Tuesday January 18th, 2000

Question: What was the design philosophy of the new Benetton B200?

Pat Symonds: It's a very different design philosophy this year. Last year, we had a stated intention that we needed to make up for certain deficiencies by being innovative. Unfortunately - and I'm not scared to admit it - it didn't work. Some of our new designs were really very troublesome - things like FTT. We found that when we went from the prototype to do the production versions - I use the word production loosely - we simply couldn't reproduce the results that we were getting earlier. The same thing with the twin clutch gearbox, we couldn't get it to the state that we felt it should be at.

A lot of our resources had gone into those innovations and perhaps some of the fundamentals had suffered as a result. On top of that, we had a huge aerodynamic problem. So this year, we've been concentrating more on the fundamentals and making sure that the basic car is good. What I mean by that is ensuring that we get the weight down, so that we can use ballast to get the right weight distribution, making sure that the stiffnesses are all correct. And I guess above everything, we needed to make sure that we had a stable aerodynamic platform, something that is good, whatever the conditions. We have quite a large aerodynamic department now that we are running our own wind tunnel.

Q: What was the matter with the aerodynamics?

Symonds: Well, during the season, we could identify the problem, but we couldn't reproduce it in the wind tunnel. We could measure it on the circuit, but we weren't successful at curing it during the season. We were able to do a damage limitation exercise. Under certain conditions, we could minimise the effect of it but we could never get rid of it. But right at the end of the season, and into the early part of the winter, we were able to reproduce it in the wind tunnel, we were able to understand it and I'm glad to say that we were able to eliminate it.

Q: Who actually designed this year? Nick Wirth was the chief designer, so presumably he started it, but he has since left and Tim Densham has taken over.

Symonds: The chronology of design is that you start with your aerodynamic layout in May, something like that, which dictates that you have to do your basic layout at the same time. Through the summer you're developing your ideas on that basic layout.

Tim Densham then joined us at the beginning of the summer. Now it would have been stupid to have hired someone like that and then put them to one side for a year, so I made a decision then that we would delay the new car. We had decided originally - around Easter - that we would bring out the B200 in December and try and run it before Christmas. But with Tim's arrival, that wasn't an intelligent thing to do, so we aimed for mid-January and put the launch back a month. That in itself isn't enough to have a huge influence. So I had to go to our design group and say 'right guys, we're going to have work harder' and they responded magnificently. The whole design group have really worked hard this winter and we've incorporated an awful lot of Tim's ideas. In fact we've made some major revisions to the layout based on Tim's suggestions. And I think we've maximised the potential of having him there.

There was a very good transition between Nick and Tim. They worked together for a good few months before Nick left and I can't really say what each of them did. The car's design evolved. It was a joint effort by them initially, with Tim playing a more and more dominant role.

Q: You've mentioned Renault rather than Supertec or anything else; why?

Symonds: I'm proud of our association with Renault. The name on the cam cover can be anything but I feel it's still very much Renault. I believe this year's engine is going to surprise a few people. I haven't yet seen the full power curves because all the development hasn't been completed yet, but what I know of it so far, in terms of the power curve, I believe it's still a good step forward. It's still a first generation engine, it's still maybe 20 kilos heavier than some of the second generation engines, but in terms of power, it's still a step forward

Q: Do you see Renault coming back?

Symonds: I would love to see that relationship re-established. I think they've virtually stated that they are coming back. The nucleus of Renault Sport is still hard at work, on this engine, and also on next year's engine. How they will re-enter is their business. I would love to think it's with Benetton. I thoroughly enjoy working with Renault. I have a great deal of respect for them and they have been the most successful engine supplier of modern years.

Q: Have you been promised engine developments this season? Have you seen their plan of action?

Symonds: Yes I have. Last year, their development was very strong. There was some criticism from teams in '98 that their engine didn't develop. That criticism couldn't be levelled in '99. We certainly saw good improvements. They set themselves certain targets for the beginning of the year 2000. At this early stage in January they have exceeded those targets. They have a very clear-cut idea of where they are going through 2000, and work for 2001 is already starting. The future is good.

Q: Does that apply to Benetton too?

Symonds: Yes, it does. We've been through changes, particularly with the technical staff. It's very difficult these days to win races, let alone championships, without the support of a major manufacturer. I feel that my job is to ensure that I get the team technically into a position where, if the opportunity comes along to get involved with a major manufacturer, that the rest of the team is ready to win. That is the philosophy that I have been working on: that we have the facilities, the people, etc, ready to take advantage of whatever may come our way. Of course, we've done it before, but I don't believe that you can take something from the past and make it work again. Times change. Formula One is a business that develops rapidly. I feel that my job is very much to look to the future, to decide which technologies need to be employed, to make sure that we are on top of those technologies, and when the final pieces of the jigsaw puzzle come together, that the picture that is on that jigsaw is the correct one.