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.

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.

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.

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.

[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.

[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.