Magnussen said yes to Haas: 'Realized quickly what the plan was'

Kevin Magnussen let it be known in conversation with ESPN that he has no pity for Nikita Mazepin. The Russian was at Haas F1 while the American team had its worst season ever in Formula 1. Just before the start of the 2022 season, Mazepin was fired because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Magnussen drove for Haas in Formula 1 from 2017 through 2020. When 2020 was almost over, he and then-teammate Romain Grosjean were told they were being replaced by Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin. Schumacher had the talent that Haas wanted and Mazepin, especially the money that was needed.

2021 became a dramatic year for Haas in which the team was at the bottom. Not a single point was scored by the new driver pair. Yet both drivers would be back in Haas cars in 2022 until Russia invaded Ukraine. Mazepin took with him a major Russian sponsor with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. When the sponsor disappeared from the car, Mazepin disappeared not much later.

Magnussen was called by Guenther Steiner as a replacement and he was happy to get back into the car at Haas. "I didn't really think of it like that. I didn't feel any pity," Magnussen replied when asked if he could have done better than Mazepin. Instead, Magnussen focused on himself and the new step in his career.

Haas had been shifting its focus to the new 2022 car for some time, so when the call from Steiner came it was an easy choice for Magnussen. "I realised what the plan was fast, you know, they did that, abandoned that project to focus on this project, on this car," concludes the Dane.