Kevin Magnussen, Haas, 2024

RaceFans Round-up: 20th January 2025

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Welcome to Monday’s edition of the RaceFans round-up.

Comment of the day

This weekend’s Caption Competition winner is Rich Hill:

Pierre Gasly, Jack Doohan, Alpine, Yas Marina, 2024

You got a sense Doohan was forcing a smile on the FaceTime from Colapinto
Rich Hill

Social media and links

BMW move was 'always on the cards' for Magnussen (Sportscar365)

'I knew I wasn’t super keen on continuing in Formula 1. I wasn’t really actively looking for another contract in Formula 1. So I’d already shifted my focus to other things. And I knew sports cars was where I want to be and specifically in LMDh.'

Max candid: 'If you know everything in advance, that would be boring' (Verstappen)

'(My helmet design) will be similar this year, a little bit different, but it's just my own design. It's quite basic. I just went back to a bit more like traditional old school kind of livery, which I enjoy more.'

Cian Shields will race for AIX Racing in the upcoming FIA Formula 2 season (AIX)

'Shields is therefore the second and last driver in the FIA Formula 2 line up of AIX Racing.'

Round one race one (FR Middle East championship certified by FIA)

Round one race two (FR Middle East championship certified by FIA)

Round one race three (FR Middle East championship certified by FIA)

Round two race three - Formula Regional Oceania (Toyota Gazoo Racing New Zealand via YouTube)

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Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Cathal, Explosiva, Qazuhb, The_Sigman, Charlie and Fikri!

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Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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7 comments on “RaceFans Round-up: 20th January 2025”

  1. If anybody is going to F1 gp in vegas, i had a good experience at the wynn. And best bbq was soul belly near the strat. I am getting nothing from this just wanted to share my good experiences

  2. Reading between the lines, the wording ”I knew I wasn’t super keen on continuing in Formula 1” essentially means that he wouldn’t have necessarily accepted an offer even from Haas anymore had they offered him another full-time drive.
    Therefore, like Ricciardo, he’s clearly done, which is unsurprising.

    1. Given that a few years back Kevin was already onto the way to get full in on sportscar racing, before circumstances gave him another shot at F1 with Haas to get that last shot at it. Makes sense that he’s now content to get back to the original path and pursue the stuff he was planning to do a few years earlier.

    2. My instinct is to say that drivers rarely choose to leave F1. But Kmag and many many others must have a moment in their career when they realise they’re never going to be F1 World Champion. For Kevin that moment must have been years ago, he was never going to get a call from Mercedes or Red Bull.

      So all the training, airport terminals, 25 races and missing their kids birthdays, it must get dispiriting. On top of that, as racing driver, Kevin hasn’t won a single thing in more than a decade, like nothing. He’s not crossed the finishing line in first and knows he never will in this series.

      I think Jan enjoyed himself doing other stuff after F1, so I guess Kevin might be honest when he says wants to go do other things. It makes some sense.

      1. I’ve often wondered about that not-winning part. Everyone who makes it to F1 has enjoyed at least some success. Maybe not always the championship in lower categories, but often close enough. To go from that to spending years hyping yourself and the team up over a rare 10th place must be odd. Especially because the drivers would all do really well in other series. I suppose the excitement of driving F1 cars plus the outlandish income make up for the lack of sporting success.

  3. It’s a shame Magnussen didn’t pursue and Indycar drive (or didn’t secure one as all the top/medium spots were already taken). It would have been great to see him there and if he could do a better job than Grosjean did.

    1. El Pollo Loco
      20th January 2025, 12:35

      KMag always seemed perfectly cut out for IndyCar. Maybe getting a family had something to do with it. Unlike F1, IndyCar is actually dangerous. Grosjean was predictably mediocre in IndyCar. For every impressive race, he had half-a-dozen head scratchingly poor performances and half the time he looked competitive he would end up crashing out with really dumb moves that, as usual, he insist were not his fault. So, basically, classic Grosjean.

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