Millionaire F1 driver pulls back the curtain on possibly ending up as Max Verstappen's teammate at one stage in his career

Former Haas F1 driver Kevin Magnussen claimed that he was close to becoming Red Bull driver Max Verstappen's teammate after the exit of Daniel Ricciardo from the team. The Austrian team was left scrambling after the Aussie driver announced that he would leave them for Renault in 2019.

The then seven-time race winner decided to leave the Milton-Keynes outfit because he believed they favored Max Verstappen over him.

Speaking with Autosport, Magnussen spilled that he too was in a conversation about moving away from Haas, and his management had spoken with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. However, the Dane turned down the offer, saying:

"I remember my management speaking to Christian Horner because of course everyone was talking about the Red Bull seat. And Christian said, 'Look, there's nothing at Red Bull, but we can talk about Toro Rosso'. And I said, 'No, no, let's not do that,' which I probably should have done.

"It was Gasly who took that [Red Bull] seat. [Alex] Albon was promoted from F2 to Toro Rosso, and then Gasly didn't do a good job - and Albon came in! So, you know, the guy who got that Toro Rosso seat ended up at Red Bull."

Red Bull eventually decided to promote their junior driver, Pierre Gasly, from Toro Rosso as his replacement. But Kevin Magnussen could have been Max Verstappen's teammate had he taken the offer to join the Faenza-based outfit, given Gasly was dropped by the Austrian team mid-season.

The Frenchman was replaced by Alex Albon, who had just 12 races under his belt in F1 and struggled for a year and a half alongside Verstappen.

Former F1 driver makes a bold claim regarding Max Verstappen blocking Carlos Sainz

Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya believed that Max Verstappen blocked Carlos Sainz from joining Red Bull and becoming his teammate for the 2025 season.

As per RacingNews365, the Columbian claimed that he could not confirm the fact personally but stated that it could have been the reason, given their intense rivalry during their Toro Rosso days in 2015, saying:

"I’m sure that Max Verstappen would have stopped Carlos Sainz from coming to Red Bull so the competition within the team wasn’t difficult, although I can’t confirm personally. When they were teammates at Toro Rosso, their relationship was pretty bumpy."

Montoya further added:

"It’s not about [Max Verstappen] being scared; it’s about being smart. Why would you make your life unnecessarily difficult and create a difficult environment?"

Carlos Sainz eventually signed a multi-year deal with Williams F1 after being overlooked by the top teams. Meanwhile, Liam Lawson was fast-tracked to Red Bull to partner alongside the four-time F1 world champion for the 2025 season and replace Sergio Perez.