Magnussen wants Renault to shift focus to 2017
Kevin Magnussen says his Renault team would do well in shifting its focus to the 2017 season following its disappointing form this year.
Renault drivers Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer have struggled for pace this season and have been stuck near the end of the field despite having the same engine that is helping Red Bull fight near the top.
The team endured its worst qualifying of the year in the previous race at Baku, where Magnussen and Palmer shared the final row of the grid.
Magnussen admitted he would support the team if it decided to write off the current season to focus entirely on 2017.
"I think, as a driver, what you care about at the end of the day is winning. We are so far off that that in my mind I will be fine to switch focus completely," he said.
"We are clearly not going to win with this car. The sooner we can start winning, the more happy I will be, so shifting focus is what I want."
Magnussen says Renault will try a simpler approach in this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix in the hope it can find a good baseline to work with.
"I think we've tried some very different things to learn about the car and to get a better understanding of the car we have, and basically we are going back now – back to something we know and that gives a little bit of optimism," said Magnussen.
"It is not going to be a lot better than in previous races but hopefully we will be able to know what we have and get a better weekend."
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