Following a brilliant karting career, Kevin Magnussen made his single-seater debut in 2008. He moved into the Formula Renault 2.0 the very next season, starring in both the Eurocup and the North European Cup, where he finished runner-up after scoring a win and 12 podiums in 14 races.

A member of the McLaren Young Driver Development Programme, Kevin Magnussen then continued his apprenticeship in Formula 3 before joining the World Series by Renault fold in 2012. Driving for Carlin, he made one of the most impressive starts by a Formula Renault 3.5 Series rookie ever by finishing in the top three in his maiden race. Three pole positions and a win at Spa-Francorchamps followed as he took seventh place in the championship, the prelude to his first taste of F1 action at Abu Dhabi.

Magnussen moved over to Dams for the 2013 season, and shook off some stiff competition from Stoffel Vandoorne to take the Formula Renault 3.5 Series points lead in race one at Motorland Aragon. Staying in the leading positions for the rest of the campaign, the Dane finished the year with five wins and 13 podium finishes in all, dominating the end of the season to clinch the title at the final meeting, held three weeks ago at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Now 21, the older son of former F1 driver Jan Magnussen, he will make his debut in the elite with the same outfit his father once drove for. In winning his first major motorsport title, Kevin Magnussen has underlined the quality of the driver development programme offered by Renault Sport Technologies in the shape of the World Series by Renault, just as reigning four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel did when he graduated from Formula Renault 3.5 Series to F1.