Symonds Predicts McLaren 'Cat & Mouse'
Renault's director of engineering Pat Symonds predicts a seesaw battle for this year's World Championship between his team and McLaren, stating Renault cannot afford to be over-cautious in the final stage of the season
Renault currently hold a slender lead of 12 points over McLaren in the Constructors' Championship, with a bigger lead - of 26 points - between Renault's Fernando Alonso and McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen in the Drivers' Championship.
But Symonds predicts the two teams will be exchanging the lead between them before the titles are settled at the end of the season, with six more rounds to go.
"I think we will see our two teams playing something of a cat and mouse game all the way through to the end of the season," Symonds told the Guardian. "As a function of the latest developments introduced by each team, and the type of circuit, I believe the edge will switch from one camp to the other."
Symonds further acknowledged that McLaren currently have the upper hand in terms of speed but said the key to Renault's chances is simply maintaining the existing lead, without being overly conservative.
"[McLaren] had an unlucky run early on but they picked up speed when the Championship returned to Europe," Symonds commented. "They are clearly very quick at the moment. The important thing for Renault is to maintain the advantage we have carved out so far.
"We need to finish the remaining races in a strong position if possible. At the same time, we mustn't allow chances to slip through our hands by being over-cautious.
"I think there's certainly a case for questioning our tyre choice in Hungary, for example. We never really got the car dialled in and I think that was partly a function of concentrating most of our practice running on the harder tyre."
McLaren: No shortcut for Piastri in understanding F1 tyre deg challenge
McLaren: No shortcut for Piastri in understanding F1 tyre deg challenge McLaren: No shortcut for Piastri in understanding F1 tyre deg challenge
McLaren forging closer ties with Toyota as F1 rumours swirl
McLaren forging closer ties with Toyota as F1 rumours swirl McLaren forging closer ties with Toyota as F1 rumours swirl
How McLaren has revamped its F1 team to become a contender again
How McLaren has revamped its F1 team to become a contender again How McLaren has revamped its F1 team to become a contender again
10 things we learned from the 2023 MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix
10 things we learned from the 2023 MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix 10 things we learned from the 2023 MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix
Suninen apologises to Hyundai for costly WRC Rally Chile mistake
Suninen apologises to Hyundai for costly WRC Rally Chile mistake Suninen apologises to Hyundai for costly WRC Rally Chile mistake
How five metres led to "angry" Zarco being thrown out of Motegi MotoGP result
How five metres led to "angry" Zarco being thrown out of Motegi MotoGP result How five metres led to "angry" Zarco being thrown out of Motegi MotoGP result
Mercedes fears it has lost race-day F1 tyre edge over Ferrari
Mercedes fears it has lost race-day F1 tyre edge over Ferrari Mercedes fears it has lost race-day F1 tyre edge over Ferrari
The salvation story behind Benetton's emergence as an F1 team
The salvation story behind Benetton's emergence as an F1 team The salvation story behind Benetton's emergence as an F1 team
Ranking the top 10 Benetton F1 drivers
Ranking the top 10 Benetton F1 drivers Ranking the top 10 Benetton F1 drivers
When Mansell and Senna settled their differences in an F1 pitlane scuffle
When Mansell and Senna settled their differences in an F1 pitlane scuffle When Mansell and Senna settled their differences in an F1 pitlane scuffle
The F1 treasure map where Hamilton hopes Mercedes hits gold
The F1 treasure map where Hamilton hopes Mercedes hits gold The F1 treasure map where Hamilton hopes Mercedes hits gold
The two F1 rules problems Perez’s recent mishaps expose
The two F1 rules problems Perez’s recent mishaps expose The two F1 rules problems Perez’s recent mishaps expose
How football has posed difficult questions for F1
How football has posed difficult questions for F1 How football has posed difficult questions for F1
The fans that offer a ray of light in an increasingly partisan F1
The fans that offer a ray of light in an increasingly partisan F1 The fans that offer a ray of light in an increasingly partisan F1
Japanese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023
Japanese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023 Japanese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.