Yahoo Autos Haas F1's Entire 2020 Lineup Is In IndyCar This Weekend
Back in 2017, Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean were the two drivers at a Haas F1 team that was surprising the world. In 2018, they combined to grab fifth in the constructor's standings for a team in just its third year. By 2020, all of that optimism had faded; Haas F1 scored 3 total points, and both Magnussen and Grosjean were out of F1 by the end of the season.
Formula 1's loss is American racing's gain. While Haas F1, the only American team in the sport, flounders to a season-best finish of 13th through six races, Magnussen and Grosjean have made waves in IMSA and IndyCar, respectively, a wave of success that will now give Magnussen the chance to compete directly with Grosjean in his first-ever IndyCar race.
Magnussen, who recently secured his first win for the new Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi program, will fill in as an injury replacement for Arrow McLaren SP's Felix Rosenqvist, who has yet to be cleared to return to racing after a harrowing crash last weekend. It will be his first start for a McLaren-affiliated program since the team replaced him with Fernando Alonso after the 2014 Formula 1 season, and, although it may just be a one-race opportunity, it marks a crucial chance to show both McLaren and the other elite teams on the IndyCar grid that he is deserving of a chance to compete for wins and championships in the series. One-off drivers have struggled throughout the modern IndyCar era, but Magnussen's F1 and now sports car experience make him one of the more interesting drivers to get a shot in the series in recent years.
Grosjean, on the other hand, is just starting to adapt to the day-to-day rigors of an IndyCar ride. He already has both a pole and a runner-up finish at the Indianapolis road course to his name through five races, but the more important thing is that he has consistently been competitive and quick in a Dale Coyne Racing car that is generally not considered a particularly good opportunity. That has not always turned into results, as his first two races were more respectable than impressive and his two strong qualifying performances in last weekend's Belle Isle doubleheader ended in heartbreak, but it is an encouraging sign that Grosjean is headed for success.
This may be the only chance the two have to compete on an IndyCar stage, but it is unlikely to be the last time the four year teammates race against each other in another series. Kevin Magnussen is already signed to Peugeot's factory lineup for the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the explosion of LMDh entries ahead of the 2023 race will leave Grosjean, undoubtedly on the short list among many of the new manufacturers joining the fight for sports car racing's highest honor, with a likely opportunity to race at the 24 hour classic if his IndyCar schedule allows it.
Grosjean and Magnussen will both be in cars capable of winning Sunday's race at Road America, and, should they find themselves in factory cars at Le Mans in 2023, they will be capable of winning that one, too. Haas F1, meanwhile, may not score a point this season.
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