Renault upgrade gives Magnussen confidence for future

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Kevin Magnussen has confidence in Renault's future plans as a result of the success of the team's recent power unit upgrade.

Renault introduced its B-spec power unit at the Monaco Grand Prix, with Red Bull and the constructor team each getting one unit. Daniel Ricciardo took pole position with the update, while Magnussen himself felt the progress from the new engine and says it proves Renault is heading in the right direction.

"[In Monaco] the engine did what it was supposed to and that it delivered what we expected, so that’s positive, we’re very happy about that," Magnussen said.

"I think Renault will continue down the same road as they are now, it’s a good direction, they’re making good improvements on the engine. They have big plans for the future and next year as well so I have a lot of confidence in our future."

This weekend's race in Canada puts more emphasis on power unit performance and Magnussen admits it would be premature for Renault to expect to be able to challenge for points on merit.

"I think on raw pace we’re still not fast enough to be in the points, but we know anything can happen if you’re in the right place, points are on the table. On raw pace we’re not there.

"I think rain would be interesting and always a good first lap anything can happen."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.