(c) 'Who is Who' by Steve Small, 2000

Родился: 04.07.1973 Роскильде Сезонов в Ф1: 3 Лет в Ф1: 4 Гран При: 25 Старты: 24* *не стартовал: 1 Победы: - подряд: Подиумы: - подряд: Поул-позиции: - подряд: Первый ряд: - подряд: Быстрые круги: - подряд: Лучший финиш: 6 Лучший старт: 6 Дубли: Хет-трики: Лидирование старт/финиш: Большие шлемы: Круги: 925 - лидирования: Километры: 4237.95 - лидирования: Очки: 1 - за один сезон: 1 - подряд:

Ф1: 1995-1998

Год	Команда	Шасси
1995	Marlboro McLaren Mercedes	McLaren MP4-10B
1997	HSBC Malaysia Stewart Ford	Stewart SF1
1998	HSBC Stewart Ford	Stewart SF2

When the 5 ft 5 in Dane decimated the opposition to win the British F3 championship with Paul Stewart Racing in 1994, taking an amazing 14 wins from 18 starts, comparisons with the late Ayrton Senna were perhaps inevitable. Certainly Jackie Stewart regarded him as a potential World Champion of the future. Sadly, thus far that dazzling promise has remained largely unfulfilled and Magnussen is no longer on the Formula 1 team managers' shortlists.

A hugely successful karting career which culminated in the senior world crown in 1990 set him on the path to the top of motor sport. Without any sponsorship to speak of, Jan drove in FF1600 in 1992 and not only took that title, but capped it with a stunning display to win the prestigious end-of-year Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch. A year in the Vauxhall Euroseries had its ups and downs, but still Magnussen's innate talent shone through, and two late-season F3 drives with PSR cemented his place for 1994, leading to the aforementioned success.

Signed by McLaren as a test driver, Jan also joined Mercedes for their DTM/ITC programme, which represented a great opportunity for the young Dane to work with a major manufacturer. Initially he hankered for single-seater action, but after his season was interrupted by a broken leg, sustained in a bizarre paddock accident when he fell off his scooter, Magnussen returned more fully focused, eventually taking second place to Bernd Schneider in the ITC series.

At the end of the season, he gave an assured performance on his Grand Prix debut at the Pacific GP, but he was forced to continue in the Mercedes ITC team in 1996. A chance of single-seater action came in the form of a few Indy Car outings, initially with Penske, replacing the injured Paul Tracy, and then with Hogan, filling in for Emerson Fittipaldi. The heavy Penske chassis did him no favours but, given his lack of testing, Jan did a solid enough job.

When Paul and Jackie Stewart made the transition to Formula 1 for 1997 Jan was given the second seat alongside Rubens Barrichello, but it was to be a traumatic debut season for the Dane, who failed to match the pace of his more experienced team-mate. Fortunately, as the year wore on he finally seemed to be getting to grips with the task and he was kept on for 1998 in the hope that he could make the big breakthrough. In the event Magnussen's confidence seemed to be eroded by the team's criticism of his perceived lack of performance, and after scoring his first-ever championship point in Montreal he was summarily dropped in favour of Jos Verstappen.

Looking to reinvigorate his flagging career, Magnussen has since taken his opportunity to shine with Panoz Racing's sports roadster in the American Le Mans Series, as well as reviving his CART prospects in 1999 with a seven-race stint for Pat Patrick.

(c) 'Who is Who' by Steve Small, 2000