Magnussen proudly bids farewell to Haas: 'Got more out than actually possible'

In total, Magnussen will soon have seven seasons on it with Haas. Few drivers on the current F1 grid have been with the same employer for that long. Magnussen is not the type to worry about statistics, yet this fact does concern him. "It shows that the team, one, has been very loyal," Magnussen said in a group interview with, GPblog and others.

"Secondly, it shows that they value my contributions to the team. I think I am someone that works very hard, I fight very hard on track, I give myself to the team. I think I'm a team player. I've shown that many times. So that's probably part of why I've been here for so long. I wouldn't have been here otherwise."

Magnussen has one ultimate highlight with Haas F1

As the smallest team on the F1 grid, Haas has never managed to reach the podium. Magnussen, however, was responsible for the highlight in Haas' history so far in 2022, when he put his car on pole in Brazil. "Nothing beats being number one. Those good days where you get a top five or a good bunch of points, but it doesn't feel the same as a pole position or I would say that I even felt better than my second place in Melbourne in my first race [with McLaren]. I think something special about that number one."

Magnussen still has the next few months to repeat that Interlagos feat, after which he will close the door at Haas behind him. When asked, Magnussen says he will leave behind a more established team than after his first stint with the Americans. "When I joined, maybe I expected things to change quicker. We came into Formula One with this model that hadn't been seen before of outsourcing as much as possible and buying all the parts that the regs allowed. And then for a while it didn't really evolve.

"I think recently it started to really evolve. I think that's an exciting process, and I do believe this team has a bright future. If you look, even with the model and the structure that's been in place since the beginning, the results have been quite impressive, given the resource and the number of people and it's been an overachievement and I know Gene [Haas] always wants more and that's why he is in the position he is. But actually, I think, as a pat on the shoulder to all the people in this team, I think they've really overachieved in terms of what they have to work with."

Magnussen expects a nice life outside F1

Further development of the team will fall on the shoulders of new driver duo Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman. What Magnussen will do is still unknown. So chances are it will be something outside Formula 1. " n 21, I was out of F1, but I was racing in IMSA, and it's actually quite a busy schedule. We're going to America 11 or 12 times during the year. It wasn't like a quiet year but it was at least a very different year. You have to remember my whole life since I was a little kid was about getting to Formula 1 and then I have had 10 years in the sport and so it was interesting and kind of exciting to see a different side of life in ‘21. And it wasn't frightening.

"It was actually very positive and fun. So I think that changed my mindset in terms of I had a lot of fear before losing Formula 1 because I didn't know what was on the outside. And that kind of showed me that: hold on to Formula 1 as long as you can, but don't fear the outside. The afterlife is going to be good," Magnussen said.

So it will be a farewell, but it does not have to be forever if it is up to Magnussen. Haas F1 can always call him for a role as an advisor, for example. "If I won't be racing in Formula 1 next year, then absolutely I'll definitely look at that. Some kind of role advisory or however they see fit. I've been with this team for many years now and I know the operation very well. I have a lot of experience in Formula 1, so it would be good to keep making use of that instead."