Magnussen reveals 2019 opportunity to join Red Bull

Former Haas driver Kevin Magnussen has revealed that he had a chance to join the Red Bull family at the end of the 2018 season, but the Dane explained why he took a pass on the opportunity.

Daniel Ricciardo's departure from Red Bull at the end of 2018 left a void at the Milton Keynes-based outfit that was ultimately filled by Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly.

But the Frenchman's promotion also freed up a seat with the junior bull squad, and Magnussen contends he was at one point on Helmut Marko's shortlist of candidates for the drive.

"When we spoke to them, it quickly became clear that they had a candidate for the Red Bull seat [Gasly]," Magnussen told Danish website B.T.

"But they mentioned that there would be a vacancy for Toro Rosso. It was not a question of them submitting a contract or the like, but it was clearly an option".

Magnussen had concluded his 2018 campaign, his second with Haas, with a string of strong drives and eleven top-ten finishes that helped the US outfit clinch a valuable P5 position in the Constructors' championship.

• Read also - Magnussen: Not 'much interest' in Haas substitute role

The result convinced Magnussen that his interests in 2019 would likely be better served with Haas rather than with Toro Rosso which had finished 9th in F1's pecking order in 2018.

"We chose not to pursue the opportunity because I was really happy with Haas and believed that we could continue the positive development we had through 2018," remembered Magnussen.

Red Bull subsequently awarded the Toro Rosso seat to Alex Albon who contested 12 races with the Faenza team before he was promoted to Red Bull after the summer break following Gasly's underperformance in the first half of the year relative to teammate Max Verstappen.

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