Kevin Magnussen came back from falling a lap down early during the Australian Grand Prix due to a first lap puncture to finish twelfth on Sunday.
The Renault Sport Formula 1 driver capitalised on the red flag period to clear up the accident between Fernando Alonso and Esteban Gutierrez to get his lap back, and then finished less than three seconds behind team-mate Jolyon Palmer.
Magnussen believes the Renault RS16 has good potential, both in terms of speed and set-up, and is excited to see how the team can develop the car during the 2016 Formula 1 season.
“We have a really good car; the pace is strong, as is the baseline set-up,” said Magnussen. “It’s something we can continue to work from and evolve to gain more performance.
“Today was pretty tough at the start as I was really gutted about the puncture. I don’t think I had any contact so it was really unfortunate.
“You never want to see a red flag incident, and it’s a positive statement that Fernando could walk away from that dramatic crash, but the restart did benefit us. Our pace after the restart was very promising so I’m excited for the next races.”
