Out in F1 for Magnussen and Grosjean

At the end of the 2020 Formula 1 season, the Haas F1 team will end its collaboration with its current drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean. The sacking is not entirely unexpected, at least for Grosjean, because he is not one of the drivers with a lot of money behind him. Haas wants to go in new directions.

Given the results of the current season, changes are no surprise. Since its high of 5th place in the 2018 constructors' championship, the Haas team has been going downhill. It currently finds itself in second last place in the team standings with just 3 points. There will also have been something to hear from the board level. Gene Haas didn't start out to lose, the ambitious American certainly wants to achieve more. Now it's about changing something, and this is the first step.

"I would like to express my gratitude to both Romain (Grosjean) and Kevin (Magnussen) for their hard work and commitment to Haas F1 Team over the past seasons," commented Günther Steiner, Team Principal of F1 Team Haas, on the separation from their previous drivers. "Romain was a fundamental part of our team, as we wanted to bring on board a driver who is both fast and experienced. His results in early 2016 were the reward, not only for his own talent, but also for the sheer effort the team had put in to compete that season. When Kevin joined a season later, we saw an immediate return with both cars finishing in the points, and of course our first double points finish in Monaco that year. We have a lot of good memories together - especially our 2018 season when we finished fifth overall in only our third season. Romain and Kevin played a major part in that success. Of course, there's still plenty of racing to come in the 2020 season. It was undoubtedly a challenging year, but both drivers gave their all behind the wheel of the VF-20. We appreciate their dedication and experience to take the team forward to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December," Günther Steiner continues.

Grosjean wasn't surprised that the team needed a change, but the fact that both drivers had just been kicked out came as a bit of a surprise to him. In Formula 1 today, two factors count in deciding who gets the job: Talent and money. Grosjean in particular does not have a broad sponsorship portfolio that he could bring to a Formula 1 team. It is primarily financial reasons that have led to the termination of the collaboration, because even large or small Formula 1 teams are affected by the Corona pandemic and its repercussions. Here, savings have to be made wherever possible. Günther Steiner also doesn't know at the moment what will happen next, but he also sees the coming year as one of difficulties and challenges. It will be all the more exciting to see who Haas will recruit, absolute rookies, drivers with connections, we will have to wait and see. One thing is for sure, there will be a lot of young drivers out there hoping for the chance to grab one of the two coveted spots.

Günther Steiner, Team Principal Haas F1 Team