Steiner: He has "absolutely" earned a seat in F1

Before the Portuguese Grand Prix Haas announced that they will say goodbye to both Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen at the end of this year. For both drivers, their F1 careers seem to come to an end with the upcoming departure, as the competition or seats in 2021 is very strong. At Haas, the adventure may be over, but team boss Guenther Steiner believes that Magnussen has definitely earned a place for 2021.

He's good enough

"Absolutely," says Steiner when asked by Formula1.com if Magnussen belongs in Formula 1. "I mean I think he’s good enough, just at the moment it’s tough to find a seat, but he has shown over the last four years with us and before, that he has the talent; he just needs to find somewhere."

"He matured a lot I would say. I’m very complimentary of that towards him. The first two years I think he had still what you call the symptoms, the post, of being fired twice from a team. He was always a bit on the edge but he calmed down a lot, he’s much more mature, it also comes with age that you become much more mature.

"But as a race car driver he is much more calm and if there is something he doesn’t fall out of balance," which Steiner praises his driver for.