Renault's fortunes took a dive in 2007. Now Pat Symonds is the man tasked with turning things around. TONY DODGINS talked to him
If anyone needs convincing of the complexity and competitiveness of Formula 1 they need look only as far as Renault's 2007 season. After back-to-back constructors' championships, the team failed to win a race.
Basically, there were two separate problems, the combined effects of which were pretty cataclysmic. First, some of the techniques used to ensure that wind tunnel tests faithfully replicate what happens on the track turned out to be no longer valid for the extent to which the team was pushing the car's performance.