Kevin Magnussen is out of contract at Haas at the end of the season. He may have thought he was boosting his chances of an extension in the Miami Grand Prix sprint race last Saturday.
Magnussen, running in eighth, did absolutely everything he could to keep Lewis Hamilton behind. He knew that, the longer Hamilton spent on his rear wing, the safer teammate Nico Hulkenberg was in seventh.
The Danish driver repeatedly left the track without justification, in the eyes of the FIA, over the course of the battle. The penalties he amassed dropped him down to 18th place at the chequered flag.
Haas were ‘pretty cross’ at Magnussen’s implication that he was forced to drive in this manner. And they would have taken a dim view of what happened on race day too.
The 31-year-old took out the Williams of Logan Sargeant midway through the race with what Martin Brundle called a ‘silly’ and ‘unnecessary’ move. It earned him two more penalty points on his licence.
Magnussen is now only two away from incurring a race ban. Some in the F1 paddock feel his conduct in Miami merits a suspension regardless, but that’s unlikely to happen.
However, the feeling is that the former McLaren driver may have hurt his chances of continuing at Haas. He hasn’t yet convinced team principal Ayao Komatsu that he merits a new deal.
Haas could replace Kevin Magnussen with Valtteri Bottas
According to Formula Passion, Komatsu is now ‘evaluating possible alternatives’ to Magnussen. That’s not to say he’s out of the running, but the team have now identified some other options.
Haas have exceeded the expectations of the F1 paddock so far this season by scoring seven points, which ranks them above three teams. The seat is more attractive to drivers elsewhere than anticipated.
One of those who’s taken notice is Valtteri Bottas. Bottas knows he ‘doesn’t have much chance’ of keeping his drive at Sauber given that the team have already signed Hulkenberg and are still going after Carlos Sainz.
Ferrari junior driver Oliver Bearman, who finished an impressive seventh when standing in for an ill Sainz at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, is poised to replace Hulkenberg. Bearman will drive in six FP1 sessions for Haas this year.
But Komatsu could look to Bottas, who has taken 10 victories and 20 pole positions in his career, to partner him. Much will depend upon how Magnussen performs for the American outfit in the coming races, but he hasn’t ‘helped his cause’ recently.
Valtteri Bottas could leave Sauber amid ‘unrest’
Bottas is believed to have an edge over teammate Zhou Guanyu if Sauber can’t sign Sainz and decide to retain one of their current drivers. But the events of Miami didn’t paint a reassuring picture.
The team took the ‘highly unexpected’ decision to change his race engineer, without his knowledge, before the race. Will Buxton feels this is a marker of ‘unrest’ behind the scenes.
Bottas is smart to explore his options elsewhere and is also considering a return to Williams. He made his F1 debut for the team in 2013 and stayed there until joining Mercedes in 2017.
He brings even more experience than Magnussen (228 race starts vs 169) and, crucially, he may be regarded as a safer pair of hands. Bottas has only amassed two penalty points in the last year compared to his rival’s 10.
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