Kevin Magnussen calls former Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul a 'schoolboy,' discusses 2016 relationship
Ex-F1 driver Kevin Magnussen has called his former Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul a 'schoolboy' in his autobiography 'All or nothing'. The Dane clarified that he was not asked to leave the French team, but chose to leave himself.
Magnussen had a brief racing stint with Renault for the 2016 season, replacing Pastor Maldonado. The Danish driver starred alongside rookie Jolyon Palmer, who has since turned into an F1 analyst.
Kevin Magnussen said Cyril Abiteboul was like a schoolboy, wanting to make it seem like he had turned Kevin down. Kevin told him: “I broke up with you first.” Cyril then sent out a press release, saying Renault prefered Jolyon Palmer over Kevin.
The 29-year-old left Renault at the end of 2016, opting to race for the Haas F1 team instead, claiming the French team's lack of commitment towards the Dane was the primary reason he left. Renault team boss Cyril Abiteboul, however, claimed the team preferred Jolyon Palmer over the Danish driver. Magnussen rejected these claims, saying he chose to leave the team and "broke up" with the French team first.
Magnussen was given a contract of only one year and cited the contract period as a crucial factor in his decision to leave. He said:
“It was my decision. I had an offer, but not a good enough offer that I could take it. It was more the failing of commitment from Renault’s side. If they had committed to a longer contract, I would probably have looked at that much more seriously.”
The 2016 season was underwhelming for Magnussen as he suffered a string of unfortunate incidents. The driver suffered a puncture at the Australian Grand Prix and finished outside the points in his first-ever race for the French outfit. His best result for the team was at the Russian Grand Prix, where he finished seventh after starting in 17th.
Kevin Magnussen was approached by Williams for 2021 season
Despite leaving the sport at the end of last year, Kevin Magnussen revealed that he was approached by Williams at the end of 2020 to replace George Russell in the UK-based team.
Magnussen called the Williams offer "idiotic," calling Russell a "mega-talent." He said about the potential switch:
“Williams saw me as a possible replacement for George Russell. ‘What kind of team is that?’, I thought. Dropping Russell and keeping Nicholas Latifi was ridiculous, pure idiocy.”
In 2019, the Danish driver was in talks with Red Bull as a potential replacement for Daniel Ricciardo. The deal, however, didn't go through, with the driver being offered a seat in the Red Bull junior team, Torro Rosso, instead.
When Daniel Ricciardo left Red Bull, Kevin Magnussen was one of the drivers to contact them. They had already decided on Pierre Gasly, but Red Bull asked if he was interested in the now vacated Toro Rosso seat.
Magnussen, like his Haas teammate Romain Grosjean, failed to secure a seat in F1 at the end of last year and has since moved to other forms of motor-racing.