Kevin Magnussen does still believe he can become champion in Formula 1 if he can appeal himself to the top teams.
The Dane made his debut with McLaren back in 2014 and inherited second from Daniel Ricciardo at his first race in Australia that year.
Ultimately, that result still remains his best in F1, after being replaced by Fernando Alonso in 2015 and finding himself stuck at midfield teams to this day.
“I am in Formula 1 because my dream is to be World Champion, it’s not to get into the top 10,” he told Danish newspaper BT.
“I can’t imagine spending all my good years in racing battling for seventh.
“If I finish in 12 or 15 years and my best result was a second place, I won’t be able to feel particularly proud of that.”
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And while Magnussen has been largely overlooked, as a new wave of young drivers join the grid, the 27-year-old still thinks he can earn a front-running seat in F1.
“It’s a tough process,” he admitted. “But if I can overperform over a long period of time, hopefully will I get taken to one of the big teams. I have to be consistent until I can open that door.
“There will come a time when I will no longer believe that I can become world champion, but I’m not there yet,” he added. “I also dream of winning Le Mans and Daytona – but the Formula 1 dream still shines that little bit brighter.”
As it is, Magnussen faces another year at Haas for 2020, who became the first team to reveal images of their new car earlier this week.
And after a miserable year saw the American outfit slump to ninth in the Constructors’ standings, owner Gene Haas wants to see a response.
“Frankly, I’m hoping the VF-20 will return us to the kind of form we ran in 2018 when we finished fifth in the constructors’ championship.
“2019 was a tough season to endure. We’ve been through a real education process, one that comes to all Formula 1 teams at some stage.
“I’m trusting we’ve learned from those lessons and have applied that knowledge into making the VF-20 a more competitive entry,” he continued.
“It’s important to me that we’re back in the mix and consistently scoring points, we certainly have the capability and we’ve proved as an organization we can do it.”