F1 News
Magnussen spoke to Red Bull in 2018: ''It was clearly an option''
- GPblog.com
Kevin Magnussen will be seen in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in America in 2021, where he has been offered the chance to drive for Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing. However, the Dane has now revealed that his career could have gone very differently.
The career of Magnussen
Magnussen was one of the most promising talents in the rookie categories. The Dane was under contract with McLaren and won the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, among other races. The Dane got his chance in Formula 1 at McLaren in 2014, but with Honda's new project he was pushed aside for Fernando Alonso in 2015.
It was like this more often than not in Magnussen's career. The man who doesn't let himself be put away easily on the track was also quickly shown the door by Renault at the end of 2016. At Haas, he was given a new chance in 2017. The American team picked him up and especially in 2018, this resulted in a great season with eventually a 9th place in the drivers' classification.
This also attracted the attention of other teams. In conversation with the Danish BT Magnussen now reveals that there was also contact with Red Bull at the end of 2018. Red Bull Racing was confused by the sudden departure of Daniel Ricciardo and was looking for a new driver. It soon appeared that they would go for Pierre Gasly at Red Bull Racing, but Magnussen could have made the switch to Toro Rosso.
The opportunity at Red Bull
''When we spoke to them it quickly became clear that they already had a candidate for the seat at Red Bull. However, they did talk about a possibility at Toro Rosso. They haven't made me a contract proposal yet, but it was clearly an option'', Magnussen says of that conversation three years later.
''However, we chose not to take this opportunity because I felt very good at Haas and I believed that we would be able to continue the upward trend we had started like in 2018.''
Things turned out very differently for Magnussen, however. Alexander Albon was recruited for the seat at Toro Rosso and would eventually even get a chance at Red Bull Racing. Haas also dropped down the rankings. In 2019 and 2020, the team finished ninth among constructors, while Toro Rosso and in 2020 AlphaTauri finished sixth and seventh, and also managed three podium finishes, including one win. Magnussen has now been dumped again by a team in F1, and will now try his luck in America.