The Suzuka Roller Coaster: Interview with Pat Symonds

It appears that the only thing teams have been able to predict with any accuracy this year is that Formula One is just too damn unpredictable at the moment.

Maybe it has something to do with the 'higher force' that Flavio Briatore referred to after Michael Schumacher's retirement in Japan. Or maybe it is the result of a tyre war that has left rubber so sensitive to temperature that a few degrees of change can swing it completely Bridgestone or Michelin's way.

Whatever the root cause, it has produced a season that will, in a few years' time, be looked back on as absolutely vintage. Two drivers at the top of their game, in two perfectly matched cars, being readied by two battle-hardened teams delivering everything expected of them.

Add to that the controversial twists along the way - especially mass dampers and Monza blocking - and you have a healthy tension to add to the mix.

The result of all these circumstances helped deliver to us last weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, with Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso tied at the top of the championship standings, and Renault and Ferrari separated by just one point.

And what a weekend it proved. We had Fernando Alonso claiming he had felt 'alone' at certain races this year because of the team not supporting him, we had a massive performance swing towards Bridgestone in practice and qualifying, a bit of Massa blocking on Saturday and then we had that engine failure on Sunday, which has all but killed off the title battle.

At Renault, the roller coaster of emotions was zooming up and down probably more than at any race this season. Renault boss Flavio Briatore found himself right at the centre of it all - clearing the air with his drivers, teasing the press, slamming Ferrari and then punching the air with delight all within 72 hours. A typical Flavio weekend really.

Pat Symonds and Flavio Briatore © LAT

But down at the Renault garage, one man keeping things once again in perfect perspective was their executive director of engineering Pat Symonds. He's been here plenty of times before - and he is the last man you will get to let the emotion of the moment overcome reality.

Symonds' mood after the race was not one of unbridled job - but more of relief at a result that had been totally unexpected.

"It is an important victory but I would always prefer a victory where you started from pole, you led every lap and you have got fastest lap," he explained, sat talking at a table in the Renault garage. "They are always more satisfying. I think I prefer those more dominant ones. But this is certainly a significant one."

The win was significant for two reasons. The first one was the championship swing. Apart from the Turkish Grand Prix, this was the first time since the Canadian Grand Prix in June that Alonso had opened up the lead over Schumacher in the title chase. And by no small margin too.

But the win was significant for another reason, because it had gone completely against pre-race expectations.

With virtually no dry running on Friday, we had only got our first indication of the dry performance of Bridgestone and Michelin on Saturday morning - and it did not paint a good picture for Renault.

Bridgestone were absolutely dominant. You know when Takuma Sato and Christijan Albers start putting their cars into the top 10 on new tyre runs that something strange is happening.

The story carried over into qualifying, with Bridgestone-shod Ferrari and Toyota taking the first two rows of the grid. Renault, perhaps benefiting from an increasingly rubbered-in track surface, did some damage limitation and took the third row.

At such an important stage of the season it was not ideal, and once again highlighted Michelin's deficiencies in terms of single-lap pace compared to Bridgestone. With so much work having been conducted on Michelin's qualifying pace, was it all in vain or had the company really found the three tenths of a second they claimed to have got since Monza?

"I absolutely think they have," explained Symonds. "The work we did at Monza, we repeated it at Jerez afterwards. It really had helped the single lap performance. Sure, the single lap performance wasn't good enough here but I would argue it would have been a damn sight worse if we hadn't developed stuff."

Plus there was the factor of temperatures. The type of rubber Michelin chose was ideal for cooler conditions than those experienced in qualifying. Was that a factor in making Bridgestone look better than they really were?

Renault R26 © LAT

"We were in a very difficult temperature range to be honest. When we elected our tyres, we did go for low temperature tyres but these tyres are getting really critical in terms of operating temperature. And we were on that cusp point.

"When I thinking about it early on Saturday night, I wondered what would have happened if we had brought the high temperature tyres, because we were a little bit warm for these ones. But to be honest, we had certainly got no test evidence that would have said they would have been a lot better. They would have been a little bit below the operating window and these were at the top of their operating window, so it was quite a difficult one I think."

It was with little wonder, then, that Renault had gone into the race with no reason to feel overtly optimistic about the outcome. There was a glimmer of hope that graining seen on some of Bridgestone's tyres after practice and qualifying could allow them to take the fight to Ferrari, but it was only that - a glimmer.

