Kevin Magnussen began his F1 career at McLaren in 2014 and he then spent time at Renault and Haas with mixed results.
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Kevin Magnussen doesn’t believe he will ever make a Formula 1 return, simply because the sport can be unrewarding if a driver isn’t with a top team.
Magnussen began his career at McLaren in 2014, where he bagged a podium finish on debut. He then spent time at Renault and Haas with mixed results.
The Dane’s contract with the team was not renewed at the end of 2020. And with no seats available on the grid, he chose to focus on other disciplines in motorsport.
His success outside of F1 has motivated him to only compete in car series’ where he stands a chance of winning.
“The rest of my career will be only racing with a hope of winning,” the 29-year-old told RACER. “Whatever I do, I won’t go into anything if I know I can’t win, ever again.”
“I’ve been there, done that. It was a great experience, I love that I was able to do it. I dreamed about Formula 1 ever since I was a little kid, so I really feel privileged to be able to fulfil my dream and be there and actually have a career in Formula 1.
“I was there for seven years and I enjoyed it most of the time. But sporting-wise, as an athlete, it wasn’t rewarding enough to be in the position I was in.
“It’s really good to be here (in the US) and have that spark back. You can go into every weekend and you can smell blood, and it just gives an extra sort of energy I haven’t had in a while.”
Away from F1, Magnussen has found some success in endurance racing. In the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with Chip Ganassi Racing, he won the Detroit race.
He also secured four podium finishes and finished the series in a respectable seventh place. And he will be racing in Le Mans in his Peugeot Hypercar project.
But the focus wherever he goes will be the same – win.
“It always limits you. Whatever I do, I want to commit. Winning is the main focus and the main priority.
“To win in these things I’m doing, you can’t do it with your left hand, you know? You need full focus and full commitment. I don’t want to do things by half, but we’ll see what the future brings.
“I’m still fairly young and hopefully have a lot of years in motorsport left when I can hopefully realise some of my motorsport fantasies.”
