Magnussen in the dark over Renault delay

Kevin Magnussen says he doesn't know why Renault has delayed a decision over its 2017 driver line-up.

Renault had suggested it would make a decision over next years driver line-up at the start of September, but managing director Cyril Abiteboul said after the Italian Grand Prix the team is still undertaking "a number of discussions" with drivers. Magnussen says he doesn't know why the team has delayed making a final decision but wants his future sorted as soon as possible.

"I don’t know what is going on behind the scenes," Magnussen said. "I have read in the press that there has been a delay and that the decision could take a long time.

"Yes it is [frustrating]. I was hoping for a decision between these two races, but clearly it hasn’t come and things are taking longer than I had hoped for.

"Of course it would be nice to just know your future and you’d be a little bit more relaxed if that was the case. But that is not what I have. So, anyway that is how it is."

Having had previous experience of a late decision being made by McLaren in 2014, Magnussen said it is slightly more difficult to deal with on this occasion.

"The situation at McLaren was in a way easier because I knew or I thought I knew I had the seat. I was told I had the seat and I wasn’t so worried until maybe the last two races. So at this point of the season I felt very comfortable. But I don’t feel too stressed to be honest. We will see what happens."

While Magnussen denies giving Renault an ultimatum of the end of September, he confirms he could make a decision himself soon.

"Yeah otherwise I will have to take a decision. I am a racing driver. I need to race and I can’t wait around until one week before the first test. That is not an option for me. We will see what happens."

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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.