The Haas team announced on March 5 that it would immediately terminate its contract with Russian title sponsors Uralkali and MaZepin, and as the Haas team did not immediately announce a replacement, the court made a series of speculations.
According to media reports, in addition to the reserve driver Fidiparti, who has been named by Haas team leader Guenther Steiner, former Alfa Romeo driver Jovinach, Aston Martin Racing reserve driver Hockenberg and F2 champion Piastri, who is rumored to have lost the alfa Romeo team seat, or even F2 driver Jehan Daruvala are all potential candidates, but the day before bahrain's pre-season test, Haas Team's unexpected announcement of a replacement will be Kevin Magnussen, who has played for the team for four seasons.
Magnussen, a 29-year-old from Denmark, trained drivers for McLaren racing teams, and in 2014, he stood on the podium in Australia in 2014, then moved to Renault in 2016, joined Haas in 2017 until 2020, during which he played a total of 119 races, last year he switched to the endurance race, and participated in the Liman race with his father Magnussen, who also has F1 qualifications, and won the LMP2 level 17th place, the overall ranking of 29th place.
According to a press release from Haas Team, the contract will be a multi-year contract, and Haas Team manager Guenther Steiner said: "Our goal is to find a driver who can immediately contribute to the team, making Kevin the perfect candidate, who will immediately join the team and participate in bahrain pre-season testing with Mick and Fidiparti."
Although Magnussen has signed a WEC contract with Peugeot and some of the WEC's competitions have clashed with F1, it is not a big problem because Peugeot has not yet determined the actual schedule and Haas can immediately send reserve driver Fidiparti to substitute for the class.
As for Ma Zeping's part, in addition to Ma Zeping's statement, his father has also threatened to sue the Haas team, but the lawsuit is probably not in the end.