Anthony Davidson delivers his verdict on Haas dropping Kevin Magnussen

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Anthony Davidson has now delivered the Sky Sports pundit’s verdict on Haas opting to drop Kevin Magnussen once his contract expires following the 2024 Formula 1 season.

The American-owned team announced on Thursday morning that Magnussen and Haas will split at the end of the year. It will take the curtain down on a three-year revived relationship after the 31-year-old re-joined Haas for 2022 following their previous decision to part ways.

Haas will also get an entirely new driver line-up for the 2025 Formula 1 season after naming Oliver Bearman as Nico Hulkenberg’s replacement. Like Magnussen, Hulkenberg was due to be out of contract after 2024 and secured a multi-year deal with Audi in April to join Sauber.

Anthony Davidson is ‘not surprised’ Haas will drop Kevin Magnussen

Magnussen now faces a future outside of F1 for the third time in his career after Haas opted to part. The one-time pole position winner spent 2015 on the sidelines as McLaren dropped him after the Dane’s rookie season. He later spent 2021 in IMSA after Haas first parted ways.

READ MORE: F1 2025 driver line-up with every team’s confirmed entry for the grid

A return to sportscar racing might be most probable, too, as no Formula 1 team is interested in signing Magnussen. But Davidson feels the one-time Grand Prix podium finisher will leave with his head held high after a ‘solid’ few years with Haas, who are set to sign Esteban Ocon.

“I think he’s had a pretty decent spell at Haas,” Davidson told Sky Sports. “In a way, I’m not surprised. The rumours, in fact, are true in that we are expecting Esteban Ocon to be taking his seat. Nothing is announced, of course, at this point.

“But Kevin’s been a pro there, hasn’t he really? He’s had a solid performance over the years at Haas and I think he can hold his head pretty high. He’s got a good fanbase behind him and I wish him all the best for his future moves with his career.”

Nico Hulkenberg has dominated Kevin Magnussen in their head-to-heads

Haas have decided to drop Magnussen from a race seat after 2024 having seen Hulkenberg dominate their head-to-heads this season. The 36-year-old German is beating the Dane for points (22-5), Grand Prix finishes (11-1), in qualifying (9-3) and points finishes (5-2) to date.

READ MORE: F1 2024 teammate head-to-head battles including race, Sprint and qualifying

Hulkenberg even led the way for Haas last season after joining to replace Mick Schumacher as Magnussen’s teammate. The soon-to-be factory Audi driver returned to a full-time drive on the grid after two seasons away and scored nine points to the three Magnussen penned.

Magnussen’s P8 finish in the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix was also his best result since F1 went to Styria in 2022 (also P8). He has since had one P9 and four P10s, including just one so far this year at the Australian Grand Prix. Hulkenberg has twice had his best finish of P6 in 2024.