Magnussen had 'handshake' deal with Force India for 2014 seat

Published on 04 Jul 2019 15:42

By: Fergal Walsh

Kevin Magnussen has revealed that he was very close to signing for Force India in 2014.

The Dane made his debut in 2014 for McLaren, spending just one season with the team and picking up a podium finish in his very first race.

Then part of the McLaren junior programme, Magnussen stated that the original plan was to fit him in at Force India before a promotion to McLaren in the following years.

However, that changed when Ron Dennis returned to the team as McLaren CEO ahead of 2014, which saw Martin Whitmarsh vacate his role as team principal.

Magnussen says that the call confirming his race seat didn't come straight away after winning the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, which was the task McLaren gave him to contend for a race seat in F1.

"It didn't come soon after, it was a bit of a process," Magnussen said on the Beyond The Grid F1 podcast. "I thought I was going to go to Force India actually.

"I didn't have a contract but I had a firm handshake that I was going to race for Force India and McLaren was going to supply them with stuff.

"It was going to be a deal where McLaren would put me in a Force India for a few years and then take me.

"But then Ron came in when Withmarsh was out, and he wanted to change a lot of things and I was one of the things.

"I got the seat instead of Perez but then the following year Force India ended up with three or four podiums and we only had the one. It'd wanted have been a bad one to go with Force India, but I was excited."

After losing his seat at McLaren to Fernando Alonso in 2015, Magnussen returned to F1 in 2016 with Renault, before moving to Haas in 2017, where he remains today.

F1 News Kevin Magnussen Force India Haas

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Magnussen had 'handshake' deal with Force India for 2014 seat

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