Pat Symonds | |
---|---|
Born | Patrick Bruce Reith Symonds 11 June 1953 Bedford, England, United Kingdom |
Nationality | British |
Education | Masters in Aerodynamics |
Alma mater | Cranfield University Oxford Polytechnic |
Years active | 1980s–present |
Patrick Bruce Reith Symonds (born 11 June 1953) is a British motor racing engineer. He was the Chief Technical Officer at Williams Grand Prix Engineering from 2013 until 2016, [1] having previously worked at the Benetton, Renault and Virgin Formula One teams. He is currently the Chief Technical Officer of Formula One. In September 2009, Symonds was forced to resign from the ING Renault F1 team due to his involvement in race fixing at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. After the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) conducted its own investigation, Symonds and Renault's Managing Director Flavio Briatore were banned indefinitely from any events sanctioned by the FIA, although this ban was later overturned by a French Tribunal de Grande Instance.
Symonds was born in Bedford, England and educated at Gresham's School in Holt, Norfolk, after which he studied at Oxford Polytechnic and Cranfield University, where he gained a Masters in aerodynamics.
After starting his career in lower motorsport categories, he joined Toleman in the early 1980s. As Toleman grew, it was taken over to become Benetton Formula, and was subsequently sold and renamed Renault F1. Symonds remained throughout this entire period with the team, working his way through the technical ranks. He served as an engineer for many of the team's drivers, including Alessandro Nannini and Teo Fabi.
After a brief move to the abortive Reynard F1 project with then-chief designer Rory Byrne in 1991, he returned to Benetton. In the mid-1990s he was Michael Schumacher's race engineer while also assuming the role of Head of Research and Development. Symonds remained with Benetton when Schumacher departed to Ferrari in 1996. When Ross Brawn was also lured to Ferrari, Symonds became Benetton's Technical Director. When Mike Gascoyne joined the team in 2001, Symonds was promoted to executive director of Engineering, a post which he retained though the transition to Renault ownership in 2002.
In July 2009, Nelson Piquet Jr. claimed Symonds asked him to deliberately crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to manufacture a situation which would assist team-mate Fernando Alonso to win the race. [2]
The ING Renault F1 Team released a statement on 16 September 2009 stating that Symonds was no longer part of the team. [3] Symonds was subsequently suspended from F1 events for five years after expressing his "eternal regret and shame" to the FIA World Motor Sport Council. [4] However, his ban was overturned by the French Tribunal de Grande Instance on 5 January 2010, and he was also paid €5,000 in compensation. [5] In April, he and Briatore reached an out-of-court settlement with the FIA where he could return to F1 in 2013 but could be a consultant to a current Formula 1 team in the meantime. [6]
In 2011, Symonds returned to F1 as a consultant for the Virgin Racing (later Manor F1) team to conduct a thorough overview of its operation, following a disappointing start to its second season in the sport. Shortly afterwards, the team parted company with existing technical director Nick Wirth. Symonds is believed by many to have effectively taken Wirth's place, although he was still only a consultant due to the terms of his ban. [7]
Symonds had a column in the F1 Racing magazine, and serves on the committee for the MSc in Motorsport Engineering and Management at Cranfield University. [8]
In July 2013 it was announced that Symonds had been appointed as Chief Technical Officer for the Williams F1 Team, replacing Mike Coughlan. [9]
Williams confirmed in December 2016 that Symonds would be leaving upon the expiration of his contract at the end of the year. [10]
In March 2017 it was announced that Symonds was to join the Sky F1 team. [11]
Since March 2017 Symonds has served as Formula 1's Chief Technical Officer. [12]
Renault, a French automobile manufacturer, has been associated with Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1977. In 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine to Formula One with its EF1 engine. In 1983, Renault began supplying engines to other teams. Although the Renault team had won races, it withdrew at the end of 1985. Renault engines continued to be raced until 1986.
Benetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from 1986 to 2001. The team was owned by the Benetton family who run a worldwide chain of clothing stores of the same name. In 2000, the team was purchased by Renault, but competed as Benetton for the 2000 and 2001 seasons. In 2002, the team became Renault. The Benetton Formula team was chaired by Alessandro Benetton from 1988 to 1998.
Flavio Briatore is an Italian businessman. He started his career as a restaurant manager and insurance salesman in Italy. Briatore was convicted in Italy on several fraud charges in the 1980s, receiving two prison sentences, though the convictions were later extinguished by an amnesty. Briatore set up a number of successful Benetton franchises as a fugitive in the Virgin Islands and the United States. In 1990, he was promoted by Luciano Benetton to manage the Benetton Formula One racing team, which became Renault F1 in 2002. From 2007 to 2011, he was part-owner and chairman of London's Queens Park Rangers F.C. In September 2009, Briatore was forced to resign from the ING Renault F1 team due to his involvement in race fixing at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. After the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) conducted its own investigation, Briatore was banned indefinitely from any events sanctioned by the FIA, although this ban was later overturned by a French Tribunal de Grande Instance.