"I think before the race we thought that it would be extremely hard to fight for the victory, and to be honest it would be difficult to get second place," explained Symonds. "We weren't sure of the tyre characteristics over the long run and the only way the predictors could give us a good result was with the differential in tyre performance. And I am pleased to say that during the race we got that differential in tyre performance.

"In the first few laps I was concerned about the Toyotas. We knew that they were going reasonably long, so they were a threat not to be ignored, and we knew they would be reasonably difficult to pass. To be honest, I thought we would get them late in the race, by which time it would be too late for us to challenge Ferrari. So it was important to get them early on, and Fernando did a great job there. And with Fisi we managed to do it with the pitstops.

"It gave us the opportunity then to fight, and the fight against Massa was reasonably straightforward. I believe he came in a little bit early, which helped us. Mid-race the predictor was again showing that we were catching Michael and we were going to catch Michael, but the slope on it wasn't enough for me to believe that we would get past him. I thought we might have a real old battle, but it would be down to a mistake if anything was going to happen."

There was little doubt that the declining track temperatures in the race, where it started off 29 degrees at the start and was down to 25 degrees by just after the mid-point, had helped swing thing towards Michelin's runner.

"It would appear the temperature helped," said Symonds. "Certainly the Michelin tyre performance was not great during qualifying for the single lap. It was good during the race, but circuit temperature was down a little bit.

"Maybe that helped, or maybe the Bridgestone had just the single lap pace rather than the long run pace all the time, but we just had not had the chance to see it with all the rain on Friday."

Michael Schumacher returns to the pits after failing to finish the Japanese Grand Prix © LAT

The fluctuating temperatures, and varying forms of the Michelins and Bridgestones, ultimately mattered little 16 laps from the end of the race though - when Schumacher's engine blew up.

Millions of spectators around the world could not believe their eyes, but Symonds was left in no doubt about what had happened when the radio message came through from car number one.

"There was a strange noise that came from Fernando's car," he smiled.

So did Symonds have to pinch himself, to try and remind himself that his was real?

"No, it is not like that. It is a season of ups and downs. Seasons are always like this. There is always more focus if things are happening towards the end of the year, but it goes right through the year doesn't it?

"As soon as Michael was gone it was just switches down and see what happens. It is so out of your hands then, you just have to sit and watch. It is a bit nerve wracking, but after 30 years you get used to it."

It is those years of hard grafting that have taught Symonds there is no magic in motor racing, just pure hard work. And although many in the paddock, especially those who believe Renault have been unjustly treated this year with the mass damper affair and Alonso's qualifying penalty in Monza, sensed some 'natural justice' on Sunday, Symonds was having none of it.

"There is no such thing as natural justice," he says. "I think Flavio thinks that way, but I have never lived in the past. You know that."

In fact, every thought now is on the future, and the Brazilian Grand Prix. Alonso needs just one point to take the drivers' championship, but his situation is further complicated by the fact that the constructors' championship is still wide open.

Renault hold a nine points advantage, which means that they need another 10 points (on wins count back) to guarantee themselves the crown. Should Ferrari finish 1-2, then that means a third and a fifth is necessary - slightly higher than the eighth Alonso is thinking about.

"There is still some work to do, isn't there?" says Symonds, well aware of how complicated the situation could become in Brazil.

Renault technicians monitor telemetry © LAT

One thing is for sure, Renault will not be taking many risks. They may stick with their tried and tested D-specification engine for Interlagos now, rather than risk a possible blow-up in the season finale with the introduction of the E-spec unit.

"People may call our lead huge, but it is a statistical advantage. With a season like this, who can tell.

"But we can change our approach now with the lead we have. It allows you to be slightly more conservative but I wouldn't say significantly. We said in our approach to this race that the best way to go for it is to try and go for two wins, but it is a little bit different now with Michael's retirement. We can be a little bit more conservative but not massively so."

And what about the added complications of trying to figure out exactly how far Renault need to push in Brazil, does that actually make life harder?

"I don't know whether I would call that harder, but it gives us a couple of opportunities about how we go about it. I think it might make it a little bit less intellectual, but in reality it is not harder, it is easier."

Easier, but not easy. No one is willing to make any firm predictions about what is going to happen, because judging by what we've seen so far this year, there could yet be a sting in the tail of this championship.

The world is waiting with bated breath.