General
'Departed F1 driver turned down McLaren offer for 2021'
- GPblog.com
Kevin Magnussen's contract was not renewed at Haas F1 after 2020 and so the Dane no longer had access to a permanent seat in Formula 1. Magnussen reportedly had the opportunity to remain involved in the premier class of motorsport, but the 28-year-old driver reportedly turned down an offer.
Japanese motorsport website AS-Web claims that sources close to Magnussen have indicated that McLaren have been angling for the services of the former Formula 1 driver. Magnussen, however, is said to have declined the offer to become a reserve and simulator driver at the Woking-based team.
Magnussen already competed for McLaren in 2014. The season was not a success and a year later he was replaced by Fernando Alonso. In 2015 he became the reserve driver at McLaren, before switching to Renault in 2016.
McLaren wants to take control
McLaren is said to be looking for their own test driver as it is now dependent on Mercedes when the need arises. Stoffel Vandoorne is a test driver for both Mercedes and McLaren and that situation is apparently no longer desirable for Zak Brown and Andreas Seidl's team.
Magnussen moved to the United States and made his debut in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship during a qualifying race at Daytona last weekend. He will be driving for one of the top teams there and is expected to be in contention for the title