A very tough season - Symonds

As Renault and Fernando Alonso both took their second consecutive title, the Renault F1 Team’s Executive Director of Engineering, Pat Symonds, talks about the F1 team’s winning strategies from 2006.

"To win a world title is always an honour for the people involved. But to do the same again the following year, with a double championship victory, is an achievement that really deserves recognition. It proves that the previous year’s success was in no way lucky. These results are the consequence of a clearly-defined strategy, and unstinting work from the whole team."

"Our only rivals this year were Ferrari, and they have always enjoyed exceptional reliability. So managing our lead, or going conservative, were never an option. We had to go on the offensive. We knew that the level of performance of the Ferrari was similar to our R26 and that most of the time, the differences came from differing tyre characteristics. There was no way of knowing, before the race weekend, if we would have the upper hand. And the balance of power between Michelin and Bridgestone could change literally overnight. That meant we needed to be adaptable in our approach."

"First of all, the battle on track was tough. Really tough. Our rivals didn’t seem to have any weaknesses, or almost none. We had to seize every little opportunity. And it was a difficult season politically as well. It was hard to come to terms with events like the mass damper affair and Fernando’s penalty in Monza."

"We worked very hard to keep everybody motivated. We explained the situation to them, and made sure everybody remained confident. They were already world champions, and there was no reason why they could not do it again."

"I would make sure we redesigned the wheel nut mechanism before Budapest, not afterwards! And I would not have changed Fernando’s front tyres in China. Those two mistakes cost us two wins."