FILE PHOTO: Formula One F1 - Austrian Grand Prix - Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria - June 29, 2024 Haas' Kevin Magnussen during qualifying Pool via Reuters/Christian Bruna/File Photo
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Danish Formula One driver Kevin Magnussen will leave his Haas race seat at the end of the season and could then take an unspecified role with the U.S.-owned team, they said on Thursday.
Esteban Ocon is strongly tipped to come in for 2025, with the Frenchman's departure from Renault-owned Alpine already announced, alongside British rookie Oliver Bearman.
"I’d like to thank Kevin for everything he’s given us as a team – both on and off the track. He’s truly been a bedrock of our driver line-up over the years," said Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu in a statement.
"Nobody’s driven more races for us and we’ve had some memorable highlights together, not least a remarkable fifth place finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2022 when Kevin returned to start his second spell with the team."
Magnussen, 31, is in his seventh season and second stint with the Ferrari-powered team after first joining in 2017 and leaving at the end of 2020 before returning to take the place of Russian Nikita Mazepin when the war in Ukraine started.
Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix will be the former McLaren and Renault driver's 135th start with the team.
"There’s plenty of racing to go this year so I’m looking forward to seeing what else we can achieve with Kevin as we push together in the championship," said Komatsu.
"Beyond that, and with Kevin’s special relationship with the team, I’m hoping we can find a way to keep working together in some capacity.
"We can hopefully define that in the near future, but his extensive experience in Formula One and knowledge of our working operations are undoubtedly of value in our on-going growth and development."
Magnussen said he was proud to have raced for the team and thanked owner Gene Haas for bringing him back at a time when he thought his F1 career was over.
"I’ve enjoyed some great moments with this team, memories I’ll never forget," he said.
"While I’m looking forward to the next chapter of my racing career, I remain fully focused on giving everything I’ve got for the rest of 2024."
The Dane has scored five points from 12 races this season compared to team mate Nico Hulkenberg's 22, with the 36-year-old German -- joining Sauber next season -- finishing an impressive sixth in the last two.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)
