Kevin Magnussen says the desire to battle for wins again was key to his decision to sign with Peugeot for the firm’s return to the top class of the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2022.
The 28-year-old Dane was ditched by the Haas Formula 1 team at the end of 2020, ending his F1 career after seven seasons. He now drives a Cadillac prototype for Chip Ganassi Racing team in the American IMSA sports car championship, and he will work with Peugeot as it develops a new Le Mans Hypercar contender for its World Endurance Championship (WEC) return next year.
The sports car switch marks a major career change for Magnussen, who made his F1 debut with McLaren in 2014, finishing second in his first race. That result would prove to be his only podium during an F1 career that also included a season at Renault.
After the Peugeot deal was made public, Magnussen spoke to a select group of media about his F1 career and his new goals.
What was the appeal of joining Peugeot?
"Peugeot has a good record at Le Mans. My ambition is to be successful and win it. My dad [former works Chevrolet Corvette racer Jan Magnussen] has been racing at Le Mans for more than 20 years. It has been a dream of mine to race it one day. I couldn’t imagine a better way to do it then with Peugeot."
Was it the plan to combine racing in the IMSA championship with helping Peugeot prepare?
“It wasn’t always. The opportunity with Peugeot was to go racing in 2022, so I needed something for this year. The opportunity with Ganassi came up and it was a good opportunity to try to win some races in IMSA.”
Is it nice to have your future secure for a few years?
“I’m very pleased with what the next years will bring for me. I’m just excited to get started. I’m not really thinking too far ahead. The work with Peugeot will start towards the end of the year for me, and I’m looking forward to that.
Haas team boss Guenther Steiner said he would consider you as a replacement driver should the team need one. Would that interest you?
“It’s very difficult to say at this moment. I don’t think it would be that interesting. I’ll always be there for the team; I had some good years with them and I’ll be available for advice. Guenther is a friend and I have many good friends within the team. But racing as a one-off, I don’t really have much interest in that. I like to be fully focused on what I’m doing. I miss winning too much. I had seven years in F1, and doing one more race just for the laps isn’t that interesting.”
You said last year that you were driving better than ever. Do you have any regrets about leaving F1?
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