Kevin Magnussen says Renault is making “strong progress”, after clocking the most laps of anyone on the final day of the opening Formula 1 pre-season test.
The Danish driver replaces Pastor Maldonado for 2016 after the Venezuelan hit sponsorship troubles. He has quickly settled in at the team, alongside rookie Jolyon Palmer.
Renault’s RS16 suffered some reliability problems earlier in the week, which lost the team track time, but the test ended on a high with 153 laps completed during Thursday’s two sessions.
That was despite a late stoppage and red flag after Magnussen’s car ground to a halt in the final minutes of the afternoon. Renault focused on aero logging, set-up work and also fitted in a whole race simulation.
Magnussen was pleased with the laps completed and the former McLaren racer will next be in action on the first two days of the second test.
"I certainly have had a workout over the last couple of days with over 260 laps completed," he said after the final day.
"It feels so good to be back in an F1 car and working through the programme and making strong progress.
Our race simulation went well and I’m really gelling with the team; it’s a real pleasure to be driving here and I can’t wait to get back in the car on Tuesday.”
