It was recently announced that Kevin Magnussen will replace Pastor Maldonado at the Enstone based Renault team for 2016 – the former Lotus outfit is being rebranded as Renault yet again.
![Esteban Ocon (test driver), Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen are presented as Renault's 2016 drivers alongside Renault president Carlos Ghosn. Guyancourt Technocentre, France. Wednesday February 3 2016. [from Autosport.com]](https://i0.wp.com/thomasjpitts.co.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/37-does-kevin-magnussen-deserve-a-second-chance-in-f1-2.jpg)
Nigel Mansell tried to make a reappearance but could no longer fit in his new McLaren, Mika Hakkinen has been the subject of various rumours since he only really went on a sabbatical many seasons ago and even the legendary, wonderful Michael Schumacher couldn’t forge success on his return.
Those names are all ones that get F1 enthusiasts a little misty eyed. Magnussen isn’t among those, yet.
Magnussen had apparently done enough to retain his seat at McLaren at the end 2014, but Jenson Button ended up taking over his position when Fernando Alonso joined the team – three drivers into two seats doesn’t work. I adore Jenson Button and I’m really pleased that he is still in F1. I don’t really have an opinion on Magnussen yet to be honest.
The man he replaces, Pastor Maldonado, is a grand prix winner, but comes with a reputation for being a little crash magnet – he also lost the support of his Venezuelan sponsor, which had been a big draw to employ him in the past… he has a decent amount of experience though and really seemed to mature during last season.
I’m sure Magnussen is a great talent – he only just lost out to Button 10-9 in qualifying, but Button scored far more points than he did in 2014.
He appears to have a rare second bite of the cherry and I hope he does well.
7th February 2016 @ 5:10 pm
Awesome news that Kevin Magnussen has got a race seat this year. Well deserved, shouldn’ t have lost it in first place. Great to see him back where he belongs. Kevin is a true racer, who had a great rookie season with podium place / second place in his debut race. Such a performer deserves a second chance, that’s for sure.