The car, which powered Fernando Alonso to his second consecutive world title this season, edged out Ferrari's 248 F1 to take the accolade.

Renault's leading designers collected the trophy from Damon Hill and Martin Brundle to round off a memorable season for the French car manufacturer.

Dino Toso, Renault's head of aerodynamics, believes that team spirit had played a key part in their success this year.

"I think we all felt last year was difficult," he said. "In 2005, McLaren were too quick for us and we fought it out with reliability. At the end of last season we got performance out of the car, which was great. 

"And before you know it you are fighting with Ferrari for the next championship. They were blisteringly quick, credit to the team because it is a team sport."

Toso said that the mid-season controversies, including the mass damper ban and Fernando Alonso's grid penalty in Monza, had only served to increase team spirit.

"It has made us stronger. There was a real commitment in the team - because if they don't want us to win it then we will win it. We fought for it and it made the team stronger."

Chief designer Tim Densham added: "We did have some problems in some of the races like Hungary and Monza as well, but the team had such a good in-depth technical knowledge. There are also lots of experiences people like Bob Bell and Pat Symonds who kept the whole thing under control.

"We were lucky having the Renault engine because the thing was so reliable, probably the best engine of the grid. The atmosphere in the team, even when we had problems, was unbelievable. "