Symonds: Renault boosted by Spain win

Ferrari seemed to have stolen Renault's march with two consecutive victories at the San Marino and European Grands Prix, and Symonds admitted ahead of the Barcelona race that he was worried about the Italian squad's race pace.

On Sunday, however, Fernando Alonso took a commanding win, leading almost every lap to take an emotional victory in home ground.

Symonds admitted the win had erased any doubts about Renault's form.

"Last year, we learned a lot about the psychology of winning," said Symonds. "You get a big boost from success in the opening races, but it is a real sign of strength to be able to raise your game and bounce back from a couple of defeats.

"A win like this just gives everybody even more self-belief."

Symonds, whose Renault team had been unable to match Ferrari's pace at the Nurburgring only a week before, believes Michelin's tyres were the main factor in the world champions' fight-back in Spain.

"Well, the car was the same one we raced in Germany, so the obvious answer has to be the tyres, the temperature and the circuit characteristics," he said. "Michelin had an excellent level of performance relative to Bridgestone yesterday.

"The grip was good, the balance was consistent as the tyres wore, and the low degradation meant we were able to win on pure pace."

With Renault and Ferrari having won all the races so far this season, Symonds believes the title fight is becoming a two-team affair, although the Briton is not ruling out a comeback from Honda or McLaren.

"I think we can see a battle shaping up, between Renault and Ferrari, and Michelin and Bridgestone. We are not writing anybody else off, but the threat from Honda and McLaren-Mercedes that we keep thinking is imminent, does not seem to be getting any closer.

"So things may be moving towards a two-horse race, but tyres will be fundamental as to who gets the upper hand."