F1 insider thinks Red Bull should consider Magnussen
Oct.19 - A former F1 insider says Kevin Magnussen would be a "brilliant" candidate to become Max Verstappen's next teammate at Red Bull.
Dr Helmut Marko has named Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez as the only real contenders should Alex Albon not maintain the performance necessary to stay in 2021.
But Matt Bishop, the former McLaren communications director who now works for the all-female W Series, thinks his former colleague from Denmark should also be in the running.
He told GMM that although Magnussen had an "excellent rookie season" while they worked closely together at McLaren in 2014, he deserved "better opportunities" after that.
"At Renault and Haas, although he's out-driven his teammates, he hasn't had the cars to show the sensational winning form that anyone who watched him blitz World Series by Renault in 2013 knows is there, waiting, still ready to be untapped," said Bishop.
According to reports, Magnussen could already be on the market after driving what Bishop describes as the "off the pace" Haas car in 2020.
"Red Bull's 2021 driver lineup is an interesting one," Bishop told us. "I have absolutely no inside knowledge as to Helmut's and Christian's current thinking, but it's said that they may well be looking to make a change.
"I reckon Max and Kev would be a brilliant lineup for them - two very experienced yet still young, prodigiously fast but tremendously feisty, extremely ambitious and hugely capable lads who would keep each other honest and win races whenever the Merc win-machine faltered for any reason," he said.
However, those worried about a potential Verstappen-Magnussen lineup may wonder if the pair - and their famous fathers - would clash on and off the track.
"Would they always get on well?" Bishop wondered. "Who cares? You want your drivers to ruffle each other's feathers from time to time.
"Oh and the sideshow provided by their ex-F1 driver dads duking it out in the paddock would be fun, too!"
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I have said this for 3 years!! Magnussen would be a perfect fit for Red Bull and like Verstappen, he can manage a car with inperfections and drive the s*** out of it without complaining.
No doubt Magnussen would give Red Bull the points there missing for the constructor championship, while possibly making Verstappen even faster when challenged by a teammate who can drive at his level. What are they waiting for???
I don't think so... If you look at Haas this year you can see this numbers: Romain Grosjean: 2 points, Kevin Magnussen: 1 point. Everyone agrees that Grosjean is the worst driver in Formula 1, complaining every 5 minutes that the car is terrible, and even in this situation he has managed to get better results than Magnussen. Both are terrible drivers and do not deserve a competitive seat.
I would like to know who the "everyone" are that agree. GRO takes some deserved criticism, but the worst driver in F1? A little lesson about our sport....there are racing drivers or racers, but "drivers" are the folks wheeling those big yellow cars at the airport. Yeah, you pissed me off and I'm dissing you. Sorry, have a great day. :-)
Clearly you know nothing about F1, sorry to say.
But let me help you out with some facts. Magnussen has out-driven Grosjean on all key metrics the last 3 years. The VF20 is second slowest car on the grid (due to the Ferrari engine). When a car is that slow, scoring points comes down to a lottery of pure luck due to circumstances higher up the grid. So to make a conclusion based on points just goes to show you know nothing about the sport. Btw Magnussen did score 2 points as well in Hungary, but got a penalty and endes up in 10th. place.
But you can’t ignore his raw speed, incredible starts and defensive skills - he is perhaps the most underrated driver on the grid and indeed a great fit for Red Bull.
Totally agree - would be a match made in heaven
I don't know Matt Bishop but I would certainly like to share whatever he is smoking.
Think about the FEAR FACTOR. Other Teams will fear these two Rocketmen, They might feel they are a part in a scary movie.
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