Symonds: R25 was better than the MP4-20

Although the R25 helped the French manufacturer clinch the Constructors' Championship and powered Fernando Alonso to the drivers' crown, McLaren were still viewed as having a better car because the MP4-20 was faster for much of the year.

The support for McLaren was proved when Autosport magazine's readers voted the MP4-20 as Racing Car of the Year at the Autosport Awards earlier this month.

But Renault's Symonds believes the R25 was ultimately better, and he says the team's true pace was not demonstrated for much of the year because they were thinking of the championship.

Moreover, according to the Briton, Renault's dominant performance in the season-closing Chinese Grand Prix delivered all the proof about how quick they really were.

"Is there a sense of disappointment? Yes, because I am surprised people think that way," he told autosport.com when asked about his feelings on people thinking the McLaren was better.

"We set out this year like every year to win the championship. Sometimes you do it, sometimes you are miles away and sometimes you nearly do it.

"We had a great start to the season and a good lead, and strategically we went quite conservative. Fernando showed it more and therefore a lot of people got the impression that McLaren were a lot faster than us and they would have won but for reliability. But that is not the way it was.

"Yes, they were less reliable than us, but that is part of the strategy. Yes, they were faster than us, but there were times when they appeared faster and the gap appeared more than it really was because we were being quite conservative.

"After Brazil, when the cards were on the table and we were going for it, we showed we could go for it as well.

"Yeah, I am disappointed people think that way and there are a lot of people who will say the McLaren is the better car, but it wasn't.

"If someone said to me the McLaren was the faster car, yes I will concede that. The majority of the season it was the faster car, but I will not accept it was a better car."