“They made him look worse” Magnussen takes dig at McLaren for Vandoorne snub
Haas' Kevin Magnussen has stated that outgoing McLaren driver, Stoffel Vandoorne, deserves every bit a chance to be in Formula 1 but the circumstances are just too bad currently.
"It’s a very tough environment this sport," Magnussen told RaceFans. "I think Stoffel is very good and he deserves to be in Formula 1 but circumstances were just a bit shit for him."
"Perhaps he was made to look worse this year than he really is," added Magnussen. "He’s going to do well in whatever he goes to do now. And you should never say never, if you can come back to Formula 1 there’s always the possibility."
The most telling part of his whole quote is the fact that he claimed Vandoorne was made to look worse than he actually is. There is no doubt that the Dane was taking a dig at the McLaren, the one he made his debut in Formula 1 with.
Magnussen debuted for them in the 2014 Australian Grand Prix, where he finished third, taking the podium on debut. It was a very impressive start to his career but he was dropped at the end of the season in favour of the returning Fernando Alonso.
The incident surely made K-Mag bitter as he accused McLaren of almost ruining his career in F1 before being rescued by the likes of Renault and Haas in later years. He has shown his true abilities as a driver this season, being one of the most consistent midfield runners.
After an inauspicious start to the season with a retirement in Australia, Magnussen has driven the Haas beautifully to consistent top-ten finishes, often being the saving grace in the initial parts of the season, when teammate Grosjean kept committing rookie errors.
Those performances went a long way in Haas deciding to retain him for next year along with the reborn Grosjean, who recovered from those silly mistakes at the start to be a solid points-scoring driver.