When opportunity knocks, Renault driver Kevin Magnussen has ability to seize the moment

He is not going to win the drivers’ championship, or likely even finish in the drivers’ top 10 this season, but a couple more performances like Sochi should ensure that Magnussen’s name crops up with higher-placed teams, writes Graham Caygill.

Danish Formula One driver Kevin Magnussen is pictured during the official presentation of the Renault's RS16. AFP / FRANCK FIFE

was easy to miss the performance of the race amid all the drama at the front at the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi two weekends ago.

You had more bad luck for Lewis Hamilton as he lost further ground to Mercedes-GP teammate Nico Rosberg in the drivers' standings.

Then there was the crash between Sebastian Vettel and Daniil Kvyat at the start, which added further fuel to their feud, coming after the Ferrari driver had berated the Red Bull Racing man on the way to the podium in China after another startline incident.

But, hidden away beyond all the headlines and controversy, was Kevin Magnussen’s quiet drive to seventh place in his Renault.

The six points scored were Renault's first of 2016. It was a superb effort by the Dane, and reminded the Formula One fraternity of just why he was so highly regarded when he first came into the series in 2014.

The Renault RS16 package is not a good one, and that is putting it politely. The car is very weak aerodynamically and visibly lacks grip in the corners.

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This is not that surprising, given the problems the team had last year, under the guise of Lotus, lacking funds, while they awaited the takeover by Renault.

The limited development on the chassis has shown, with the handling making life difficult for both Magnussen and his rookie teammate Jolyon Palmer, and aligned to the Renault engine still being one of the weakest on the grid, this has all the signs of being a very long and tough season for the French marque.

No points were scored in the first three races of the season, and it did not look at the start of the weekend in Sochi as if that was going to change with Magnussen and Palmer 17th and 18th quickest in qualifying respectively, almost three seconds off the pace of the Mercedes cars.

Yet, come the end of the 53-lap race, there was Magnussen in seventh, in a car that was certainly not seventh quickest.

There was a degree of fortune with collisions at the start dropping Vettel, the two Red Bulls and both the Force Indias out of contention.

Magnussen benefited from this and got himself into the top 10 in the opening laps, but from then on it was all down to him.

He ran seventh throughout the second half of the race, but was under relentless pressure with faster cars behind him.

It is possible to pass in Sochi, but it is not one of the easiest tracks to overtake on without the driver in front making a mistake. Magnussen did not put a wheel wrong, despite being under intense pressure from Romain Grosjean’s Haas, Sergio Perez’s Force India and the McLaren of Jenson Button.

This is not going to be start of the revitalisation of Renault in 2016. The team will have a torrid time of it in Spain this weekend.

The Circuit de Catalunya is used as one of the main pre-season testing venues for F1 teams, because of its several high-speed corners is a great test of a car’s aerodynamics. Since this is one of the major problems with the Renault and unless there is mixed weather, it will be a major surprise if they add to their points tally on Sunday.

Which is why it is so important for struggling teams to seize the few opportunities that come their way.

Thanks to Magnussen, Renault did that in Sochi, and with a driver of the calibre of the Dane at their disposal they can do it again if and when there is another unpredictable race shaken up by accidents at the start.

Magnussen had a reasonable first season at McLaren in 2014, finishing second in his first race, and more than holding his own against a world champion teammate in Button.

He was unlucky to be dropped by the team from the race squad for 2015 at the expense of Fernando Alonso, and it did seem an odd decision to release him completely from his contract at the end of last season.

He needs to bounce back strongly if he is to establish himself on the F1 grid, and the Renault car, given its lack of speed, is a tough break on that score.

That is why when the chances do come up, as few and as far as they may be, to make an impact, you have to take them.

Magnussen’s talent sets him up to be a real opportunist this season, taking advantage of every mishap a rival suffers, or unexpected event that shakes up the order.

He is not going to win the drivers’ championship, or likely even finish in the drivers’ top 10 this season, but a couple more performances like Sochi should ensure that Magnussen’s name crops up with higher-placed teams when it comes to begin thinking about their 2017 line-ups.

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