Poor finishes followed at the next five races. In Austria, Magnussen showed the strong qualifying pace of the VF-19 by qualifying on pole but was dropped down the order due to a gearbox penalty. During the race he was found to have over-stepped his grid line at the start, receiving a drive-through penalty and eventually finishing the race in last of the runners. In Britain, Magnussen and teammate Grosjean made contact on the first lap, causing race-ending damage for both drivers. Both were blamed and criticised for the incident, at a race in which Grosjean was testing the old spec of the VF-19 so that the team could understand their recent lack of pace.

Magnussen next scored points at the rain-affected German Grand Prix, finishing 8th before being promoted to 6th after the Alfa Romeo drivers were penalised post-race for the use of driver aids. He retired in Italy with a hydraulics issue, before setting the fastest lap at the next race in Singapore, a feat he had achieved at the same race in 2018. His third retirement of the season came in the United States when he suffered a brake failure on the penultimate lap.

Magnussen finished the season in 9th place in the championship with 109 points, 40 points ahead of teammate Grosjean.

#### 2020 Season

Magnussen continued driving for Haas in 2020, again partnering with Grosjean. The opening two rounds of the championship at the Red Bull Ring proved to be difficult for Magnussen and Haas, as the Haas VF-20 was off the pace. In the early stages of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Magnussen was running third, thanks to a strategy decision at the beginning of the race. Whilst he ultimately fell back throughout the race, he managed to cross the finish line in sixth. After the race, it was determined that Haas had broken rules regarding team radio in telling both drivers to pit at the end of the formation lap, and Magnussen was given a ten-second penalty. Magnussen suffered a power unit failure at the Italian Grand Prix and was rear-ended in a multi-car accident at the Tuscan Grand Prix, his fifth retirement in nine races.

Magnussen finished the season in 14th in the drivers championship with 16 points, outscoring his teammate by 5 points.

Magnussen and teammate Grosjean departed the team at the end of the 2020 season, to be replaced with Formula 2 champion Mick Schumacher, as well as Nikita Mazepin for the 2021 World Championship.

#### 2022 Season

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Haas terminated its contract with their driver Nikita Mazepin. Magnussen returned to the team as his replacement on a multi-year deal, partnering existing driver Mick Schumacher for the 2022 season. In his return for Haas at Bahrain, Magnussen managed to start 2nd and would go on to win the race. Magnussen would go on to finish fourth at the next race in Saudi Arabia, something he would not do again until Austria. In Brazil Magnussen took his first pole since Monaco 2019 in dry-wet conditions.

Magnussen finished the season with 114 points, outscoring Schumacher by 24 points.

#### 2023 Season

Magnussen was joined at Haas by Nico Hulkenberg for 2023.

Magnussen scored at the first few rounds of the season with a sixth place finish in the opener in Bahrain, followed by his first podium of the season in Saudi Arabia to finish third. He failed to finish in Australia after what was looking like a good result, but he came back strong in Azerbaijan to finish 5th.