Kevin Magnussen was forced to start from the pit lane following an incident in Friday practice, but was able to climb to eleventh, one place outside the points.
The Dane hasn’t had the best of luck in his opening two races, after a rear puncture dropped him to the back in Australia, but he was able to remind us of how good he is with a respectable 11th in Bahrain.
However, the former McLaren driver believes he could have finished even higher if it weren’t for his grid penalty.
“Starting from the pit lane meant that it was always going to be a strategic race but I still had some fun fights out on track and we extracted all we had in the car today,” he said after the race.
“We were so close to scoring points; it’s frustrating to think what could have been had we not incurred a penalty.
“In any case, the team did a good job this weekend, we’re working very well altogether and the car’s performance was encouraging.
“There are signs of good things to come for the team, including fantastic support from Renault; we have reason to smile. As long as we work really hard now, we will reap the benefits later.”
Magnussen’s teammate, Jolyon Palmer suffered a mechanical issue that took him out of the race before it even began meaning Renault are still yet to score their first points on their Formula One return.
