Magnussen says Renault has "made car worse"
Kevin Magnussen says Renault has actually "made its car worse" with the changes introduced for the Monaco Grand Prix weekend.
Kevin Magnussen, Renault Sport F1 Team
XPB Images
Although the Dane believed the team had taken a step forward during the post-Spanish Grand Prix test, he said after Thursday practice that the Renault has become harder to drive.
Magnussen finished second practice three seconds off the pace and in the barriers, having crashed at the final corner.
He admitted that, while the upgraded Renault engine was a step forward, the chassis had gotten worse.
"Unfortunately it is [the chassis], so we have a big job in our hands," said Magnussen.
"We have made the car worse and that's a mistake for us because we thought we had made the car better in the test.
"I'm sure some of the things we tried were improvements, but balance wise and set-up wise we have not made the car better for this track."
He added: "We thought we had made a step forward in Barcelona in the test and we came here and didn't have the car we expected.
"It's the chassis. The engine delivered and it's a good step, but for us we could have the best engine on the grid right now and we'd still be close to where we are.
"The engine is not our main concern right now."
Magnussen said the crash was his fault, but claimed he was not driving any faster than on the previous lap.
"I just understeered into the wall, really. I had no grip. Looking at the data, I didn't go any faster than the lap before, but I turned and I had no grip.
"I hit the wall slightly but it only damaged the front wing, the suspension is okay, so the mechanics won't have a long night."
Palmer: Struggle no surprise
Teammate Jolyon Palmer also crashed on Thursday - but in first practice - and agreed with Magnussen that the chassis was Renault's biggest problem, especially after seeing the Red Bull top the times with the same engine.
"It's not a big surprise really [that the chassis is so far behind Red Bull]," said the Briton. "We've taken over the Lotus name, and we've not had chance to build a car with proper investment, proper time.
"The Red Bull car is working very well, but it's understandable why we are where we are. The good thing is the team is pushing hard for 2016, they don't want to write it off at all.
"We actually had a lot of updates in Barcelona, we were trying something today which hasn't worked, but might still work in the future. We're still pushing hard this year, and I'm sure we'll make big steps."
Additional reporting by Oleg Karpov
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