Renault tech chief confident

The French manufacturer's R24 was criticised by Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli for being too difficult to drive, but the team took the decision not to completely eradicate the problem because it would have meant making major changes to the chassis - including the monocoque.

And although the team dropped behind BAR in the fight for runners-up in the constructors' championship, Bell believes it was the right decision to take because it allowed as much focus as possible to go into next year's R25 car.

"We might have unlocked more by diverting resources from the 2005 programme late in the season, but that would have been the wrong decision," said Bell.

Speaking about the problems with the R24, he explained: "I must admit that we did not expect it to be more difficult [that the 2003 car] to drive, because we did not make any decisions during the design process that were likely to affect this area.

"According to the drivers, though, the car was less predictable on the limit and a little more nervous in fast corners. We therefore immediately began working to correct this: first isolating the problem, understanding it and then resolving it."

When asked whether the team succeeded in curing the problem he said: "To a certain extent, yes. We worked hard in this area and made significant progress. However, to completely eradicate the defect would have required the modification of fundamental parts of the car, such as the monocoque, and we chose not to pursue this route.

"The changes for 2005 meant we had to mobilise material and human resources very early in order to begin assessing their implications. And it should not be forgotten that the R24 was fast enough to allow us to fight at the front of the field without undertaking these fundamental modifications."