Kevin Magnussen is the Viking of Formula 1 and a family man, so here is everything that you need to know about the Danish driver currently racing with the Haas team.
The American-owned F1 squad brought Magnussen back to the field in 2022, having initially axed him after the 2020 season. He first drove for Haas between 2017 and 2020 but lost his seat owing to the team’s financial needs. Yet a late opening gave Magnussen his route back.
Magnussen had put the world of Formula 1 behind him after losing his drive for Haas and set about a career in the DPI class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship driving for Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing. Yet Haas valued his experience when they rushed to replace Nikita Mazepin.
Haas star Kevin Magnussen is a McLaren driver academy product
Magnussen made his debut in Formula 1 back in the 2014 season driving for McLaren at the Australian GP. He even finished third in Melbourne to get on the podium and moved into P2 as the stewards disqualified Daniel Ricciardo. But Magnussen only had a season at McLaren.
McLaren told Magnussen via email on his 23rd birthday that he was demoted to the reserve driver role for 2015. The Dane had ended his rookie term 11th in the drivers’ championship. But the Woking natives decided to retain Jenson Button to drive alongside Fernando Alonso.
A year on their sidelines in 2015 marked the end of Magnussen’s relationship with McLaren. The Papaya team released him at the end of the season, so he moved to Renault with a race drive. Yet Magnussen was, again, on the move in 2017 to replace Esteban Gutierrez at Haas.
Making a return to Haas in 2022 also led Magnussen to securing his and the team’s first pole position in Formula 1 at the Sao Paulo GP in Brazil. The Dane topped qualifying at Interlagos with a 1:11.674. But he fell to P8 in the Sprint, which decided the starting order for the race.
Kevin Magnussen started driving go-karts at just two years old
Magnussen had been a part of the McLaren family since 2010 until his 2015 departure after joining their driver academy. He is also the son of an ex-McLaren test driver, Jan Magnussen, who drove for the team at the 1995 Pacific GP before joining Stewart in the 1996 F1 season.
The Dane further followed in his father’s footsteps at two years old when Magnussen got his first go-kart. He quickly fell in love with racing with Jan by his side. Magnussen Sr won three karting world championships by the age of 16 and joined McLaren’s driver academy in 1994.
McLaren started backing Magnussen whilst he drove in the 2010 German F3 Championship, in which the Dane ended the term in third place. He had also won the 2008 Danish Formula Ford Championship during his first season driving single-seaters with 11 wins from 15 races.
Five wins and eight pole positions over 17 races also secured Magnussen the 2013 Formula Renault 3.5 Series title with Dams. After which, McLaren decided to put him in Formula 1 in place of Sergio Perez, who contested the 2013 season with them to replace Lewis Hamilton.
Magnussen also finished second in the 2009 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC standings and in the 2011 British F3 Championship. But the Dane looked to his 2013 Formula Renault 3.5 Series title for inspiration when selecting #20 as Magnussen’s permanent Formula 1 race number.
But who really is Magnussen and what is the Haas driver’s life outside of Formula 1 like? Well, F1 Oversteer has taken a look at everything you need to know about the Danish racing star…
How old is Kevin Magnussen? What is the Haas driver’s age?
At the time of writing, Haas driver Kevin Magnussen is 31 years old. He was born on October 5, 1992 to his parents four-time Le Mans class winner dad, Jan Magnussen, and mum, Britt Petersen. He also has two half-siblings from his dad’s marriage to his second wife, Christina.
His half-siblings are brother, Luca Magnussen, and sister, Millie Magnussen. Luca has raced go-karts since he was 14 years old, and dreams of one day sharing a car with Jan and Kevin. Jan and Kevin Magnussen also shared an LMP2 class car at the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Where was Kevin Magnussen born? What is his nationality?
Haas driver Kevin Magnussen was born in Roskilde, Denmark. The city is located to the west of Copenhagen and had an estimated population of 52,000 as of calculations made in 2022. Former McLaren F1 driver Jan Magnussen was also born in Roskilde back in 1973 on July 4.
How tall is Kevin Magnussen? What is his height in feet?
Kevin Magnussen sits just below the average height of the 2024 Formula 1 grid, measuring at 1.74m or 5 ft 8 in feet. The average height of the 20-strong field in 2024 is 1.77m (5 ft 9). His teammate at Haas, Nico Hulkenberg, is among Formula 1’s tallest drivers at 1.84m (6ft).
Who is Kevin Magnussen’s wife, Louise Gjorup?
Kevin Magnussen married his wife, Louise Gjorup, in August 2019 in a private ceremony. The couple have been together since 2015 and got engaged in 2018. They strive to keep their life outside of the public gaze but Gjorup often attends Formula 1 races to support Magnussen.
Gjorup is a graduate of Danish education, sports and biology from the Laereruddannelserne Metropol. But little more information is known about Magnussen’s wife in the public forum.
Kevin Magnussen has two daughters, Laura and Agnes
Kevin Magnussen and Louise Gjorup also have two daughters together, who are called Laura and Agnes. Laura was born in January 2021 and regularly attends Formula 1 races in support of her Haas driver dad. While Gjorup gave birth to their second daughter Agnes in July 2023.
Kevin Magnussen’s net worth
Haas driver Kevin Magnussen is the joint-10th richest driver on the 2024 Formula 1 grid with a net worth of $30m (£23.5m) as of January 2024, per PlanetF1. He has the same net worth as Stake F1 Team Sauber driver, Valtteri Bottas, along with McLaren superstar, Lando Norris.
Kevin Magnussen’s Formula 1 career stats
As of the end of the 2023 Formula 1 season, Haas driver Kevin Magnussen had entered 164 Grand Prix. The Dane even stood on the podium on his McLaren debut at the Australian GP in 2014. Magnussen took his and Haas’ first pole position at the 2022 Sao Paulo GP in Brazil.
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