The 1995 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 49th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1995 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1995 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contested concurrently over a seventeen-race series that commenced on 26 March and ended on 12 November. Michael Schumacher won his second consecutive Drivers' Championship, and Benetton won the Constructors' Championship, the first and only Constructors' title for the Benetton team.
The 1984 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 38th season of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Formula One motor racing. Drivers and teams competed in sixteen Grands Prix for the World Drivers' and World Constructors' championship titles. The season ran from 5 March to 21 October.
Mecachrome SAS is a precision engineering company based in France that operates in the aerospace, motor racing, energy and defence sectors.
Nelson Angelo Tamsma Piquet Souto Maior, also known as Nelson Piquet Junior or Nelsinho Piquet, is a Brazilian stock car racing driver and former Formula One and Formula E driver where he was champion in the 2014–15 season. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 33 Toyota Corolla E210 for Motul TMG Racing.
The 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 62nd season of Formula One motor racing, recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) – the governing body of motorsport – as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The championship was contested over eighteen races commencing in Australia on 16 March and ending in Brazil on 2 November. The 2008 season saw the debut of the Singapore Grand Prix, which was held at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, in Marina Bay, Singapore and was the first Formula One race held at night. The European Grand Prix moved to a new venue at the Valencia Street Circuit, in Valencia, Spain.
The 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 63rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 60th Formula One World Championship which was contested over 17 events commencing with the Australian Grand Prix on 29 March and ending with the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 1 November.
Michael Coughlan is a British motor racing engineer and designer. He was Chief Designer for the McLaren Formula One team from 2002 to 2007, where he was suspended for his part in the spygate scandal between McLaren and Ferrari, before his contract was subsequently terminated. He was then Chief Technical Officer for Williams F1 from June 2011 to July 2013, before abruptly stepping down "with immediate effect," according to the team.
Robert Charles Bell is a former Formula One engineer and technical director, best known for his work with the Renault Formula One team.
The Benetton B200 was the car with which the Benetton Formula One team competed in the 2000 Formula One season. It was driven by Giancarlo Fisichella and Alexander Wurz, both in their third season with the team. Hidetoshi Mitsusada was appointed the teams test driver, before being dropped in May.
The 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, formally known as the 2008 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, was a Formula One race held on 28 September 2008 at 20:00 SST at the newly built Marina Bay Street Circuit in Marina Bay, Singapore. It was the 15th race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship, the 800th Formula One World Championship race overall, and the first ever Formula One race held at night. This was also the first time Singapore hosted a Formula One race, as the last Singapore Grand Prix was a Formula Libre event in 1973.
Patrick Fry is a British motorsports engineer. Primarily working in Formula One, he has previously held positions with the Alpine, McLaren, Ferrari, Manor Racing, and Benetton teams. As of 2023, Fry is the Chief Technical Officer for Williams Grand Prix Engineering.
The Renault Formula One crash controversy, dubbed Crashgate by some in the media, was a sporting scandal caused when Renault F1 driver Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to give a sporting advantage to his Renault teammate, Fernando Alonso.
The Benetton B190 is a Formula One racing car designed by Rory Byrne in collaboration with Benetton's Technical Director, John Barnard, a designer with experience at racing companies McLaren and Ferrari and arguably the most successful Formula One designer of the 1980s with his cars winning 31 races since 1981. Geoff Goddard, chief designer at Cosworth was responsible for designing the car's engine, which was of exclusive use for Benetton. The B190 was raced by Benetton in all but the first two races of the 1990 Formula One season.
James Allison is a British motorsport designer and engineer, best known for his accomplishments in Formula 1, where he is the technical director of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team.
The Marussia MR02 is a Formula One racing car designed under the leadership of Marussia's Technical Director Pat Symonds. It made its competitive debut in the 2013 Formula One season where it was driven by debutant drivers Max Chilton and Jules Bianchi, who replaced Luiz Razia, the team's original choice for the seat. The car was launched at the Circuito de Jerez on 5 February, making the MR02 the first car that Marussia has completed in time to start winter testing.
John Walton was an Irish motorsport professional who worked in a number of leading roles across numerous Formula 1 teams in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.
Alpine F1 Team, competing as BWT Alpine F1 Team, is a Formula One constructor which made its debut at the start of the 2021 Formula One World Championship. Formerly named Renault F1 Team and owned by the French automotive company Groupe Renault, the team was rebranded for 2021 to promote Renault's sports car brand, Alpine, and continues to serve as Renault's works team. The chassis and managerial side of the team is based in Enstone, Oxfordshire, England, and the engine side of the team is based in Viry-Châtillon, a suburb of Paris, France. The team competes with a French licence.