Fernando Alonso says he completely respected Renault's decision to abandon trying to turn its 2009 car around even though it meant his final races with his long-time team were disappointing.
Renault had hoped to turn its brilliant late-2008 form into a 2009 title challenge, but it was off the pace for much of the year and turned its attention to its 2010 design in mid-summer.
Having already agreed to join Ferrari next year, Alonso had nothing to gain from Renault's shift in focus, but accepted that it was the right thing for the team to do as next season's rules are sufficiently different to make an early start worthwhile.
"Next year is more or less the same in terms of aerodynamics, so for sure what you did this year could help, but I think with the narrow front tyres, with the big fuel tanks, the cars will have to change and we'll have to prepare the cars in a different way for the fuel loads," he said.
"Until the first race next year we will not know [if it paid off].
"Renault stopped developing earlier and I perfectly understand the decision.
"Hopefully they can have a good car next year."
Alonso didn't feel his last season with Renault was a total write-off even though it didn't live up to expectations.
"I think aerodynamics have been key to the last few years in Formula 1, but even more this year with the new rules," he said.
"Unfortunately the philosophy of our car was not good enough.
"We cannot forget that at some races we were competitive.
"In one period of the championship we put some new things on the car and we were maybe the third fastest car on the grid.
"But then we decided to stop the development of the car and think more of 2010, and at every race you pay for that a little bit.
"We arrived at the last race with the same car we had for five months."
In Abu Dhabi Alonso ended his Renault career with his worst weekend for the team, qualifying 16th and finishing 14th, but he said the car had been that uncompetitive for some time and had just been flattered by circumstances in the preceding races.
"Somehow we managed to go through Q1 [in earlier races], and then somehow we went into Q3 a couple of times as well," said the Spaniard.
"I think the circumstances were a little bit special - like at Suzuka the first laps in the dry were on Saturday and in Brazil the conditions were extremely wet and we were lucky on that side to be in Q3.
"In Abu Dhabi we were out in Q1 and that was more or less what we expected.
"The team knows that I gave 100 per cent in the last seven years with them, so the last race doesn't change too much."
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