Kevin Magnussen's confidence unaffected by mixed Formula 1 results

The Danish rookie made a superb start to his F1 career by finishing second on his debut in Australia, but has since struggled to match former world champion McLaren team-mate Jenson Button.

Magnussen's best results since that podium in Melbourne are a pair of ninths from the Malaysian and Canadian Grands Prix, while Button has accrued almost twice the number of points having finished inside the top six three times since Australia.

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier suggested Magnussen was suffering "rookie syndrome" this season, whereby he was struggling to deal with driving uncompetitive machinery.

Magnussen accepts he still has much to learn as an F1 driver, but won't allow a run of bad results to get him down.

"It's important to stay confident," he said.

"Confidence is not something you put on, it's inside you, and something you build up over many years.

"It doesn't go away like that, but you have to understand what is causing these bad results.

"Even though you have confidence in your own ability you can still be wrong and drive wrongly.

"I believe I have the ability to be the best, but I also understand that I'm not always the best - I need to learn and improve in many areas.

"I believe in my potential, but I don't believe I'm the best I can be already. I need to improve."