Magnussen needs fitness check at Monza

Following a day of rest at home in Denmark on Monday, Renault has confirmed Magnussen has since undergone more checks that indicate he will be able to race at Monza.

As Spa and Monza are on back-to-back weekends, Renault made the decision to swap Magnussen to a spare RS16 and send out another chassis as a back-up for this weekend’s race.

The 31-year-old closed the gap on table-topping Lewis Hamilton to just nine points when winning the Belgium Grand Prix last weekend and the race is now on, with 200 points still to play for this season.

“Vettel can come and talk to me (at Monza), but I think he first has to realise what he did in turn one”. I had a flawless weekend on track there past year.

“We’ve got several cars in the mix now which is exciting for us and the fans”.

The future of the race had looked uncertain, with financial troubles hurting the circuit and Imola vying to take the race as it sought to return to the calendar. “What is encouraging is, after the accident, both cars were really damaged, on the floor and other parts, yet the performance they showed was quite good. We were running in the top ten in Belgium and I’m very motivated to repeat this again in Italy”.

“With all my penalties out of the way now, and fresh engines ready to use, it’s game on for me!” “It’s great to know I have the team and the vehicle to go out and lay it on the line”.

“Hamilton finished third in Spa despite starting from the back of the grid and has set his sights on a third straight F1 crown”.

Team Mercedes head Toto Wolff believes it will remain impossible to predict a victor until the end of the season. “He comes in here with no fear, no respect, puts the elbows out”. “I can’t wait to get back out there”. “For me it is refreshing but unsafe”.