Wednesday, August 9 2006 17:03 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: Renault's Pat Symonds insisted that despite watching both cars fail to finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday, the total damage to both championship titles was 'minimal'.

Championship leader Fernando Alonso crashed out of the race due to a broken driveshaft his first retirement since Canada last season whilst team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella spun out after just 18 laps.

"It doesn't change anything at all for us," said Symonds.

"The end result in terms of the points difference is minimal," he said.

Renault currently lead Ferrari by seven points in the Constructors' Championship, whilst Alonso has a ten point advantage over Schumacher going into the last five remaining races. "The pleasure for the team was that we were able to dominate in all conditions, and that the Renault was the best car out there," insisted the Englishman.

"Equally, we feel very, very confident that in a dry race, the car would have been extremely competitive, and I am convinced we would have beaten Ferrari," he said.

"In spite of scoring zero points, that's a very encouraging situation for the next races," he said.

Symonds said Renault had more aerodynamic updates planned for that race, after a three-week break that started on Monday.

"We said before Germany that the balance of power often swings back and forth in August, and we saw a perfect example of it in Hungary," he added.