Magnussen pulls out of Daytona 24 Hours after hand surgery

Danish Formula One driver Kevin Magnussen said on Thursday he had withdrawn from the 24 Hours of Daytona sportscar race after undergoing surgery to remove a cyst on his left hand.

The decision came as no surprise, with Magnussen warning last week that he was likely to miss the Jan 28 race due to the procedure.

He had been due to race for the MDK Motorsport team in a Porsche 911 GT3.

"The hand surgery went fine, but I have been advised by the doctors not to drive at Daytona," the Haas driver said on Twitter.

Formula One's pre-season testing is in Bahrain on Feb 23-25 with the opening race at Sakhir on Mar 5. Haas expect Magnussen, who will have a new team mate in Germany's Nico Hulkenberg, to be fully fit by then.