F1: Renault replace Pastor Maldonado with Kevin Magnussen, unveil new car at Paris launch

Magnussen was released by McLaren vie email last year but has completed a stunning return to the grid just a month before the 2016 season begins

Former McLaren driver Kevin Magnussen will return to F1 with Renault (Getty Images)

Former McLaren driver Kevin Magnussen has completed a remarkable comeback after being confirmed at Renault for the upcoming Formula One season.

Magnussen, who will partner Briton Jolyon Palmer in his first season, appeared to be heading out of the sport after he was released by McLaren via an email on his birthday in October.

But the 23-year-old Dane has been named as Renault's new driver and replaces Pastor Maldonado, who earlier this week confirmed he would not be on the grid in 2016.

Magnussen was officially unveiled at Renault's car launch in Paris on Wednesday. The French manufacturer, who completed their takeover of Lotus at the end of last year, are returning as a constructor to Formula One following their withdrawal as a full works' team in 2010.

Renault's new challenger, the RS16, will make its on-track debut at the first winter test in Barcelona which gets under way on February 22.

Magnussen raced alongside Jenson Button at McLaren during the 2014 campaign and finished an impressive second on his debut in Australia.

But the Dane, son of former grand prix driver Jan, was forced to move sideways after one season following the arrival of two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

He subsequently became McLaren's reserve driver, and was in contention for a race seat in 2016 following the uncertainty surrounding Button's future.

Pastor Maldonado (left) has been replaced at Renault (Getty Images)

But when Button decided to put his retirement plans on hold in October, the 23-year-old's chances of returning to the grid looked bleak.

However, he has been handed a second comeback by Renault, who decided to drop Maldonado when his more than £30million sponsorship from Venezuelan national oil company PDVSA failed to materialise.

Magnussen and Palmer, the former GP2 champion, took the wraps off their new car for the upcoming season, which starts in Australia next month, and revealed a predominately black livery.

Renault, who won successive titles with Alonso in 2005 and 2006, also announced the appointment of Frederic Vasseur as Racing Director and the arrival of Bob Bell, formerly of Mercedes, as Chief Technical Officer.

Esteban Ocon, the 19-year-old Frenchman, was unveiled as the team's reserve driver.

PA