Kevin Magnussen, who stepped into the limelight as a hopeful aspiring champion in 2014, is only the fifth Danish driver to compete in the breakneck and often dangerous world of Formula 1, where failure is never more than a few tenths away.
From a young age, racing was an obvious career path, starting with smaller national series and working your way through the competition until it was finally recognized by McLaren Formula One’s junior driver program. Success and even racing were not a matter of course, despite winning the Formula Ford title in 2008. Magnussen returned to a more normal life without financial support and accepted a factory welding position until he got the break he deserved.
A fearsome competitor at all levels, nobody should forget or underestimate the achievements of the young Dane, at the age of 28 there are still plenty of reserves left.
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Born into racing
Via Reddit
As the son of a famous racing driver, Kevin Magnussen’s career began at a young age. He first competed in go-karts, entered the Formula Ford series in 2008, clinched 11 victories and the title and drove firmly in his blood from an early age.
Via Twitter
The family name Magnussen has been closely associated with motorsport since Jan Magnussen started his own career in the late 1990s. First with Formula 1 before switching to endurance racing, which brought four class wins at Le Man for Chevrolet and finally made the leap into the adrenaline-charged Indy car series, one can say with certainty that racing is a Magnussen family business.
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Formula Renault 3.5 fame
Via Twitter
Participation in the Formula Renault 3.5 series from 2012-13, first with Carlin Motorsport, and later with DAMS for the following season, led to one of Magnussen’s best career results, claiming the title 60 points ahead of the future McLaren -F1 driver Stoffel Vandoorne.
About McLaren
Winning the title by such a large margin also brings with it a certain amount of superstition, Kevin Magnussen is no different here and keeps the number 20 from his DAMS motorsport days throughout his career in Formula 1.
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Formula 1 Arrival – McLaren Mercedes
Via McLaren.com
In 2014, Kevin Magnussen made the step into the big league and joined McLaren Mercedes for a two-year stint on the Woking team. The pre-season tests in Jerez and Bahrain are a particular highlight of Magnussen’s potential and top the timesheets.
About race fans
That early momentum continued with the season opening race at Albert Park, where he qualified his MP4-29 fourth on the grid and eventually took the McLaren home in second to take a first podium, only the second Danish driver in of F1 history that took a point winning position. Kevin Magnussen finished 11th in the drivers’ standings with 55 points, not bad for a first season. In the following season, however, Fernando Alonso returned to McLaren, Magnussen was effectively demoted to a test role.
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New season, new team – Renault’s return to F1
Via Twitter
Renault Sports’ return to Formula 1 in 2016 gave Magnussen a unique opportunity as team leader to pick up where he left off in 2014. Unfortunately, a lack of competitiveness combined with a series of failures resulted in only two high-ranking placements.
About Wallpaper Abyss
The lack of competitiveness was to be expected; despite Renault branding, the RS16 was nothing more than a further development of the Lotus E23B from the previous season, an essential part of the Lotus F1 team buyout. Kevin Magnussen left the Enstone-based manufacturer after a season after talking to other teams about racing seats.
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Haas, Ferrari and Magnussen
Via kevinmagnnussen
A dream partnership between Ferrari engineering and Gene Haas’ racing experience turned out to be too good an opportunity to pass up, resulting in Magnussen’s longest run on a team in his F1 career. For four seasons (2018-20), Haas looked competitive at least in pre-season tests with Ferrari power, but a series of driver and tactical mistakes resulted in a World Championship best of 5th place for 2018.
Via Wikimedia
During this stint, Magnussen’s best results from 2018 achieved two fifth places, a season balance of 56 points and secured 9th place.
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10 teams, 4 engine suppliers and 1 racing driver
Via YouTube
Introduced in 2014 to combat the ever-increasing speeds of Formula 1 and make the sport more relevant to road vehicles, the FIA has mandated a new engine specification with hybrid technology. While the undoubtedly greener powertrain consisting of a V6 1.6-liter turbo ICE and energy recovery system has reduced the F1’s carbon footprint, it comes at a significant financial and competitive cost.
Via YouTube
There are currently ten manufacturers vying for the glory of Formula 1, but there are only four engine manufacturers. Honda, Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault share the burden of procurement and development costs. Since its introduction in 2014, only one driver has had the honor of competing with all engine suppliers, Kevin Magnussen with Mercedes and Honda power during his stay with McLaren, Ferrari Power with Haas and finally Renault.
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Be careful what you say
Via YouTube
Renault against Haas at the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix witnessed a fierce battle on the route between Magnussen and Hülkenberg.
Via YouTube
In a clash worthy of a title decision, Magnussen refused to give in to the faster Hulkenberg Renault, resulting in some near-misses and track boundary excursions that are great for displaying numbers. It would be a post-race interview, however, leading to the now infamous “Suck my Balls” comment to Hulkenberg, which is incredibly funny for anyone watching, less so for Magnussen, the on-air commentary, who is one of the most memorable moments from his career.
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The F1 dream in numbers
About the checkered flag
When he started for McLaren in 2014, Magnussen, who took an impressive podium at the season opener, saw a bright future, only to be demoted to test driver in favor of Alonso the following season.
About Beyond the Flag
Seven seasons later, despite a promising start for McLaren, the dream was over. Magnussen struggled to find a competitive seat, ending up with Renault first before moving to newcomer Haas. In a career of 119 race starts, culminating in a single podium and 158 championship points, the success was not what many had predicted for the Dane.
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Life according to Haas
Via Reddit
Every cloud has a silver lining, at the end of 2020 Haas terminated Magnussen’s contract and freed the Danes for a fresh start and new challenges. These challenges come thick and fast, with Chip Ganassi Racing competing in 2021 and putting his Cadillac on pole position in only his fourth race of the season.
About Indycar
In the same season, a connection with former Team McLaren was revived and a childhood dream of driving Indycars behind the wheel of a Dallara DW12 with a Chevrolet engine in the colors of Arrow McLaren SP was fulfilled.
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father and son
About racetrackmasters
Le Mans 2021 offered a unique opportunity for father and son to compete in the LMP2 category for high-class racing, both Magnussens longing to win in what may be the last opportunity for the pairing.
About 24 hours of De Mans
High-class racing with two Oreca 07 Le Man prototypes fitted with Gibson GK-428 naturally aspirated V8 engines producing in the 600 horsepower range and easily reaching speeds in excess of 300 mph. Endurance races present different challenges, absolute speed is not the focus here, distance, tires and saving fuel have priority.
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About the author
Jason Garbutt
(312 published articles)
Growing up in a car-obsessed environment from an early age, generated a keen interest in everything to do with cars. primarily an F1 fan, but also an avid fan of other motorsports. Professional background who has worked closely with an established UK supercar manufacturer over the past few years.
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