Magnussen insists he is not giving up on F1

A McLaren option on Magnussen's services ran out at the end of September, and the Dane has been informed that there will be no new deal for him in 2016.

Although disappointed not to have been able to continue with his time at McLaren, Magnussen says that his F1 ambitions are still very much alive and that he remains in promising dialogue about opportunities elsewhere.

"I've had good talks with a number of Formula 1 teams, and some of them are still going on," Magnussen told Motorsport.com.

"So I have chances there. Formula 1 is still my aim.

"My ambitions haven't changed. I know how to win races, I know how to win championships and I still intend to be Formula 1 world champion."

No room at McLaren

Magnussen says his McLaren fate was ultimately decided when Jenson Button committed to a fresh deal, as he was only interested in a race seat.

He was informed about the McLaren news in an email, on his birthday.

"I'd already made it clear that I was 100 per cent determined to race next year, and obviously McLaren already have two contracted race drivers for next year in Jenson [Button] and Fernando [Alonso]," he explained.

"So, well, three into two won't go, will it? I was only ever going to have a chance of a McLaren race drive in 2016 if one of them was going to retire or whatever, and that's probably not now going to happen, so it was pretty clear that there was going to be no room for me at McLaren."

Racing elsewhere

If Magnussen cannot land an F1 race seat elsewhere he says he will consider other competitive opportunities.

"I was put on Earth to race, so I'll race", he said.

"Again, I don't want to go into details, but I'm pleased to say that a number of exciting opportunities have come my way over the past few days and weeks, and I can tell you for sure that I'll take one of those opportunities, definitely."