(Montreal) Danish driver Kevin Magnussen will replace Russian Nikita Mazepin at Haas this season, the American team announced on Wednesday afternoon.
Posted at 1:52 p.m.
Magnussen, 29, drove for Haas from 2017 to 2020, competing in 75 Grands Prix. “K-Mag” then made the jump to endurance events, notably taking part in races in the IMSA series and the 24 hours of Le Mans, on August 21 and 22, 2021.
Last week, Haas fired Mazepin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Mazepin then posted a tweet in which he said he was “very disappointed” with the decision. He also returned to these events, Wednesday morning, as part of a press conference.
The departure of the 23-year-old Russian came days after F1 decided to break its agreement with the Russian Grand Prix. The contract with the event organizer was valid until 2025.
Haas also ended its business deal with Russian company Uralkali, which is owned by Mazepin’s father.
Separately, Haas said it will miss the first session of winter testing in Bahrain on Wednesday due to a logistical problem with transporting its equipment.
The American team said the cargo plane that was supposed to transport its equipment to the Persian Gulf country was delayed due to mechanical problems grounding it in Istanbul, Turkey.
The plane finally arrived in Bahrain on Tuesday evening, around 48 hours later than expected, preventing the team from preparing the car for the Thursday morning practice session.
Haas still hopes to send his car to the track on Thursday afternoon, and for now his test driver Pietro Fittipaldi must be the only one running. It’s unclear whether hiring Magnussen will alter the plans of the Gene Haas-owned team.
Mick Schumacher, the son of seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher, is the other regular driver at Haas.