Bell: damper ban made Renault hungrier

The sport's governing body, the FIA, banned the system after the German Grand Prix, despite Renault having used it since September last year.

The system was believed to give Renault a 0.2-0.3 seconds gain.

Despite the ban, Renault went on to win both titles for the second year in a row.

"I think that when the tuned mass dampers were banned, it made everybody much more determined," said Bell.

"We wanted to prove that we could win without them. There is really strong morale in the team and we went through some turbulent times, but we didn't give up.

"We accepted the results, and kept on working. The attitude of our colleagues in Viry was identical. That's one of the things that makes me proud about 2006: in spite of all the difficulties we had, we never lost faith."

Bell praised the R26 car, that allowed Fernando Alonso and Renault to win back-to-back titles.

"It was always a very consistent car," he added. "It was easy to set up, and was competitive on every type of circuit. It gave the drivers a lot of confidence. It had excellent basic performance. And it's now the world champion."