Magnussen: No 'negative pressure' at Renault

May 15 - Even though three young chargers are knocking on the door, Kevin Magnussen sounds secure in his race seat at Renault.

So far in 2016, the Dane and his teammate Jolyon Palmer have each had to sit out a Friday practice session, as Renault promotes its young test drivers Sergey Sirotkin and Esteban Ocon.

And it now emerges that Nicholas Latifi will also get some Friday outings this season.

"I think the plan is that we take turns to sit out," Magnussen, referring to himself and Palmer, told the Danish broadcaster TV2.

"It is what it is. I don't know the reasons exactly but I accept it and hopefully it's for the good of the team.

"Of course it would be more ideal to be sitting in the car myself, but if you get a P2 and 3, you don't lose a huge amount by having missed the first one," he added.

There has been speculation swirling around the future of Palmer in early 2016, but so far all the noises from Renault suggest Magnussen is secure for now.

The 23-year-old agrees: "I am much more comfortable than I ever was.

"I think it's to do with the fact that I have a place where I am having more fun and it's much more relaxed -- I don't feel that negative pressure that I felt before."

Magnussen is, of course, referring to his former McLaren adventure.

He explained: "To me it makes a huge difference to know that you have the team behind you, and the people have faith in you.

"I'm taking the chances that I get and trying as hard as I can, but it's just much easier when you enjoy what you do," said Magnussen.

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Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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