Symonds lauds Alonso drive

Renault's engineering boss Pat Symonds has paid tribute to Fernando Alonso's podium finish in the German Grand Prix on Sunday, saying that his car "must have been practically undriveable" after he lost his right-front forward bargeboard

Alonso was running second at the time, and although he lost that position to BAR's Jenson Button, Symonds said the Spaniard did a fantastic job to bring the car home in third.

"Although we did not know it at the time, [the bargeboard] lodged under the car," said Symonds. "It had a dramatic impact on the distribution of the downforce, pushing it backwards by about eight-percent. We could also see on the telemetry that the car was not touching the ground as it should at the front, because the temperatures in the skid blocks were much lower than usual, so there was clearly something stuck under there.

"Suddenly, though, everything went back to normal, and Fernando's lap times were right back where they should have been. It is not often you see cars fix themselves!

"I think it was a stunning drive from Fernando, because the car must have been practically undriveable in the condition it was. But he adapted very quickly, and his lap-times were improving even as he was fighting the problem. Fernando showed once again that he is very good at adapting to an imperfect car."