The French car manufacturer has struggled for pace on the first year of its works comeback, Magnussen scoring Renault’s only points of the 2016 campaign so far with his seventh place finish at Sochi.

Magnussen’s future at the team is not yet secure as Renault evaluates its options for the forthcoming campaign, with the likes of Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Ocon being linked to seats.

While confessing that his situation was “frustrating”, Magnussen said his motivation came from a desire to prepare himself for the potential of being in a more competitive situation in 2017 and the years after.

“It’s difficult not even racing for points,” he admitted. “If you’re racing in P16, P15, chasing someone down, and you do catch him and overtake him, you still get no points.

“It is a very frustrating and challenging time. But I know what I’m working towards.

“You can always motivate yourself by thinking about next year and the year after – learning as much as possible, preparing yourself for the chance.

“That’s how F1 is, suddenly you can be in a car that can win and you have to deliver. Learning and preparing for that time is what I’m doing now.”

Sochi “miracle”

While generally happy with his performance so far this season, Magnussen said he feels he has more to deliver – but said his Sochi performance remains a particular source of satisfaction.

“I’m never satisfied and I always feel I can do better, like I can improve,” added the Dane. “I’ve made a few mistakes but a few miracles.

“Russia, for example, that’s the big one, getting points. We qualified P17, on a track that really wasn’t our track, so to still score decent points was good.”