Controversial F1 star announces team departure ahead of Hungarian GP

Danish driver Kevin Magnussen has announced he will be departing Haas F1 team at the end of the 2024 season.

The 31-year-old driver first signed with the American team for the 2017 season, ending his time with them in 2020. He then returned in 2022 and will now be exiting the team and potentially the sport, permanently.

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A highly anticipated announcement is expected from Haas, reportedly ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend, that French driver Esteban Ocon will sign for the 2025 season having confirmed his Alpine exit.

As new contracts rolled in for his fellow drivers, Magnussen recently admitted there was a chance he might end up leaving F1 altogether.

Did Kevin Magnussen see this coming?

Magnussen's seat at Haas appeared to be under threat following a series of controversial crashes this season, most notably when he took out the Red Bull of Sergio Perez at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Following the incident, Magnussen has had to tread carefully, tiptoeing around a race ban with 10 penalty points to his name.

Haas recently confirmed that they signed Ferrari academy driver Oliver Bearman for 2025, taking the step up from F2 to the pinnacle of motorsport, having thrived under pressure when stepping in for a recovering Carlos Sainz with the Scuderia in Saudi Arabia.

Since the announcement, rumours have been consistently suggesting that Ocon would be the most likely candidate to become the British teenager's team-mate and not Haas' current driver Magnussen.

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What did the announcements say?

In a team statement from Haas, principal Ayao Komatsu said: "I’d like to thank Kevin for everything he’s given us as a team – both on and off the track. He’s truly been a bedrock of our driver line-up over the years. Nobody’s driven more races for us and we’ve had some memorable highlights together – not least a remarkable fifth place finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2022 when Kevin returned to start his second spell with the team.

"He wasn’t expecting to be driving a Formula 1 car that weekend, but he put in a remarkable performance that was a tremendous boost to the entire organization and once again showcased his own talents behind the wheel."

Discussing plans for the future, Komatsu continued: "There’s plenty of racing to go this year so I’m looking forward to seeing what else we can achieve with Kevin as we push together in the championship. Beyond that, and with Kevin’s special relationship with the team, I’m hoping we can find a way to keep working together in some capacity.

"We can hopefully define that in the near future, but his extensive experience in Formula 1 and knowledge of our working operations are undoubtedly of value in our on-going growth and development."

Magnussen revealed the news on his personal Instagram page, stating: "I’ll be leaving MoneyGram Haas F1 Team by the end of this season. It’s been an incredible journey, seven seasons filled with both highs and lows and lots of big moments and fantastic memories, and I’d like to thank everyone at the team – I’m blessed to have raced for such a great team of people."

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