No, Kevin Magnussen will not completely disconnect with the Formula 1 in 2025. The Dane may have found a way out with theEndurance at BMW, where he will compete in the World Endurance Championship and a few rounds in IMSA, but it will also keep one foot in car in the premier category. And the team that will trust him is… Haas. Indeed, the American team has decided to maintain a link with the 32-year-old driver, despite the non-renewal of the Scandinavian's contract for the coming season.
Magnussen to drive Haas in 2025
Kevin Magnussen, who has 185 Grand Prix starts including 145 with Haas, will help the American team in its development this season and will serve as a reference point for the two new drivers, Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman. "He will drive in TPC (Tests with previous cars) and in the simulator [of Toyota] " Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu said at a press conference in Banbury earlier this week. The Dane is expected to drive the 23 VF-2023 in some private sessions and could even, according to RacingNews365, take on the role of reserve driver at certain Grands Prix.
Having arrived at Haas in 2017, Kevin Magnussen is the driver who has competed in the most Grands Prix with the American team, and even took pole position at the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix, the only one to date for the American team. His experience and his return will be essential to make a smooth transition with the two new drivers.
During the presentation of the new technical organization for 2025, Haas has not specified who will be the reserve driver for the coming season. Kevin Magnussen could well share this role with Ritomo Miyata, protégé of the house of Toyota… but potentially also with Ryo Hirakawa, who has nevertheless signed with Alpine to become a reserve driver for the French team. The Japanese, also a member of the Toyota team, had driven with Haas during the post-season tests at Yas Marina. "In Abu Dhabi, he impressed us a lot on all levels: speed, feedback, consistency... he didn't make any big mistakes, Ayao Komatsu said about the Japanese driver. He was right on the pace, the feedback was pretty amazing… I think the Toyota guys were expecting that, because they knew what they had seen with McLaren »
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Yves-Henri RANDIER
21/01/2025 at 06:01 a.m.
After Oliver Bearman and Pietro Fittipaldi as reserve drivers for 2024 at Haas, which duo for 2025? KMag therefore and a Japanese, partnership with Toyota obliges. Doubts concerning the duo of 2025 holders perhaps!