Formula Renault 3.5
DAMS has already filled its two seats for 2013 as the team is delighted to announce that Dane Kevin Magnussen, one of the major revelations of the year in Formula Renault 3.5 Series, will team up with French hope, Norman Nato. They will make a very complimentary pairing as they combine talent, experience and ambition.
Kevin, born on 5th October 1992 in Roskilde, is the son of the famous endurance and ex-Formula 1 driver (McLaren and Stewart), Jan Magnussen. In addition to a striking physical resemblance to his dad, the youngster from Denmark has followed in his father’s footsteps with success. In 2006, he won the national kart championship, in 2008 he triumphed in Formula Ford and in 2009 he filled the runner-up spot in Formula Renault 2.0 Europe. Two years later he was also runner-up to Felipe Nasr in the British F3 Championship. He has had a very promising first year in Formula Renault 3.5 finishing seventh overall with a victory and three pole positions. Magnussen is also part of the McLaren Young Driver Development programme, and he set the quickest time overall in the McLaren MP4-27 during the young F1 driver tests in Abu Dhabi in early November.
And last but not least he topped the time sheets in the first two FR 3.5 test sessions in the DAMS single-seater at Motorland Aragon. This bodes well for a season in which the team and its driver are determined to achieve great things.
Jean-Paul Driot, CEO: “Blood will out says the adage and all the evidence points to the fact that Kevin confirms this. He’s a very gifted, quick driver as he demonstrated in the WSR this year, so we’re delighted to welcome him to the DAMS team. Our collaboration has begun in the best possible fashion and we have common objectives, namely: victories to put us in a position to fight for the title. I hope, and indeed I’m convinced, that we can achieve them together!”
Kevin Magnussen: “I’m very happy to be joining DAMS in 2013. Testing went off really well. Right from the first day I felt at home in the team and I had no doubts that it was the one I wanted to work with in 2013. This feeling was confirmed by the fastest times of the two days we spent at Motorland Aragon. I am very impressed by the way the team works and their methods are clearly the ones you need to use to win. In 2013, I’m going to be fighting for the title and I’ll be up against tough opposition. This being said, we’ve got great potential, thank to DAMS’s immense know-how and the experience I’ve gathered in 2012. I’m already looking forward to the end of winter so I can tackle the coming season.”
DAMS Press Release
Official Renault Sport Press Release.