Magnussen: No McLaren help in deal

McLaren chose not to renew Magnussen's reserve driver deal late last year, with Ron Dennis saying the team did so because it did not want to hamper his chances of a race seat elsewhere.

McLaren chairman Dennis said at the time "we will do all we can to help him successfully embark on the next chapter of his racing career".

But when asked if he received any assistance, Magnussen said: "No, McLaren didn't help me."

Dennis later said Magnussen did not achieve goals set out for him for 2014 but the Dane replied he "did not know" what Dennis was referring to.

After spending last season on the sidelines and without a deal to race in another series, Magnussen is looking forward to the opportunity to race again.

"It's nice to have a fresh start," he said. "I'm happy to be with this team. It's a brilliant opportunity.

"I feel much more relaxed this time, I felt a lot of pressure the first time round with McLaren.

"I feel pressure now but in a more positive way.

"I feel more ready, I feel good."

Magnussen says Renault must be patient as it looks to recapture former glories, echoing the comments made by Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn.

"You can always hope, but it is important to be realistic about where we are," he said.

"It's a completely new set-up but Renault has done this before, the exact same set-up and I believe they will do it again.

"But you have to be patient as well, things don't just happen.

"So we will be realistic and take it race-by-race and just race as hard as we can."