Kevin Magnussen
Formula Renault 3.5, Paul Ricard
Kevin Magnussen held a healthy 36-point lead heading into the penultimate weekend of the Formula Renault 3.5 season at Paul Ricard, but having not won since round four at Spa, he had a point to prove as well as trying to secure the title. He began the meeting in dominant fashion, topping both of Friday?s practice sessions and then claiming pole position by three tenths over nearest rival Stoffel Vandoorne on Saturday morning.
The Dane led every lap in the race and won by nearly four seconds over Antonio Felix da Costa. The result moved him 46 points clear, meaning he only needed to outscore Vandoorne by five points on Sunday to wrap up the crown. However, several hours later he was excluded from the results because of an illegality with his DRS flap on his DAMS car, which suddenly brought Vandoorne to within 18 points of his lead.
However, Magnussen was completely unfazed by the pressure and continued his on-track dominance on Sunday. He again took pole by three tenths and then won the race by over five seconds, proving pretty conclusively that the modification to the rear wing had had no part to play in his performance. With Vandoorne retiring, his lead was back up to 43 points and he was able to wrap up the title at Barcelona, when he successfully completed a double victory.
His ability to overcome difficulties was certainly impressive enough for McLaren as, in almost non time, he became a major contender for an F1 seat with McLaren for 2014 and eventually secured the drive.
Peter Allen