F1 News: It is time the Haas team gives Magnussen the boot (2nd Update)

(GMM) Kevin Magnussen says his team boss at Haas is being very open about the fact that talks with alternative drivers for 2026 are currently taking place.

Rookie Oliver Bearman appears definitely set to make his Formula 1 debut with the small American team next year, but Haas may also replace Magnussen – with Alpine refugee Esteban Ocon believed to be at the top of the list.

Long-time team driver Magnussen, 31, says he appreciates that new boss Ayao Komatsu is being open about the situation.

“I feel that I can trust him,” said the Dane. “He does not hide that he also talks to other drivers. He’s open about it and I appreciate that a lot because I’ve had bosses in the past who told me bullsh*t.

“So I talk to him about my own potential future team as well,” he added. “I value openness, and then we’ll see what happens.”

For his part, Komatsu confirmed that it is important to him to be “transparent” with his drivers.

“It’s the least I can do,” said the Japanese, “because he also has other offers. He needs to be able to make his decisions with the best information.”

Magnussen has had a couple of forced pauses to his long Formula 1 career in the past, but he says he is handling the prospect of life beyond the paddock with much more maturity this time around.

“If I’m not in Formula 1, I don’t feel like it’s going to be a bad life at all,” he said. “On the contrary, I feel the opposite. There is a big cost to being in Formula 1, and sometimes I question whether it is worth it.

“After ten years in the sport without quite getting there, it might be getting monotonous,” added Magnussen, hinting that he might have opportunities in other top categories like WEC or IndyCar where F1 rejects go to race.

“Fortunately, things also happen outside of Formula 1,” he said. “I’ve been part of it a few times when I wasn’t in F1. It’s a great life, and it pulls me in a bit.”

(GMM) Kevin Magnussen admits he is at risk of losing out in this year’s hectic driver ‘silly season’ given how poorly he has driven.

In 2024, not a single rookie made a Formula 1 debut – but it will be a different story for the 2025 season with the likes of Kimi Antonelli, Oliver Bearman, and perhaps Liam Lawson and Jack Doohan all tipped to step up.

It’s bad news for 31-year-old Magnussen, who has often struggled alongside Nico Hulkenberg at Haas this year whilst attracting controversy for some of his aggressive tactics – and is now tipped to be replaced by Esteban Ocon.

When asked if he could lose in F1’s current game of ‘musical chairs’, Magnussen told Ekstra Badet newspaper: “Yes, there is a risk of that happening.”

He has not been seriously linked with a move to another team.

“The (Haas) team knows me very well,” said the Danish driver. “I am a known quantity to them. So I don’t think I need to prove anything.

“The market is very open this time. We have to see how it plays out,” Magnussen added.

“I have made it clear that I would love to continue here. The team is in a good place with hope for the future. I would love to be a part of it,” he said.

“I don’t know how long it will be before we know the outcome. Until then, I’ll just keep driving. I don’t really have a deadline.

“But I still think the market is quite open.”

When he lost his F1 race seats in the past, Magnussen looked elsewhere – testing DTM and Le Mans cars and flirting with IndyCar and other US-based categories.

But he says he’s not thinking about alternatives yet.

“I want to be in Formula 1,” said Magnussen. “That’s where my head is at the moment. Until it’s not an option anymore, I focus on that.

“But whatever happens, I handle it when the time comes. In hard times, the most important thing is to stay positive and keep calm.

“When I was younger, I definitely got more stressed and felt the pressure more. Now I am better at putting it aside, getting in the car and just driving it as well as I can.”

(GMM) Kevin Magnussen’s driving would have been dealt with differently “in my time”, according to 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve.

Although some think Sergio Perez could have given the Haas driver a little more space, Magnussen is back in the headlines for arguably causing a huge and dangerous crash up the Monaco hill on lap 1 on Sunday.

A photographer even had to seek medical treatment in hospital after being hit by debris – and Magnussen’s teammate Nico Hulkenberg, also caught up in the ruckus, admitted he and Perez immediately blamed the Danish driver.

“I’m a bit angry. When we got out the car, we said to Kevin, ‘Hey, what’s going on?'” Hulkenberg admitted. “‘That spot is too narrow and too fast to overtake at’.”

Interestingly, the FIA decided to take no action.

“Another accident in which Magnussen was involved,” slammed Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko. “You need to carefully review the replays.

“I was surprised how quickly the stewards decided not to look into the incident. Firstly, it was dangerous, and secondly, the damage amounts to two or three million. And this is a serious problem for us with the budget constraints.”

Mexican Perez agrees: “I was disappointed that it was not investigated.

“It was a huge accident and my car is completely destroyed.”

Magnussen is currently under huge pressure in Formula 1, admitting after the crash that 2024 so far has been “the most difficult start to a season for me ever”.

He’s on the cusp of an unprecedented race ban under the current super license penalty points system, and at risk of losing his seat at Haas for 2025.

“In my time, Magnussen would no longer be so aggressive,” Jacques Villeneuve told Sport1. “We would have pushed him into the wall and made it clear to him – ‘This is not acceptable’.”

One of Villeneuve’s contemporaries, Ralf Schumacher, agreed on Sky Deutschland: “Perez did not expect that, because a normal person does not see any gap there.”