Q: Kevin, it seems the team is keeping you hanging on - or what is the state of affairs right now? Kevin Magnussen: Ha, I’m driving here in Sepang. Further than that? I know I will go to Japan next week…



Q: …and what about your 2017 contract? KM: Well, I think I have done all I can this season with the material I was given. I have scored all the points the team has and I feel Iam working well with the engineers and everybody in the team - and it feels that they appreciate what I am doing. Of course, it is always a bit worrying if you don’t have a contract for next year, but I hope everything is sorted out rather soon.

I think I have done all I can with the material I was given Kevin Magnussen

Q: How long will you wait to hear from Renault? Do you have a ‘plan B’ or are you betting everything on staying with Renault? KM: I definitely will not bet everything on this one thing. I need to earn a living from racing. I don’t want to do anything else than racing - and I want to race in Formula One. My goal is and has always been Formula One, but you always have to balance your career. There are teams inside and outside F1 who can’t wait any longer and at some point you have to make a decision - but that is not an imminent need.



Q: Your departure from McLaren, your last team, came rather suddenly. Is it a case of ‘once bitten, twice shy’? KM: You gain experience from such a situation. And the McLaren experience is something I never want to go through again. Having a season without racing at all - that is a situation I really, really, really want to avoid…



Q: Three ‘really’s - it’s that bad? KM: Ha, you can even put five ‘really’s! (Laughs) I never want to be without a seat again. And I don’t think that I will be in such a situation for 2017.



Q: There have been suggestions of possible disagreement between Enstone and Viry regarding the direction in which Renault should develop. Is that something that makes a driver’s life difficult? KM: Well, I honestly have no idea what the reason for not deciding on my contract is - but I hope it is sorted out soon, at least for me.



Q: What about the bigger picture of the team’s development? Or is that something you don’t want to comment on? KM: Yes.



Q: Your team principal Fred Vasseur has a pretty clear plan of the time frame it will take Renault to become successful again: he was speaking of years. What does that do to a driver’s patience? KM: I am one of the younger drivers, so I should not fear the time frame ‘years’. I have time on my side to stay with this team for a long time, and in the end hopefully achieve what we want - together. So I am more than happy to go through that journey with this team.



Q: And he sees you as one of five young drivers who will make it big in the future… KM: If the team gives me the time, then I will prove him right! (Laughs)



Q: The team’s performance seems to have dropped off as the season has progressed. Is that because of an increasing focus on 2017, or have you simply taken a wrong path with development? KM: I only agree partly. Yes, it’s been a bit up and down - and it will be up and down for the rest of the season. But yes, it could also be true that we’ve been a bit stronger at the beginning of the season and that is probably down to our early focus in 2017.



Nobody really knows how good Jolyon is - when I am in front of him people don’t appreciate how good that is Kevin Magnussen