Renault F1
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Renault F1 is a Formula One racing team that competed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Renault returned to the sport in 2001 by taking over the Benetton team, which was renamed Renault in 2002. Renault's other motorsport activities are conducted through Renault Sport.
Renault F1 is based in Oxfordshire with that site responsible for design and build of the chassis as well as overall co-ordination. The team's French site, Viry-Châtillon, is responsible for the design of the engines.
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Renault in the 1970s and 1980s
Renault began its involvement in Formula One during the last five races of 1977 with Jean-Pierre Jabouille in its only car. The Renault RS01 was well known for its Renault-Gordini V6 1.5 L turbocharged engine, the first regularly used turbo engine in Formula One history. Jabouille's car and engine proved highly unreliable and became something of a joke during its first races, earning the nickname of "Yellow Teapot" and failing to finish any of its races.
The following year was hardly better, characterized by four consecutive retirements caused by blown engines, but near the end of the year the team showed signs of success. Twice, the RS01 qualified 3rd on the grid and while finishing was still something of an issue, it managed to finish its first race on the lead lap at Watkins Glen near the end of 1978, giving the team a 4th place finish and its first Formula One points.
Expanding to two drivers with René Arnoux joining Jabouille in 1979, the team continued to struggle although Jabouille earned a pole position in South Africa. By mid-season, both drivers had a new ground-effect cars, the RS10, and at Dijon for the French Grand Prix the team legitimized itself with a brilliant performance in a classic race. The two Renaults were on the front row in qualifying, and pole-sitter Jabouille won the race, the first driver in a turbo-charged car to do so, while Arnoux and Gilles Villeneuve were involved in an extremely competitive duel for second, Arnoux narrowly getting beaten to the line but getting a career best third. While Jabouille ran into hard times after that race, Arnoux finished a career high 2nd at Silverstone in the following race and then repeated that at the Glen, proving it wasn't a fluke.
Arnoux furthered this in 1980 with consecutive wins in Brazil and South Africa. Jabouille continued to have problems with retirements, but in his only points finish he emerged victorious in Austria. At the end of the year Jabouille crashed heavily at the Canadian GP and suffered serious leg injuries, which effectively ended his career as a Grand Prix driver. Alain Prost was signed up for 1981. In his three years with the team, Prost showed the form that would make him an Formula One legend and the Renaults were among the best in Formula One, twice finishing third in the constructors championships and second once. Prost won nine races with the team while Arnoux added two more in 1982.
Arnoux left for rival Ferrari after 1982 and was replaced by American Eddie Cheever for a season. When Prost left after 1983, the team turned to Patrick Tambay and Englishman Derek Warwick to bring them back to prominence. Despite a few good results the team was not among the elite anymore, with other teams doing a better job with turbo engines, some of which came from Renault themselves. As a result, Renault shut down the works team to concentrate on engine manufacturing.
This final year provided another F1 first, as the team ran a third car in Germany that featured the first in-car camera which could be viewed live by a television audience. The car only lasted 23 laps before a clutch problem forced it to retire.
Renault as an engine supplier
Image:Renault RS10.jpg In 1989, Renault rejoined Formula One as an engine supplier to Williams. By 1992, Williams-Renault was a World Championship-winning constructor. This began a dominant period, as Renault were involved in five Drivers' and six Constructors' World Championship wins (a clean sweep between 1992 and 1997, except for Michael Schumacher's Ford-powered win in 1994).
Renault once again pulled out of Formula One at the end of 1997. However, the power unit was still bought by teams 'off the shelf' for many years afterwards by Benetton (where the engine was known as 'Playlife'), Williams (where it was 'Mecachrome') and BAR and Arrows (where it was 'Supertec').
Renault's return in the 2000s
Image:Renault crew.jpg Image:Renaultf1 cropped.jpg Renault returned to F1 in 2002, having purchased the former Benetton team. Its current management includes CEO Patrick Faure, managing director Flavio Briatore, and technical director Bob Bell.
