Magnussen says Haas no longer route to title than Renault

Kevin Magnussen insists switching from Renault to Haas in 2017 will not result in a longer route for him to be able to fight for the Formula 1 title.

The Dane turned down an offer to stay at the French squad in order to join the American Haas team, which made its F1 debut this year.

Although Renault's Jolyon Palmer labelled his teammate's move as a mistake, Magnussen reckons the Haas route can prove to be as good to eventually reach success, even if it is not a works team like Renault.

When asked if Haas was a longer route than Renault to be in a position to fight for the title, he said: "Absolutely not. My contract with Haas is not five years, and who knows what Haas can do?

"And then after that the opportunities are… there are no limits. It's up to me really. I haven't put myself in a situation where it would take longer. It's the opposite.

"I could have stayed [at Renault] and hopefully stayed until they win the world championship, but there is no guarantee they are gonna win the world championship.

"I think it's going to take some years before they will be able to fight for it. So I don't think it's longer."

Magnussen is optimistic Haas will be able to continue to make progress after a promising debut season thanks to having shifted its focus to the 2017 car very early.

"Next year will be their second year," he added. "They will have learned more. They focused on 2017 quite early.

"They've said it in the media as well, that they actually had their main focus on 2017, even before their first race. That's enough."