Kevin Magnussen ‘in contention for a few seats’ as he fights for F1 future

Kevin Magnussen climbing into the car. Baku, April 2023.

Kevin Magnussen said Ayao Komatsu has been “very open, very honest” when the two have been discussing the Dane’s future with Haas.

Magnussen is in his seventh season with Haas, including a year hiatus, but does not look certain to be there for 2025 with a number of names linked to the seat.

Kevin Magnussen opens up on Ayao Komatsu Haas extension talks

Additional reporting from Thomas Maher

Latest rumours have put Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon top of Haas’ wishlist but even with Nico Hulkenberg already out the door, Magnussen has no guarantee that he will stay with the team in 2025.

On his discussions with team boss Komatsu, Mangussen said he appreciated the “open” nature of their conversation with the Haas boss admitting they were “talking to other drivers as well.”

“I talked to him about my own potential future with the team and what I value the most is that he is very open, very honest,” Magnussen told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets in Austria. “I feel like I can trust him.

“He’s not hiding the fact that he’s talking to other drivers as well. He’s being open about that and I appreciate that a lot more because I’ve had team bosses in the past who weren’t honest, who were telling me BS and I don’t appreciate that.

“I think it’s part of the game. I’m not surprised he’s talking to other drivers. He wouldn’t be doing his job if he wasn’t so I appreciate the openness.”

While some seem desperate to cling to their seat, Magnussen has been more relaxed about an F1 departure having already done so in 2021.

On a career elsewhere, Magnussen commented that Le Mans and Indy 500 winners “look bloody happy.”

“I’m in contention for a few of the seats and I think that’s great,” he said of his F1 prospects. “And I think it’s all very open at the moment.

“I think there’s good chances for the established guys to end up in a seat anyway and from my perspective, I feel like there is a lot of potential in this team. It feels like there’s always been potential showing at times. The highs have been very high.

“You look back to some of the races, we’ve done some of the good races that you could take the best races in any year, it’s been fairly good. There’s never been a podium here though and there’s never been that season where it’s just all worked out and consistency has been good.

“You see the talent in the team and almost like some unfulfilled potential. I would think that would be quite fulfilling after so many years here to be part of that.

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“On the other hand, it’s also been a long journey. I’ve been sort of in the midfield pretty much my whole life, every year that I’ve been in Formula 1 and I’m 31 years old.

“I’m starting to also think that if I finished my motorsport career, having just done F1 in the midfield, that kind of feels maybe empty.

“So you know what? Some of those races you know, Le Mans, Indy 500. I see the guys that win that, they look bloody happy.

“There’s a great outside of Formula 1 also. I’ve been part of it a few times when I wasn’t in Formula 1 and it’s a great life and it’s pulling a little bit, I would say.”