The reincarnated Renault finished 4th, albeit a distant fourth, in its first year back, relying on young drivers Jarno Trulli and Jenson Button doing a solid job with the team. Button was ,in particular, spectacular though he was replaced by young Spaniard Fernando Alonso in 2003. Many regard this as a mistake as Button has become a consistent driver and seems to be better than Alonso. The team was a much more competitive 4th in the constructors standings, with a car renowned for its launch control and its great handling
2004
In 2004, the team surprised everybody as they were contenders for second place in the Constructors' Championship. Trulli won the Monaco Grand Prix in 2004 in spectacular fashion. However, his relationship with Renault (particularly with team owner and Trulli's ex-manager Flavio Briatore) deteriorated after he was consistently off the pace in the latter half of the year, and made claims of favoritism in the team towards Alonso (though the two teammates themselves remained friendly). Commentators regularly point to the French Grand Prix as the final straw for Briatore, where Trulli was overtaken by Rubens Barrichello in the final stages of the last lap, costing Renault a double podium finish at their home Grand Prix. He subsequently announced he was joining Toyota F1 for the following year and in fact left Renault early, driving the Toyota in the last two races of the 2004 season.
Hoping to secure second place in the Constructors' Championship Renault replaced Trulli with 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve. This failed, however, as Villeneuve's performances failed to impress and Renault were beaten in the end by BAR.
2005
With Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella driving for the team in 2005, the season started very well for Renault, as Fisichella won the Australian Grand Prix. Alonso then won six grands prix to catapult himself and the team into the lead of their respective World Championships. At the Brazilian Grand Prix Alonso clinched the drivers title to become the youngest Formula One World Champion. This was Renault's first championship as constructor of chassis and engine. At the Chinese Grand Prix, Renault finished 1st and 4th, a result which gave Renault their first constructors' world championship and ended the six-year hold on that championship by Ferrari.
On October 21 to celebrate winning the Constructors' title and to mark the end of the V10 era in Formula One, Renault engineers at Viry-Châtillon used an RS-25 V10 engine to "play" Queen's We Are the Champions.
Future
Questions have been raised regarding Renault's commitment to its Formula One team, particularly with the appointment of Carlos Ghosn as CEO in 2005. Ghosn has a reputation as a ruthless businessman, nicknamed "Le Cost Cutter". However at the 2005 French Grand Prix Ghosn set out his policy regarding the company's involvement in motorsport:
- "We are not in Formula One out of habit or tradition. We're here to show our talent and that we can do it properly... Formula One is a cost if you don't get the results. Formula One is an investment if you do have them and know how to exploit them.
In short he will continue Renault's investment in F1 as long as the team is successful and can use the resulting publicity for wider commercial gain. Conversly if the team is unsuccessful in future it can be expected that Ghosn will withdraw resources from the sport.
Team partners
Correct as of 2005 season. Does not include large number of suppliers and secondary sponsors.
- Mild Seven (Japan Tobacco) — Principal "title" sponsor.
- Elf (Total) — Lubricants etc.
- Michelin — Tyres
- Hanjin — Shipping/transportation
- Telefónica — Telecommunications
- i-mode — Mobile internet services
- Guru — Italian fashion label
- Chronotech — Watch maker
- Mutua Madrileña — Insurance
Renault F1 has a research relationship with Boeing, the aim of which is "to investigate technology collaboration projects of mutual interest." Similar relationships include that of McLaren and BAE Systems.
External links
- Renault F1 Team's official website
- Boeing Company. (June 17, 2004). Boeing, Renault F1 Team to Collaborate on Technology Development. Press Release.
| Constructors and drivers competing in the 2005 Formula One championship: | |||||||||
| Ferrari | BAR | Renault | Williams | McLaren | Sauber | Red Bull | Toyota | Jordan | Minardi |
| 1 M Schumacher 2 Barrichello | 3 Button 4 Sato | 5 Alonso 6 Fisichella | 7 Webber 8 Pizzonia | 9 Räikkönen 10 Montoya | 11 Villeneuve 12 Massa | 14 Coulthard 15 Klien | 16 Trulli 17 R Schumacher | 18 Monteiro 19 Karthikeyan | 20 Doornbos 21 Albers |
