Danish ace predicts season-long championship title battleDanish Formula Renault 3.5 star Kevin Magnussen may have lost the championship lead this weekend in Russia but the McLaren Young Driver Development Programme member remained in strong form at Moscow Raceway.[http://gallery.mailchimp.com/da23bff57d807bbf76da2db4f/images/YMIV46218fd1da.JPG]Magnussen scored his sixth season podium on Sunday in Moscow with second place - a great fightback after missing out on points in Saturdays race.Magnussen actually qualified third fastest on both days but started 17th in Saturdays event after being penalised for blocking two other drivers in qualifying. The DAMS driver lost his two fastest laps in qualifying and had to charge through from towards the back of the grid.He made it though the pack to finish 11th - just missing out on maintaining his perfect 2013 run of points finishes in every race this year.In Sundays race he made a strong start to leap former teammate Will Stevens to grab second but could not challenge Stoffel Vandoorne who took out both race wins on the weekend.Magnussen finished the race weekend with a three-point deficit in the championship race behind Vandoorne but a handy 44 point lead over third-placed driver, Antonio Felix da Costa who suffered a retirement in race two.With four race weekends and eight races remaining in 2013, Magnussen remains confident but predicts the title race will go right down to the wire at the final round in Barcelona.The next round of the Formula Renault 3.5 Championship will be staged at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on July 20-21.The venue - formerly known as the sterreichring - is the former home of the Austrian Formula 1 Grand Prix.
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Q: How disappointing was it to get the penalties in qualifying?A: I have to say I probably deserved the first penalty when I held up Antonio (Flix da Costa). Unfortunately I didnt see him coming. The second penalty I thought was a little bit harsh. The track here in Moscow is so tight that it is a big challenge trying to get clear lap. I think everyone really had their qualifying compromised at some point during the session. It is very hard to pass here and while I made some progress in the race I wasnt able to get up into the points.A: Sundays race was obviously a lot better. If it werent for the penalties on Saturday we would have had a realaly strong weekend. We didnt have the pace to catch Stoffel (Vandoorne) this weekend but we were very competitive. He is now in the championship lead but I have said all season that this championship will swing back and forth and end up going right down to the wire at the final round.Each weekend different guys will be strong and we just have to keep concentrating on the consistency to make sure we are in strong contention when we get back to Spain. I certainly never expected to be able to run away with this championship - the guys are going to make me fight all the way to the final round.
Q: It has been a tragic day for Danish motorsports with the death of Allan Simonsen at the Le Mans 24 Hour - did you know Allan?A: It is a very sad day for our sport and my thoughts go out to all his family and friends.Allan was a real racers racer - he would drive anything, anywhere from V8 Supercars in Australia to GT cars in Britain, Europe and the US.He was a very talented driver who sadly never really got the breaks he needed in his career but he was now establishing himself as key member of the Aston Martin team and scored the GTE Am pole at Le Mans . He was a great guy who everyone will really miss.
