KEVIN MAGNUSSEN AXED AS HAAS LINE UP REPLACEMENT TO PARTNER OLIVER BEARMAN IN 2025

Kevin Magnussen's Formula 1 career is hanging by a thread after Haas confirmed he will leave at the end of this season.

But there has been no confirmation yet of his replacement. It is expected to be Esteban Ocon, who is understood to have signed a deal to race for the American team from 2025 after his impending departure from Alpine was announced earlier this year.

Haas confirmed earlier this month that they had signed young Briton Oliver Bearman to replace Sauber-bound Nico Hulkenberg. So the decision to place Ocon alongside him means there is no longer room for Magnussen, who has raced for the team in seven seasons across two separate spells.

The Dane has also represented Renault and McLaren in his career, scoring a podium on his memorable F1 debut with the latter. Having spent most of the rest of his career with minnows Haas, it remains his only top-three race finish in the sport.

He said: "I'd like to extend my thanks to everyone at MoneyGram Haas F1 Team. I'm proud to have raced for such a great team of people these last few years. In particular I'd like to thank Gene Haas for his commitment to me, notably in bringing me back once again in 2022 when I thought, at that time at least, my time in Formula 1 had ended.

"I've enjoyed some great moments with this team - memories I'll never forget. While I'm looking forward to the next chapter of my racing career, I remain fully focused on giving everything I've got for the rest of 2024 with MoneyGram Haas F1 Team."

Magnussen has five points to show for his efforts after 12 race weekends so far this year, while team-mate Hulkenberg has scored 22. Those figures form part of the reason why Haas fought to keep the latter and were disappointed to lose him to the Audi project, but are happy to let the Dane leave.

Team principal Ayao Komatsu said: "I'd like to thank Kevin for everything he's given us as a team - both on and off the track. He's truly been a bedrock of our driver line-up over the years. Nobody has driven more races for us and we've had some memorable highlights together."

Magnussen thought his F1 career was over until he was brought back by Haas after they axed Russian racer Nikita Mazepin on the eve of the 2022 season. But he looks likely to fall off the grid again with limit options available for him for a 2025 drive.

There are still seats open with the likes of Williams, Alpine and Sauber that he may try to make a play for, but he is fighting several others for those places. And the likes of Carlos Sainz and Valtteri Bottas are likely to be seen as more appealing options than Magnussen, who has been beaten by team-mate Hulkenberg over the last two seasons.

2024-07-18T08:09:53Z dg43tfdfdgfd