McLaren reserve driver Kevin Magnussen has confirmed that he will be departing the outfit following a six-year association. Magnussen joined McLaren's young driver scheme in 2010 and competed in Formula 1 for the squad last year, claiming a podium on his debut in Australia. Magnussen ultimately finished 11th in the 2014 championship, amassing 55 points, and the team deliberated over whether to retain him or Jenson Button alongside the returning Fernando Alonso. McLaren chose Button, though Magnussen was retained in the capacity of test and […]

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier says that the squad's intention is to retain Jenson Button alongside Fernando Alonso in 2016. Alonso returned to the squad on a long-term deal at the start of the year while McLaren has an option to keep Button for 2016. Speculation over Button's future has been heightened by the presence of test and reserve driver Kevin Magnussen, as well as GP2 championship leader Stoffel Vandoorne, both of whom are McLaren young drivers. While expecting to hold on to Button, Boullier […]

Kevin Magnussen says he has been approached by rival teams over a future race seat, though emphasies that his focus remains with McLaren. Magnussen raced for McLaren in 2014 but was demoted to a reserve and test role after the squad hired Fernando Alonso to partner Jenson Button. Magnussen replaced the injured Alonso for a pre-season test and the Australian Grand Prix, but has not tested a Formula 1 car since and his future remains unclear. McLaren has yet to confirm its 2016 line-up, amid […]

McLaren pair Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen say they are braced for a problematic Australian Grand Prix after failing to make it out of Q1. Button finished the session in 17th place, with Magnussen in 18th, and the Briton is aware that he faces a steep challenge, having not yet completed a race run in the MP4-30. "This level of performance wasn’t a surprise for us: we knew from winter testing that the pace wasn’t there, so we knew we weren’t going to be competitive […]

Kevin Magnussen accepted the blame for a crash which ended his running early during second practice in Australia. After problems in the first session, Magnussen's crash at Turn 6 meant that the Dane completed only 11 laps on Friday as he prepares for this weekend's race. "We didn’t get too many laps in first practice," he said. "Then I went off and damaged the car in the afternoon, so I didn’t get much running under my belt in second practice either. "I tried to push […]

McLaren stand-in driver Kevin Magnussen says that the squad's expectations for this weekend's Australian Grand Prix are low after a difficult pre-season. McLaren's Honda-powered MP4-30 endured several problems across testing, with track time limited as the squad rectified issues. Magnussen is standing in for Fernando Alonso, who suffered a concussion during a crash on the final day of the second test. "I would say quite low," Magnussen said when asked about McLaren's ambitions. "We’re struggling obviously with reliability, making the car run for a long […]

Kevin Magnussen says that McLaren's Honda-powered MP4-30 is more consistent than last year's car, the MP4-29, after his first day of 2015 action at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Saturday. Magnussen raced the Mercedes-powered MP4-29 in 2014 but was demoted to a test and reserve driver role for 2015, following the signing of Fernando Alonso But Magnussen was drafted in to replace Alonso at this week's test, as the Spaniard recovers from his accident during last week's test at the venue. Magnussen placed eighth on […]

As the McLaren wait rolls on, the British team is continuing to take criticism for leaving Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen in the lurch. "What is happening at McLaren is unworthy of such a team," Mika Hakkinen, who won both his titles with the Woking outfit, is quoted by Blick newspaper. At the same time, it is obvious that there is more to the situation than simply the dithering of McLaren supremo Ron Dennis. Spain's AS newspaper claims McLaren wants its driver decision to coincide […]

Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen must wait longer to find out about their Formula 1 futures after no decision was taken on the team's 2015 driver line-up during a McLaren board meeting in Woking on Thursday. While Button and Magnussen conducted a sponsor event in Edinburgh, senior McLaren figures met at the team's headquarters amid widespread speculation that they would decide who should partner Fernando Alonso in 2015 - though an announcement on the Spaniard's return has not yet been made. But the board meeting […]

Kevin Magnussen believes that his chances of securing a good result at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix were hindered by an opening lap clash with Adrian Sutil. Magnussen slipped back at the start and collided with the German exiting the Turn 7 hairpin, causing some damage to the front of his McLaren. "That was a difficult race," he said. "I had quite a bit of contact with Adrian on the first lap – and, after that, the front of the car never felt quite right, […]

Kevin Magnussen says that McLaren is moving in the right direction after a new front wing helped him finish in third position during Friday practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Magnussen, whose future with the team remains uncertain, clocked the 'best of the rest' time behind the dominant Mercedes duo at the Yas Marina Circuit. "It hasn’t been a bad day, all in all," he said. "I tried out our new front wing during both today’s sessions, and it felt different, which is good. […]

Jenson Button believes that a communication error with his McLaren team over the timing of their final stop potentially cost him a chance of finishing on the podium at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Button ended the race in fourth but had been trailing Williams's Felipe Massa for much of the event and felt that a miscommunication hurt his challenge. "Judging the race was so tricky today. I pushed really hard on my first stint on the Prime [tyres] so as to maintain the gap to […]