Heading to Russia with Magnussen as championship leader
Kevin Magnussens assault on the Formula Renault 3.5 championship hits the half way point this weekend with the World Series by Renault series heading to Moscow Raceway in Russia this weekend.
The McLaren Young Driver Development Programme member enters this weekends Russian weekend with a handy 29 point lead in the championship after a dominant weekend at the previous round at Spa-Francorchamps where he scored the pole for both Saturday and Sunday, won Saturdays race and finished third on Sunday.
After a challenging debut season where the Danes showed outstanding speed but lacked consistency in 2012, Magnussen has looked the complete package aboard his DAMS-entered Formula Renault 3.5 No.20 machine.
The second-generation racer is the only driver in the 2013 championship to score points in every race this season.
He has also scored five podium finishes in seven race starts. Apart from a ninth place finish in race two at Motorland Aragon where he had to drive through from the back of the pack after problems in qualifying, Magnussen has finished in the top four in every other race.
His race victories included the Saturday races at both Aragon and Spa.
While last year Magnussen had his father Jan on hand to see him in action in Russia, this year his Dad the Corvette Racing sportscar star and former McLaren F1 driver will be in action at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
This weekends action from Moscow Raceway will be broadcast on Eurosport. Check local guides for details.
Q: You enter this weekend after a very impressive weekend at Spa, what are you looking forward to in Moscow?
A: I cant say that Moscow is one of my favorite circuits but it will be very important to come away the weekend with a strong haul of points.
I really love the traditional circuits like Spa, Monaco or Monza. Heading to Moscow isnt one of those type of circuits but Im still looking forward to the weekend. It doesnt have those super fast corners that I like but that is part of the challenge of the series. You have to be able to perform on all types of tracks.
There are a lot of slow corners and I really dont enjoy that so much.
Q: How important will it be to continue your consistent run even on circuits which arent your favorite?
A: It is a racetrack and it is the same for everybody. We can certainly still win races on tracks like that.
I have to focus on getting the best out of the weekend. It doesnt matter if it is not the coolest track in the world. If I can get a good result there then I am happy.
Q: At the mid point of the season, how pleased are you with the progress so far?
A: Last year was quite tough at times because I knew we were fast but a few things went wrong and I made a few mistakes as well.We had a lot of bad luck but it is ok to have a bad season if you can learn something from those experiences. I really think I leant a lot in my rookie year and I have been working very hard on making sure I dont have the problems again in 2013.
Getting points in every race is the goal and not taking unnessary risks. Sometimes you have to take a risk but you have to be able to manage that risk and do it only when you need to.
