Kevin Magnussen says Renault has "a really good car" despite failing to score points in the Australian Grand Prix.
Renault enjoyed a solid pre-season but could only just make it out of Q1 in Melbourne before both cars finished slowest in the second part of qualifying. Magnussen's race was hampered by a first lap puncture but he recovered to finish 2.2s behind team-mate Jolyon Palmer, with the two Renaults just outside the points.
Magnussen admits he was frustrated by the early setback in his own race but was left encouraged by the performance shown by the R.S.16 as he climbed back through the field.
“We have a really good car; the pace is strong, as is the baseline set-up," Magnussen said. "It’s something we can continue to work from and evolve to gain more performance.
"[Melbourne] was pretty tough at the start as I was really gutted about the puncture. I don’t think I had any contact so it was really unfortunate.
"You never want to see a red flag incident, and it’s a positive statement that Fernando could walk away from that dramatic crash, but the restart did benefit us. Our pace after the restart was very promising so I’m excited for the next races.”
TECHNICAL FEATURE: A closer look at the Renault R.S.16
Australian Grand Prix - Quotes of the weekend
Australian Grand Prix - Driver ratings
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