Magnussen refuses to rule out F1 stay despite Binotto silence
Kevin Magnussen is refusing to rule out an extension to his F1 career despite conceding Stake boss Mattia Binotto has not been in contact.
Magnussen is set to leave F1 at the end of the season after Haas elected to replace him and Stake-bound Nico Hulkenberg with Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon.
Outside of the Red Bull ecosystem of seats, the Stake drive alongside Hulkenberg is the sole remaining vacant spot for 2025.
Binotto succeeded Andreas Seidl as chief operating and chief technical officer of Sauber in August. The former Ferrari chief has been exploring his options, such as Mick Schumacher and F2 title contender Gabriel Bortoleto, as well as those currently in situ, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.
The Dane has indicated as long as the seat remains open, he will not limit his options, despite silence from Binotto.
“Yeah, when Seidl was there, I heard from them, but I haven’t heard from them since [Binotto took over],” Magnussen told media including RacingNews365.
“He knows I’m here, I would hope so, and anyway, there is a lot going on in the background right now, so I am not ready to decide [my future].
“The season is still going, there is still a seat open in Formula 1 [for 2025], so there is no reason to commit to anything.
“There is a good mix of options for my future, but there is no reason to commit right now, and we will see where things go.
“There is no reason to say no to anything, I don’t need to commit so it is good to just have all the options on the table.”
Magnussen keen to continue Haas P6 challenge
Magnussen comes into the Sao Paulo GP weekend off the back of his best finish of the season, with a seventh place in Mexico last time out.
It was at the 2022 Interlagos race where he scored his only pole position in F1, albeit for the sprint race but is classified as an official F1 pole.
Haas is breaking clear of RB in the battle for sixth in the constructors’, banking a total of 15 points in the last two races, with Magnussen keen to “capitalise” on the strong pace of the car.
“It is some very strong results that have also come because some of the top guys had problems, like [Oscar] Piastri and [Sergio] Perez, starting from the back and those things,” he added.
“It’s important to capitalise on those opportunities, because in a normal race, maybe there’s one or two points up for grabs.
“So when you score eight points as a team in a race, that’s very big for us.”
