Kevin Magnussen has revealed that a potential Formula 1 drive with Red Bull was on the cards, but the Dane rejected a move to its sister Toro Rosso team.
Magnussen, who has completed what might be his last F1 season, has said a move to the team, now Racing Bulls, was on offer when Daniel Ricciardo vacated his seat to move up to Red Bull in 2014 alongside Sebastien Vettel.
Instead, he opted for a drive with McLaren, and made his debut with the Woking squad that year, scoring a sensational second place in his first Grand Prix, at Melbourne, ironically inheriting the place after Ricciardo’s disqualification.
After the race, Magnussen believed that he was firmly in contention for the Drivers’ title, telling Motorsport-Total: “‘OK, the battle [for the world title] is open, in my first year’. Yes, I really thought that.”
In reality, the move to McLaren was the sensible option, the team being far and away faster than Toro Rosso, but after one season, Magnussen found himself out in the cold, being replaced by Fernando Alonso, who would partner Jenson Button.
Magnussen claims his manager spoke to Red Bull boss Christian Horner, and the possibility of driving for Toro Rosso became apparent but vetoed the move.
“And I said, ‘No, no, we don’t’. Which I probably should have done,” he said.
With hindsight, Magnussen hints that perhaps the move would have been beneficial, saying: “It was Gasly who got the seat [at Red Bull]. Albon was promoted from Formula 2 to Toro Rosso.
“Then Gasly didn’t do well and Albon was transferred! So the guy who got that Toro Rosso seat ended up at Red Bull.”
Haas stints and sportscar future
Instead, Magnussen switched to Renault in 2016, enduring a miserable year in which he only scored seven points.
In 2017, Magnussen moved to Haas, where he would spend the remainder of his career.
Despite failing to score another podium, Magnussen helped the American outfit to become a firmly established member of the F1 fraternity.
Magnussen left Haas at the end of 2020, switching to the IMSA SportsCar Championship with Cadillac Chip Ganassi, ranking seventh in the DPi Class, winning one race with a further four top-three finishes.
With his F1 career seemingly over, Haas made an 11th-hour call to re-sign him for 2022, in place of Nikita Mazepin.
After his second curtain call, Magnussen will return to sportscar racing in 2025, joining BMW M Motorsport as a works driver, and will take part in the prestigious 24 Hours of Daytona next month.
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