Symonds reverses over No.1 drivers

[Wizzo]

Pat Symonds has suggested that he has changed his mind about whether Formula One teams should appoint number one drivers.

The veteran Briton, who is Renault's executive director of engineering, has traditionally agreed with the McLaren-style policy of offering absolute equality to both drivers.

But his boss Flavio Briatore said recently that McLaren counterpart Ron Dennis had erred in signing Fernando Alonso for 2007 but not giving him an advantageous position alongside his rookie teammate Lewis Hamilton.

"Today the roles need to be clearly defined as number one and number two, otherwise you risk destabilising the team," Briatore, who would gladly reunite Renault with Alonso for 2008, said.

Symonds told the Renault podcast that the Enstone based team has always offered driver equality, even when Alonso won his titles alongside Giancarlo Fisichella in 2005 and 2006.

"Even when we had Fernando winning championships, there were occasions when we had only one wing, so we wouldn't take it to the race," said Symonds, who also worked with Michael Schumacher in the team's Benetton guise.

"We weren't going to favour one driver over the other and I have been very, very strong about that in the past.

"But I have to say I am changing my view," he added.

"Motor racing is a team sport and I think you have really got to do what is best for the team and I think these days it is better to go all out behind one car."

[f1box]

Hmmmmmmmm!

So Alonso needs 'courting' to go back to Renault!


David

[Steven Roy]

I guess that confirms one clause in the contract.  I wonder if Max will have an equality steward in the Renault garage next year to make sure Alonso gets equal treatment.

[cosworth151]

"All pigs are created equal, except some pigs are more equal than others" - Napoleon, a Berkshire boar, in the novel Animal Farm (George Orwell, 1945)

[Dare]

There is no way in Hades that Alonso
and Fisichella were treated equal at Reanault

[SennaMan]

surely no one here really believes all this equality bullshit?

and with respect to Sir Ron it is all PR hype designed for some arcane reason to calm the stupid masses and comply with a largely unpoliced stupid FIA rule

it is well known that MH had precedence over DC while at McLAREN; MS over RB at FERRARI and i am sure you guys can supply many more

only right too - sooner or later one driver exceeds the ability and points of the other and IS accorded first cab in the rank status as he b well should be

just look at what FERRRARI 'allowed' to happen at BRAZIL

natural selection of the species at work in the real world and not some looney utopian ideal

and as cosworth151 succinctly quoted in his post:

""All pigs are created equal, except some pigs are more equal than others" - Napoleon, a Berkshire boar, in the novel Animal Farm (George Orwell, 1945)"

[rmassart]

...it is well known that MH had precedence over DC while at McLAREN; MS over RB at FERRARI and i am sure you guys can supply many more...

I think these things come naturally when one driver is obviously more gifted than the other. MS vs RB, no contest, MH vs DC, no contest, FA vs GF, no contest. But Prost vs Senna, Mansel vs Piquet, Alonso vs Hamilton. Who do you pick? There's no way of having these guys in the same team and then favouring one of them.  The issue with Alonso was really that Hamilton had him beat in the 1st half of the season so it's then hard to say "well, we're going to favour Alonso". Even though this would still have been an obvious thing to do up to Hungary....

[SennaMan]

But Prost vs Senna, Mansel vs Piquet, Alonso vs Hamilton. Who do you pick? There's no way of having these guys in the same team and then favouring one of them. 

exactly and thanks mate - one has to move and they do thereby ensuring the stability of the team