Magnussen ends his F1 career with a fastest race lap

Having completed his last F1 race at the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Kevin Magnussen ended his F1 career by setting the quickest race lap with Haas.

It looks like the 2024 Abu Dhabi GP was Kevin Magnussen’s last outing in Formula 1. Although the Haas driver missed out on a points finish due to a crash with Valtteri Bottas, he at least managed to round off his career in the highest echelon of the sport in style, clocking the DHL Fastest Lap.

The main objective for Haas in Abu Dhabi was to reclaim sixth place in the constructors’ championship from Alpine, with only a few points having separated the two teams ahead of the race.

Following a tough qualifying session, Magnussen enjoyed a brilliant start to his final F1 race, fighting his way up from P14 to P7. He was in the points until his first pit stop, but a slow tire change knocked the Dane back.

Things didn’t get any better after that. The Danish driver had just completed his second pit stop when Valtteri Bottas’s Sauber caught him a glancing blow, which caused some damage to his car. All hopes of P6 in the constructors’ championship and points in the season finale had vanished. But Kevin Magnussen was not prepared to sign off without one final gesture of defiance.

After switching to soft tires on the 30th lap, the Haas man immediately set the DHL Fastest Lap which he then retained until the end of the Abu Dhabi GP. To be on the safe side, however, he came back into the pits a few laps before the end and put on a fresh set of Softs. On the last lap of the race, he pushed his own best time down even further to 1:25.637, which was enough to nail down the DHL Fastest Lap. It was Magnussen’s first of the 2024 season and only the third in Haas team history.

Reflecting on his F1 career after the chequered flag at the Yas Marina Circuit, Magnussen said: “I was a small kid dreaming about Formula 1 25 years ago, and I managed to get ten years in the sport I was desperately dreaming to be a part of. It’s been a privilege.”