F1 star opens up on SURPRISE IndyCar debut

hamilton, magnussen, haas, mercedes, canada, 2023 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

F1 star opens up on SURPRISE IndyCar debut

Kevin Magnussen will not compete in the 2025 F1 season

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Sunday 12 January 2025 16:00

Ex Formula 1 star Kevin Magnussen has opened up on his surprise debut in IndyCar.

The Danish star was left out in the cold this winter when Haas decided to go with Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman as their drivers for the 2025 season, with no other team picking up his contract.

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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

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 in the year where he claimed his first pole position.

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.

Kevin Magnussen competed in IndyCar in 2021

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

“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.

Red Bull McLaren Carlos Sainz Haas Esteban Ocon Kevin Magnussen