Kevin Magnussen has announced that whilst he likes Indycar, his ambition is to remain in F1 and continue his work with Renault alongside the newly appointed Nico Hulkenberg.
The Danish driver has been in limbo with thanks to Renault’s stalling on their driver line-up decisions for 2017 – A season that they’re being dubbed to perform above and beyond the midfield. The French manufacturer has claimed previously that they want Fernando Alonso-like leadership mixed with Schumacher Benneton-Renault competence.
It was always going to be tough today. We will work hard to get back into point-scoring position in the coming races #F1 #JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/luCYOl2pPT
— Kevin Magnussen (@KevinMagnussen) October 9, 2016
The 2017 package will have to be pretty attractive to bring in that level of driver. Hulkenberg has made the switch from what will surely be a strong seat at Force India in 2017, so what does Magnussen need to do to keep his seat?
Putting to bed rumors of moving elsewhere is a good start. With recent racing rag-talk connecting him to an Indycar seat, he replied with,
“Seeing rumours around about me in IndyCar. I’m a big fan of IndyCar but those are really just rumours. Nothing to it.
I feel confident my future is in F1 and there should be no doubt I intent [sic] to stay with Renault Sport F1 for many years if I can.”
– Kevin Magnussen
Unfortunately there is nothing yet to announce regarding my future, but hopefully there will be soon. I too am getting impatient! 😁🔫
— Kevin Magnussen (@KevinMagnussen) October 18, 2016
The Dane will probably find himself in a number two role should he remain at Renault with team boss Fred Vasseur stating that Hulk is the leader they have been looking for.
“He is also a real leader and able to motivate a team and take the troops with him. He has a lot of experience and is very fast; that is very important for us in this stage of our development.
From a technical perspective, an experienced and conscientious driver can give precious feedback, as well as knowing exactly what they want from the car.”
– Fred Vasseur

Another option for Magnussen next year could be the Haas team. Stewart Haas is a fan of K-Mag and was considering him for this season if Grosjean had been unavailable.
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