Kevin Magnussen said his one-year stint at Renault in 2016 was “toxic”, though claims he could have continued at Enstone for another year.

The Dane, who is set to head to BMW as a factory driver in their endurance programme next season after departing Haas, claims Renault denied offering him a deal for 2017, but he could “show you the contract they offered me.”

Kevin Magnussen reflects on ‘toxic’ Renault spell

Magnussen’s podium on debut with McLaren would be his only visit to the rostrum in Formula 1 as he departs the category for a third time, though he remains in talks with Haas over a different role with the team next season.

In a discussion reflecting on his career, he spoke of how his form with Haas led to early simulator testing with Ferrari in 2018 before Charles Leclerc was elevated to a drive with the Scuderia, but prior to that, he said his short stint with Renault was not one he remembers fondly.

“I still believed in it,” Magnussen told Autosport when asked about his thoughts of winning a title in Formula 1 after a stint on the sidelines with McLaren in 2015.

“What I wanted to do was show that I was good enough to go with a big team. And I think Haas was a great place to do that.

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“I ended up coming back to F1 with Renault, but only for one year – and that was toxic. I could have continued. Even though they denied offering me a contract – I can show you the contract they offered me.

“But the whole thing was toxic there, so I was glad to get the chance to go to Haas and find that stability and that support.

“It was my third year in F1. I was 24 or something… 23? You know, anything was still possible. I still believed it was possible. And there were moments when I felt it was going in that direction.

“In 2018, we had a really good car in the first half of the year. Charles [Leclerc] had just arrived in F1 with Sauber. And the start of his first season wasn’t great. And mine was really good! And then suddenly Ferrari was reaching out.

“Suddenly I was driving in their simulator, not for Haas, but for Ferrari. They were sniffing around. And I thought, okay… I was already getting excited about where this was going. But then Charles started to really kill it! And I heard nothing.”

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