It all started so well for Kevin Magnussen in F1: in 2014, the Danish driver, in his first Grand Prix with McLaren F1 in Australia, finished on the podium.
But the rest of the year was less than stellar: the MP4-29 was not a good car and at the end of 2014, a certain Fernando Alonso knocked on the door of Woking again, leaving Kevin Magnussen on the sidelines.
“I won the promotion series and arrived in Formula 1 with a great team” remembers Kevin Magnussen today, drawing a parallel between his situation and that, in 2025, of Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
“At the time, it was the equivalent of arriving in your first year at Mercedes. So I was really… Look at Antonelli now, he’s a young guy coming in with one of the biggest teams. »
“I know exactly how it feels because I was in that situation. So, it’s funny to think back and see… I was in such a strong position, and then McLaren collapsed. And it was a little unfortunate. »
“My arrival at McLaren coincided with the start of the team’s decline…”
“I see it more as bad luck… If you look in history, McLaren F1, they were always there, right? » he said.
“And the year I arrive is the first year they sink. So, it was a bit of bad luck, but yeah, it’s good. That’s how it is. You have to be happy to have had 10 years in this sport. »
“I was beaten pretty comprehensively by my world champion teammate Jenson Button during our season together, as a young, inexperienced rookie who particularly struggled to understand the Pirelli tires – leading McLaren to make the decision to demoting me to reserve driver as Fernando Alonso became available. »
“Overnight it all ended, and I really didn’t expect it.” regrets Kevin Magnussen today.
And the former Haas F1 driver also suffered from the palace revolution at McLaren F1, and the loss of influence of Ron Dennis, who had nevertheless promoted and recruited him.
“Everyone made me feel safe, you know, including Ron Dennis. »
“Who knew that Ron Dennis would eventually no longer have a say at McLaren? It was unthinkable at the time. So because I had his support, I felt completely safe. »
“Then it turned out he didn’t have it and ended up not having the final say, and I lost my steering wheel. So it was a desperate situation. »
“Ron thought he was going to take back power there. So he told me to hang on, not to go anywhere else. Stay here. “I could even bring you back during the season and, if not, it will be for the following year.” »
“So I stayed, and nothing happened. I could see him losing even more power, so that wasn’t happening. I was in a desperate position. »
On the sidelines before returning to Renault, Kevin Magnussen found comfort in his close family. More with his wife than with his father, Jan, the former F1 driver.
“I think it was almost no longer my friends and my wife, now my wife. She was my girlfriend at the time. »
“Me and my dad, we kind of… We’re both pilots, but we kind of did our own things in a way. »
“He’s always been there to support me, of course, and he’s had his own career at the same time because he’s not that old! He only turned 50 last year, so he was just entering his 40s when I got here. So it’s a bit weird to think that he was still a young driver in his own way when I arrived! »
“He was very busy with his own things and wasn’t really a big part of it all. »
And Kevin Magnussen finally made another comeback, at Haas F1, where he finished his career in a much more fulfilled manner.
“Haas gave me the stability to start from scratch, find my feet and rebuild myself. »
“I think it was really good, I think I had a really good chance when I got here in 2017 to stabilize myself and try to prove that I deserved a big team. »
“I think I had this opportunity. It didn’t come to fruition, but I think I was lucky to have that opportunity, at least. »
