Thread by @F1ToRuleThemAll

Interesting segments from Kevin Magnussen’s book “All Or Nothing”:

[thread]

Kevin Magnussen was supposed to test an F1 car in 2008 when he was 16 years old, but his father wouldn’t allow it, as such young drivers in F1 cars was unheard of… then.

Kevin Magnussen once drunkenly, got a matching tattoo with all his friends, of a camel… on his toe.

Kevin Magnussen was hired as a McLaren junior by Martin Whitmarsh, to whom he credits his F1 career.

Kevin Magnussen was in the McLaren junior program with Alex Albon, Nyck De Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne.

Kevin Magnussen was a McLaren testdriver in 2013 alongside Stoffel Vandoorne. They worked the simulator, but their ideas were often not used because it would make the F1 drivers look bad, if the drivers in the simulators could do a better job at solving the problems.

Kevin Magnussen says at McLaren, they had to fill out a form every morning, about how they were doing physically, mentally and detailing their energy levels. They also had physical tests and had to share photos of all of their meals.

Kevin Magnussen had a deal to drive for Force India in 2014, made by Martin Whitmarsh. Ron Dennis cancelled the deal and made Kevin a driver for McLaren. Ron Dennis fired Martin Whitmarsh the day after.

Kevin Magnussen got an additional $200,000 extra in his podium bonus, when his P3 at the 2014 Australian GP was upgraded to 2nd, after Daniel Ricciardo’s disqualification.

Kevin Magnussen says Jenson Button was, with his huge experience, excellent in reacting to the circumstances, that he was an expert in discipline, got the absolute best out of what was within his reach, and skilled in exploiting any small opportunity.

Kevin Magnussen says there was a bad mood in McLaren for the entire 2014 season, because they felt they were a top team who should be meddling up front, and that Jenson Button was the only one who realized the reality of the situation.

Once, Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button were out partying, and Jenson convinced Kevin when you are a part of a British team, you had to have peed in an old red phone booth after a night of drinking. And there was no way out of it.

In 2014, Kevin Magnussen received interest from Williams to replace Felipe Massa, but was told by McLaren that they intended to keep him. Team boss Éric Boullier said to Kevin: “Don’t look elsewhere! You’re gonna stay here.”

Kevin Magnussen says at the Board of Directors meeting, he received 7 votes (incl Ron Dennis) to Jenson Button’s 2 votes. But the 2 votes for Jenson were by Mumtalakat Holding Company, a Bahrain government owned investorsfund, and Mansour Ojjeh, who combined owned 50% of McLaren.

Kevin Magnussen believes Mumtalakat Holding Company voted for Jenson Button to spite Ron Dennis after a feud between the two, because they voted after Ron had voted for Kevin, and then discussed amongst themselves before casting their vote.

Ron Dennis told Kevin Magnussen that he would be back in the McLaren seat for 2016, or even mid-2015, if Jenson Button didn’t perform. “Trust me, Kevin,” he said.

In 2015, when Kevin Magnussen wasn’t racing in F1, he wanted to travel to Japan to race in Super Formula or IndyCar, anything to keep himself going. But Ron Dennis declined and would not let him. Kevin was not even allowed to drive the McLaren simulator.

Kevin Magnussen was offered a seat in Formula E but turned it down after Ron Dennis assured him he would be back in the McLaren seat.

Kevin Magnussen says there was one person at McLaren who really tried to help him: Chief communications officer, Matt Bishop. Kevin says he is a fantastic person and became a really good friend, who tried to guide him through the difficult period.

Kevin Magnussen says one time after a night of drinking, he got his nose broken after being mistaken for someone else. Kevin called Matt Bishop who was always there for him, he helped and protected Kevin against McLaren, by forwarding the incident.

Kevin Magnussen tried a speedwaybike which he was not allowed to by McLaren. He broke his hand and in his contract it said he could only receive medical attention by McLaren’s doctors, so he called Matt Bishop who helped him again and it was explained as a mountainbike accident.

Kevin Magnussen was fired by McLaren on his 23rd birthday, October 5th 2015.

Toto Wolff offered Kevin Magnussen a test in one of the Mercedes cars in DTM. After the test, they offered him a seat in DTM for 2016.

When Kevin Magnussen joined Renault in 2016, Cyril Abiteboul told him he was the future of Renault. But already early in the season, Cyril would walk past Kevin without acknowledging him, and he would never talk to Kevin on race weekends or even say hi.

Kevin Magnussen says Jolyon Palmer was a racing driver like an academic education, he studied and analyzed everything. He knew the car inside and out like an engineer, but didn’t have confidence in his own capabilities, driving more with his brain than his heart.

Kevin Magnussen says internally, Renault didn’t think very highly of Jolyon Palmer, and they didn’t just expect Kevin to beat him, but to demolish him. Sporting Director Alan Permane demanded Kevin’s lap times to be half a second faster than Jolyon’s.

