23/05/2006
NEWS STORY
The Renault F1 team won the team award at the Laureus World Sports awards on Monday evening, though World Champion Fernando Alonso missed out on the Sportsman of the Year title.
The French team, which won the 2005 Drivers' Championship with Alonso, in addition to the Constructors' Championship, was presented with the award at a glittering ceremony in Barcelona.
Tennis champion Roger Federer was the eventual winner of the Sportsman of the Year title, with Croatian skier Janica Kostelic winning the women's prize and 19-year-old Spaniard Rafael Nadal, Federer's great rival, being named Newcomer of the Year.
Renault F1 Team Managing Director Flavio Briatore was present to accept the award on behalf of the team.
"This is a wonderful award for the whole Renault F1 Team," said the Italian. "Formula 1 is a world in which the fundamental role of the team in achieving success is not always fully appreciated. At Renault, we know that a team has a heart, and that heart is its people. This award reflects the dedication, commitment and ambition of the more-than 800 women and men who made last year's world championship success possible. Congratulations to each and every one of them."