Axed F1 star issues admission on EXTRAORDINARY IndyCar debut

Kevin Magnussen and Daniel Ricciardo laugh together with microphones — Photo: © IMAGO

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Axed F1 star issues admission on EXTRAORDINARY IndyCar debut

Kevin Magnussen will not compete in the 2025 F1 season

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Saturday 11 January 2025 22:56

Axed Formula 1 star Kevin Magnussen has issued an admission on his stunning IndyCar debut.

The Dane will not compete in the 2025 F1 season, after Haas underwent a complete driver lineup overhaul which will see Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman join the team this year.

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Magnussen has started 185 F1 races over the course of his career, spanning from 2014 until 2024, and has competed for multiple teams including McLaren and Haas.

The 32-year-old scored his one and only podium on his F1 debut at the 2014 Australian Grand Prix, where he finished second, but has failed to live up to that incredible result since then.

Kevin Magnussen had a disastrous 2024 season

Magnussen makes IndyCar admission

Magnussen had been axed from F1 prior to 2024, when he was dropped from Haas alongside Romain Grosjean in 2020 and they both sat out the 2021 season.

Whilst the Frenchman never returned to F1, Magnussen received a lifeline when Haas terminated their contract with Nikita Mazepin in 2022, and the Dane returned to the sport, and claimed his first pole position at the Brazilian GP that year.

During Magnussen’s brief F1 hiatus, he made his IndyCar debut with Arrow McLaren at the 2021 Grand Prix of Road America.

In a recent video posted to his social media, Magnussen reflected on his motorsport career in a series of photographs where he made an admission about his first IndyCar drive, an extraordinary performance that almost saw him win on his debut.

"IndyCar race in Road America a one off race in IndyCar in 2021," he said.

Kevin Magnussen competed in IndyCar in 2021

"In the year when I was out of Formula 1, their driver Felix Rosenqvist had a crash the week before, so he had to sit out a race and McLaren called me up to ask if I could substitute and I did.

"I actually led the race for some laps before the engine blew up, so that was that."

Following his F1 axe, Magnussen has been announced as a works driver for BMW M Motorsport in 2025, where he will return to either the IMSA SportsCar Championship or the World Endurance Championship.