In August 2016, Renault added a new upgrade to create more grip in corners. Kevin Magnussen had a difficult time figuring it out, but was not allowed to change back to the old specification. The first time he had to use it, was at Spa, which led to his huge 47G crash.

Kevin Magnussen was offered a 1-year renewal with Renault, but he was also offered a 2-year contract with Haas in their first meeting. Guenther Steiner told Kevin what would be his salary, Kevin said he wanted the double and Guenther agreed straight away.

Frédéric Vasseur and Alan Permane told Kevin Magnussen not to sign with Haas, saying it was a “shit team”.

After Kevin Magnussen told Frédéric Vasseur that he would turn down Renault’s 1-year deal and move to Haas, he got a call from Cyril Abiteboul saying they had chosen Jolyon Palmer for the next season.

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.

Kevin Magnussen said in an interview that Renault had offered his seat to almost anyone and joked even the Pope got an offer. Renault threatened to sue him over that comment, and Kevin got a written warning to not discuss it further.

Kevin Magnussen says Haas was simple and no-bullshit. It was much more about racing and less about money and politics. They had Guenther Steiner and Gene Haas, and that was it.

Kevin Magnussen says Haas had a stop crying and just drive attitude, which meant Kevin raced with the same seat for 4 years without ever changing it, despite him sitting terribly and it not fitting him.

Kevin Magnussen doesn’t understand why Nico Hulkenberg took their ontrack incident so personal, that Nico had to interrupt Kevin in an interview live on air to confront him about it, creating a media circus. Kevin says Nico hasn’t spoken to him since.

Kevin Magnussen sees the later incidents between him and Charles Leclerc or Fernando Alonso as results of the fabricated “bad boy” reputation, after the Nico Hulkenberg incident.

Kevin Magnussen fondly recalls being voted Driver of the Day in Russia 2016, and being rated number one in the official F1 power rankings after the two first races in 2018, despite both races being won by Sebastian Vettel.

In 2018, Ferrari asked Haas if they could use Kevin Magnussen in their simulators. Haas agreed, and Kevin became Ferrari’s unofficial “shadow” testdriver. Ferrari also asked Haas about Kevin’s contract for 2019.

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.

Kevin Magnussen said in 2019, Haas had a quick car in qualifying, but when it came to the race, the rear tyres would overheat and melt, and they were never able to figure out why. Despite spending a lot of money on upgrades, the car became worse over the season.

Kevin Magnussen says after his collision with Romain Grosjean in Silverstone 2019, Romain knew that he was 100% to blame, so he certainly didn’t object when they were both blamed by Guenther Steiner in his rant. “Don’t fucking shout at me, it’s the Frenchman!”, Kevin had thought.

Kevin Magnussen was pissed Guenther Steiner did not care who was to blame, and considering they are ambitious athletes working on the smallest details, trying to optimize everything, Guenther was generalizing and not invested in the situation.

Kevin Magnussen says at the following race, Guenther Steiner apologized for the way he handled the Silverstone situation, and Kevin apologized for fok smashing his door.

Kevin Magnussen says he and Romain Grosjean had rooms next to each other and shared a bathroom, with two doors from each of their room, so they had to lock both of them, and often Kevin “forgot” to unlock the other door, so Romain couldn’t go to the bathroom.

Kevin Magnussen feels the 2020 Bahrain GP should not have been restarted after Romain Grosjean’s crash, that it should have been cancelled or at least postponed.

Kevin Magnussen went to see Romain Grosjean after his crash in Bahrain, 20 minutes after the race had finished. Kevin says Romain was doped on morfin, but he was smiling and laughing, and told how the accident had happened.

Kevin Magnussen says Romain Grosjean explained his hands were burned from grabbing the halo on the car, to get out of the fire.

Kevin Magnussen says he didn’t see the point in replacing George Russell at Williams, to have Nicholas Latifi as a teammate. “Race for the grid’s slowest team against the grid’s slowest driver? I would have to beat Latifi with 3 seconds per lap for anyone to pay attention.”

Kevin Magnussen says hype is crucial. Driver value isn’t just fact or databased. Pierre Gasly was written off in Red Bull and sent back to Toro Rosso, but then he won a race and now he is a star. It can quickly go either direction, but you still need a car capable of sensations.

Kevin Magnussen was offered a seat in IndyCar for the 2021 season with Chip Ganassi Racing, but he would have had to finance his seat. Kevin was not interested in that, he wanted a “clean deal”, a team that said “you want to race for us? this is the salary.”

Kevin Magnussen received interest from Formula E for 2021, but says it wasn’t a series for him. If that was the only option, he would rather find something other to do than racing. “Driving an electric car is better than a kick in the balls, but barely just.”