Yahoo Autos Kevin Magnussen Will Join Haas F1 Next Year
With the 2016 Formula 1 season winding to a close, it's time for silly season to begin. Renault's Kevin Magnussen is one of the first to make a major move, as he's leaving Renault to join America's Haas F1. This comes just a year after Magnussen replaced Pastor Maldonado at Renault.
Haas F1 announced Friday that the 24-year-old Dane will join the American team for the 2017 season. Magnussen will take Esteban Gutierrez's seat at Haas, but Romain Grosjean will remain with the team.
Renault's driver lineup was put in doubt last month when the team announced it had signed Force India's Nico Hulkenberg for a two-year contract. The team announced Wednesday that Jolyon Palmer will keep his seat, effectively forcing Magnussen out.
Magnussen has had a difficult few years in Formula 1–he secured a drive with McLaren in 2014, and even managed to achieve a podium finish that year, his rookie season. In 2015 though, Fernando Alonso rejoined McLaren, leading Magnussen to be demoted to a reserve driver position. McLaren fired him later that year. This season hasn't been great to Magnussen either, mostly owing to Renault's technical troubles.
Haas F1 has had one of the most successful debuts of any F1 teams in the history in the sport. It's currently in eight place in the constructor's championship, and showed great promise with a number of points finishes early in the season.
The move to Haas seems like an upgrade for Magnussen, who is clearly talented, but always been limited by factors beyond his control. If Haas can continue the momentum its built up this year, it'll be a team to follow closely in 2017.
This post was originally published 10/9/2016, and has been updated with confirmation from Haas F1.
You Might Also Like
