Haas F1 Retain Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen for 2020

Yet another door has slammed shut for poor old Nico Hulkenberg. After he was sidelined by Renault for the 2020 season, many associated him with the Haas F1 Team. However, the team have officially announced that they will field an unchanged lineup for the 2020 season. In other words, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen will be entering into their fourth season in a row, as teammates.

Meanwhile, the American team will be preparing for its fifth season in Formula One. The Frenchman has been part of the team since its inception in 2016 with the Dane joining a year later. Since then, the duo have combined to score a total of 166 points in their four years together. Last season Haas enjoyed one of their best seasons to date, with fifth in the constructors’ championship with 93 points.

In a team statement, principal, Guenther Steiner said, “Experience, and the need for it, has been one of the cornerstones of Haas F1 Team, and with Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen racing for the team in 2020, we continue to have a driver lineup that offers us a solid platform to continue our growth.”

“Their understanding of how we work as a team, and our knowledge of what they can deliver behind the wheel, gives us a valued continuity and a strong foundation to keep building our team around. It’s been a tough year for us in 2019 with the fluctuation in performance of the VF-19, but our ability to tap into our combined experiences will help us learn, improve, and move forward as a unit in 2020,”.

Admittedly, 2019 has been a difficult campaign for the American outfit, with Grosjean and Magnussen scoring just 26 points so far. As a result, the team are ninth in the standings, ahead of only Williams, with seven rounds remaining.

It is note-worthy that Grosjean’s fifth consecutive season with Haas F1 also marks his ninth full-time season in Formula One. The 33-year old has visited the podium, at least 10 times in his career and has 157 Grand Prix starts under his belt.

“I’ve always stated that it was my desire to remain with Haas F1 Team and keep building on the team’s accomplishments,” Grosjean said. “Having been here since the very beginning and seen the work both Gene Haas and Guenther Steiner put into the team to make it competitive, I’m naturally very happy to continue to be a part of that.”

“To finish fifth in the constructors’ championship last season in only the team’s third year of competing was something very special. We’ve had our challenges this season, but we’ll use both the experience of last year and this year to move forward into 2020. I’m looking forward to working with Kevin (Magnussen) and the whole team and continuing our journey together.”

Meanwhile, Magnussen finished a career-best ninth in the drivers’ championship las year. The 26-year-old joined Haas F1 in 2017 after stints with McLaren and Renault respectively. Since then, he has never looked back, and has been quite consistent this season in the points department.

“I’ve had the comfort of knowing I’d be continuing with the team in 2020 and that’s very much been a positive throughout what’s often been a difficult 2019 season,” said a happy Magnussen. “Knowing we can work to make things better, improve our understanding of our situation, and get back to the level of competitiveness we showed last season – these are the things that excite me about 2020. We’re a team full of racers, led at the top by Gene Haas and Guenther Steiner.”

“Nobody’s satisfied with how the 2019 season has played out, but the determination to turn things around is very much in evidence. I’m grateful the team have always believed in me and what I can bring to the table. We share a common goal and together with Romain (Grosjean), I’ll be giving it my all on-track for the remainder of this season and into 2020.”