Kevin Magnussen opens up on his break from the sport: ‘It hurt watching the races knowing I couldn’t compete in them’


Kevin Magnussen opens up on his break from the sport: ‘It hurt watching the races knowing I couldn’t compete in them’

Kevin Magnussen

After a very disappointing year at Haas in 2020, both Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen left the sport. While Grosjean has been competing in IndyCar, Magnussen competed in IMSA for one year before he returned to Formula 1 this year, following the sacking of Nikita Mazepin.

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For all intents and purposes, ‘K-Mag’ has driven very well. He is currently 11th in the championship, with 22 points. It is about the best he can do in the circumstances – while Haas started very strongly, the car has often not been there on many weekends for either driver. Despite this, Magnussen has been strong, and he is certainly pleased to be back in Formula 1.

As reported by GPFans, Magnussen recently opened up on what life was like outside the sport, during his break. He said: “I mean, last year, kind of showed what that life is like – it was pretty good. I think it showed, you know… I came out of Formula 1 and I had a lot of things going on, you know.” but that it wasn’t all so amazing for him.

Also Read: “It looks more like a bullseye,” Kevin Magnussen ‘extremely pleased’ with upgraded VF-22

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Kevin Magnussen: “Once I retire, I will miss driving these cars”

Kevin Magnussen
Kevin Magnussen

Kevin Magnussen said that he had been able to keep his life going even when he was racing in Formula 1: “I was very happy that I had kept a life going outside of Formula 1 while I was in Formula 1 last time.”

He further added: “I still raced, I raced a lot of things. I did Le Mans with my dad as a team-mate, that was a lot of fun and, you know, raced an IndyCar, raced at Daytona in sports cars and I had a lot of fun, that was for sure and I didn’t feel like I was missing out on Formula 1.”

But he did digress that it hurt for him to watch Formula 1 races, and that it would be very hard to let go of Formula 1 permanently when asked the question in reference to Sebastian Vettel‘s recent retirement: “When I watched the races it hurt a little bit that I knew I wasn’t going to do that again. So, you know, I think once I retire for good, then I will always miss driving these cars and racing these cars.”

“I think it is really a massive privilege and last year kind of showed or highlighted how big a privilege it is. Once you kind of lose it and get it back, it’s very cool to be a Formula 1 driver.”

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Kevin Magnussen has definitely impressed on his return and depending on how Haas‘ development cycle goes, there may be more points to come his way yet, and it is certainly good to see him back in the sport.

Also Read: “There is some work to do,” Kevin Magnussen rates Ferrari-inspired Haas’ upgrade package

Also Read: Report: Haas renews contract with Kevin Magnussen for 2023

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