Renault's F1 engine upgrade goes to Kevin Magnussen for Monaco GP

The French manufacturer gave the new engine its debut over the two days of last week's Barcelona test.

Feedback from both Magnussen and reserve Esteban Ocon, along with Red Bull pair Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, was extremely positive in terms of performance and driveability.

Renault then made the decision to run the system in Monaco this weekend - one race earlier than originally planned - but due to a shortage of parts it was determined only one driver per team would be able to have the new engine.

Renault has decided Magnussen will have first call over team-mate Jolyon Palmer for F1's blue-riband event around the streets of the principality.

Palmer said he accepted Renault's decision.

"I'd rather have the new engine but I didn't test last week and I'm behind in the championship so I guess it's normal," he said.

Autosport understands the expected laptime gain for the shortest track on the F1 calendar will be around 0.2 seconds.

For the following race in Canada, where all four drivers will be able to use the system, and for other such power tracks, the improvement is anticipated to be 0.5s.

Red Bull has yet to confirm which of its drivers will have the advantage for this weekend.