Driver set for F1 axe told he “damaged reputation” with “crazy things”
Has Kevin Magnussen cost himself a 2025 drive?
Kevin Magnussen has one foot outside of F1 as he struggles to find a seat for 2025.
It has already been confirmed that he will leave Haas when he contract expires later this year, and cars for next year are quickly being filled.
Carlos Sainz’s confirmation at Williams and rumours of Jack Doohan leading the hunt for the Alpine mean Magnussen might have nowhere to go.
“Kevin has flashes of brilliance. I still there’s a place for him,” Eddie Jordan told the Formula For Success podcast.
“I’d put Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg as similar in terms of driving style, and people.
“Kevin damaged his reputation with some of the crazy things that he did earlier in the year.
“I’m not sure if that resonates with other team principals.”
Magnussen, at the F1 Miami Grand Prix, picked up four penalties during the sprint race then a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points in the grand prix.
His 35 seconds’ worth of penalties for a race-long scrap with Lewis Hamilton demoted Magnussen from 10th to 18th on the Saturday.
Magnussen admitted his punishments were “deserved”, honesty which Hamilton praised as “pretty cool”.
But his crash with Williams’ Logan Sargeant on the Sunday was described as “just silly and unnecessary” by Martin Brundle.
Now, with nowhere to turn for 2025, Magnussen looks set for the F1 axe.
Sauber, who will transform into Audi in 2026, have missed out on signing Ferrari’s Sainz so have a vacancy next to Hulkenberg for next year.
But Jordan suggested they steer clear of committing to Magnussen, saying: “My guess is that they’d be far wiser to hold on.
“Why do they need a second driver? They can hire people in.
“All you’re doing is building up a wage packet and structure.
“Hire Kevin, if you want to. It’d be a fine idea in many respects.
“But, at the same time, the financial gurus at Audi will be looking at ‘what is the cost of this?’”
There is a seat at Sauber, a vacant Alpine, and one RB still unconfirmed for 2025 but Magnussen is not a leading contender for any of them.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
