JULY 2, 2016

Magnussen confident he will stay at Renault

Kevin Magnussen said he is feeling "no stress" over his future in F1.

The Dane has been arguing that Renault should give up on its uncompetitive 2016 car in order to focus fully on the new regulations.

Some have inferred that means Magnussen is feeling confident about being retained for a second season at the new Renault works team.

"I am not feeling any real stress about 2017," he confirmed to the Danish newspaper BT in Austria.

"I don't really see any threat to my position," added Magnussen, whose F1 career was rescued by the former Lotus team after being ousted by McLaren.

"If I deliver what I need to, I think Renault will take up the option they have on me. They seem happy with my performance, although nothing is certain in this business," the 23-year-old added.

Renault has youngsters Sergey Sirotkin and Esteban Ocon champing at the bit, but Magnussen indicated he feels so secure at Renault he has not even looked around at any alternatives for 2017.

"Because I believe in a future here at Renault, I have no plan B at the moment," he said.

"But I've been in this situation before and it can't happen again, so if Renault doesn't come back in the next two months, I will start to look around."

Williams might be one potential option.

Magnussen said: "I had contact with Williams up to this season and still have a good relationship with them, but as I said - I want to stay with Renault. It's a team on the rise.

"Ok, there is not much to celebrate at the moment in terms of results, but there is a lot going on behind the scenes. It's just not something that is going to make this car faster.

"It's frustrating, but while before I was more impatient, now I am focusing on the future," he added.

(GMM)