Renault's Technical Director (chassis), Bob Bell, has dismissed talk of favouritism within the team, and also shed light on Giancarlo Fisichella's pit-stop problems.

Asked about speculation that the team is favouring Fernando Alonso over Giancarlo Fisichella, Bell said: "The answer is very clear: we do not give different equipment or treatment to our drivers. It is not in our interests to do so, and quite simply, we don't do it.

"Of course, at this stage in the year, we want to do everything we can to protect Fernando's position in the drivers' championship.," he added. "But for the team - the 750 people working in Enstone and Viry - the constructors' championship is the more important of the two titles, both in terms of motivation but also the financial benefits it brings for the team. It is very important to win it, and to do so, you need two cars finishing well; it makes no sense to favour one driver over another. However, I am sure the fight in the constructors' title will go down to the last race - it is going to be very close."

Of Fisichella's pit-stop malaise, Bell said: "In the event of a problem, we always assume that we can improve the job we are doing, or the tool we have given our drivers, in order to ensure that an incident does not recur. We work to address every potential source of difficulty - be that training the driver better, or improving our systems to make them more robust.

"Fernando has come very close to having similar problems to Giancarlo in race conditions," he revealed, "and we have encountered the issue on other occasions, so we worked during testing last week to make the car and engine easier for the drivers to use reliably in these 'critical' phases."

Asked how the team will approach the second half of the season, Bell replied: "Finishing with both cars in the points is the bare minimum; but in reality, we have to get both cars on the podium.

"We need to keep Fernando winning races, and aim to do the same for Fisico - and if he can't, get him home in the top three," he added. "Certainly, we cannot expect McLaren to continue their recent unreliability, so it is imperative that we do not drop points at any race. Two cars on the podium must be our target every time out."