Magnussen says F1 radio restrictions pointless

Under the new regulations, teams will no longer be allowed to give their drivers as much information about the car and the race as in the past.

Renault driver Magnussen, who returns to competition this year after missing the 2015 season, reckons the new rules are unnecessary and will only distract drivers from the actual racing.

"It's the same for everyone so we just have to get on with it, but I don't really see the point, but there we are," Magnussen told reporters during the launch of Renault's new livery.

"Just the fact that there are so many things that you have to remember, memorise stuff, numbers, etc. It's just frustrating, really. It'd be nice to just focus on the racing.

"I think the point was to try to get us to just focus on racing, but now we are actually less focused on racing because we have to remember everything.

"My opinion is it would be nice to just focus on racing, going fast. And I'm not sure any of these changes have helped that."

The Dane also believes the restrictions will make little difference, as drivers will only have problems if their dashboards stop working properly.

"There's no bigger difference. All the drivers will remember stuff. I don't think many drivers are going to forget because we make sure we remember. It's just less focus on driving.

"It'd be nice to go through the whole race and think all the time about going fast.

"If the dashboard isn't working correctly, you will get it wrong. I don't think that's really necessary."

Additional reporting by Jonathan Noble