Kevin Magnussen says he will keep his options open in F1 as he waits for Renault to make a decision over its future driver line-up.
Renault has turned the majority of its attentions to its 2017 car in order to make use of its resources since returning as a full constructor this year. While Magnussen only joined the team at the start of this season, neither he nor team-mate Jolyon Palmer have contracts beyond the end of the year and the Dane admits he needs to be aware of any other opportunities should Renault decide on a change.
"I think that you know people around the paddock," Magnussen said. "I’m not only talking with the Renault people, I know a lot of people so you always talk so you know what’s going on, keep your doors open but at the moment I’m not going to need it."
When it was put to him that Renault doesn't appear to be in a rush to decide its driver line-up, Magnussen replied: "Yeah it doesn’t seem like they’re in much of a rush.
"I’ve been in this situation before and you never really know, all you can do is do you best and enjoy it while it lasts."
And while it may hurt his chances to impress this year, Magnussen says it makes sense to focus on next year's car, believing there is little progress Renault can make this season.
"In my opinion it’s the right thing to do, this year doesn’t look like we’ll win many races, so I think we are going for wins because our goal is to win in Formula One, and that’s clearly going to happen in the future, so why not invest in the future? We can start focussing on the future when we know this package isn’t strong enough.
"Even if you put full focus on this car, I think we’re so far behind it’s not going to change a lot fully, so you would improve but we’re not going to start winning or be podium fighters, it would just make things a little bit better and we would catch up a little bit. For my own situation it doesn’t make any of a difference really, I assume that I’m going to be for the future so I want the team to focus on the future."
Magnussen also insists Renault has not indicated he won't be part of the team's long-term future but has set no deadline over when it will make a decision on his seat.
"I’ll tell you exactly when I know when I’ve signed the contract! I’ve clearly made it obvious that I want to stay and I consider myself part of the team and part of the future, I haven’t seen any signs that I’m not [part of the future] the time will tell but I feel happy and confident so we’ll see what happens."
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