The Formula 1 driver market has created chaos in the sport for next season, as the 2025 season only has two teams that will field the same line-up from the start of 2024.
McLaren have their young talents Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri tied down to long-term contracts and will certainly be one of the favourite to challenge at the front in 2025.
Aston Martin have also retained their drivers for next season as Fernando Alonso has signed a deal until at least 2026. Lance Stroll will also stay on for next year, but his future beyond then is in doubt as Aston Martin could hire Yuki Tsunoda if the Canadian is shown the door by the team’s owner; his father Lawrence Stroll.
Technically, Red Bull also have retained their drivers in Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, but the latter is in serious doubt for next season as he has desperately struggled to perform in 2024. Liam Lawson is the favourite to replace Perez if he is sacked, with the Milton Keynes-based outfit weighing up their options.
One team who will have a different driver pairing for 2025 is Haas, who will field Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman – who has impressed F1 already in his three sub-in appearances this season.
Kevin Magnussen finds it ‘hard to be surprised’ after being sacked again by Haas
The exciting new line-up means current drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg will be leaving Haas at the end of the year – with the latter heading to Sauber.
This situation is nothing new for Magnussen, who has been left on the sidelines twice in his F1 career. The Dane, who has competed in 182 Grand Prix so far, was let go by McLaren in 2015 after making his debut in the pinnacle of motorsport the year prior.
READ MORE: Haas driver Kevin Magnussen’s life outside F1 from wife to net worth
Magnussen returned to F1 with Renault in 2016 before moving to Haas, where he spent four years before he was let go by Guenther Steiner in favour of Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher.
The 32-year-old returned to the American outfit in 2022, but will find himself out of the team for the second time come the end of the 2024 campaign.
Speaking with ESPN, Magnussen explained that he finds it ‘hard to be surprised’ as he has been in this position many times before. He is instead looking to enjoy his final three races with Haas.
“I’ve been through it before, I’ve been through this exact position before, even twice before this,” he said.
“So, it’s hard to be surprised about anything and I think, every race you get in Formula 1, you have to just enjoy it and have fun with it and that’s what I plan on doing in the last three races.”
Is Kevin Magnussen’s F1 career over?
Visa Cash App RB have the final seat to confirm for 2025. With Magnussen likely nowhere near the conversation for the drive, it means the Dane will not be on the grid next year.
This latest axing could even spell the end of his F1 career altogether, but Magnussen has stressed that his time in F1 is ‘definitely not over’.
With there not being a seat available until at least 2026, the Dane could move into a reserve driver role and offer some experience to a team before returning to a full-time race seat.
Magnussen has returned to F1 twice before after being sacked, and with him being only 32 years old, he may still have some more years left in him to compete in the pinnacle of motorsport.
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