Kevin Magnussen says McLaren F1 team expected FR3.5 title

The McLaren-backed driver sealed the title in the penultimate race of the season at Barcelona last weekend, and he believes he has achieved all the Formula 1 team could have asked this season.

"I've done the job," said Magnussen. "McLaren told me to win the championship, they told me they expected me to win.

"I've done that, and I really won this championship. I haven't lucked into it. "This is something really special, it's the year when I had to deliver and I did it."

Magnussen said that one of the keys to his success was blocking out the goal of being champion at the end of the season.

"This year I've been really good at trying to remove the pressure from myself by not thinking about the championship too much," he said.

"You have to think about your point-scoring each weekend, but don't think too much about trying to win it.

"That puts pressure on you, especially if you start to feel you are close to it.

"This year has been very consistent and that shows that I have changed my mental approach."

DID YOU KNOW?

Kevin Magnussen's last title came in 2008 when he won the Danish Formula Ford championship.

"It feels like a long time," he said. "But you cannot compare the two, it's not at all the same. This year has been amazing."