The Constructors` title is a different matter...
Renault began an all-night party here in Sao Paulo Sunday after completing one half of their fight for double championship glory this season.
Champagne corks flew around the team garage to celebrate Fernando Alonso`s victory in the driver`s world championship and the team are all ready for a Brazilian party before knuckling down for the final two races.
Technical chief Pat Symonds, who last tasted a world title victory with Michael Schumacher back in 1995.
"It is never going to change winning a championship. It`s wonderful and it`s relieving. The atmosphere is pretty damned good in the garage and they will all be out celebrating tonight. We have had people in at the factory and had a relay back from here to the guys there, so I am sure they enjoyed it too."
Renault fed their celebrations at the Interlagos circuit through to their base in Enstone, England, where hundreds of team members have put in much of the hard work that helped steer Alonso to the title.
Their engine base on the outskirts of Paris, in France, will also have been raising the roof in celebration but Symonds was quick to point out there will be more hard work to come after the party.
"We have still got the constructors` to do and we can focus now, so lets have a go at it, you know," said Symonds, whose team have a two-point deficit to McLaren with two races left to go.
Alonso admitted it will take him days for the impact of winning his first world title to sink in but his team will try their best to make that happen with ongoing celebrations that began the moment he took the chequered flag. It is a case of one down, one to go for Renault now but their tight battle with McLaren is a much different scenario to Alonso`s late season drive to the drivers` title.
Alonso maintained a 20-point advantage over closest rival Kimi Raikkonen for much of the season but McLaren have been slowly biting through Renault`s season-long lead in the constructors` championship. They finally overtook them with a one-two finish here in Brazil and Symonds is under no illusions how difficult it will be to fight back in the final two races of the season in Japan and China.
But he insists Renault`s efforts to secure the drivers` title have not put the team off their goal of winning the constructors` crown.
"It has not been a distraction getting Fernando to the drivers` title. We felt over the last couple of months that if we targeted the constructors` the drivers` would come with it, and I think that is true. McLaren are quicker than us and it is difficult."


Tags: championship, renault, constructors, team,