KEVIN Magnussen admitted lessons were learnt at the German Grand Prix after a wrong pit strategy proved costly.
The Danish driver could only deliver a 16th place finish for the Enstone-based Renault team at Hockenheim after a two-stop race proved his downfall.
It meant he missed out on the points for an eighth-successive race, heading in to the summer shutdown.
Magnussen said: "We decided on a two-stop strategy before the race as all the data pointed to it being the correct thing to do.
"However, we saw the three-stop strategy of our rivals worked better.
"This wasn’t immediately obvious and we were too committed to the two-stop so it’s a lesson learnt."
Teammate Jolyon Palmer finished 19th, but made contact with Williams driver Felipe Massa on the first lap after making a positive start from 16th.
He said: "I had a big lock up in turn two and massively flat-spotted my tyres.
"I could barely see where I was going because of the vibrations and I tipped a Williams while trying to hold on from one of the McLarens.
"This damaged my front wing which we changed at the second pit stop.
"After that there wasn’t much I could do."
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