Martle's Place

RENAULT

After supplying engines to the Benetton team for a number of years, Renault were given the green light by its board to purchase the team and in 2002, Renault hit the track for the first time under their own name since 1985.

Renault's first foray into Formula One came in 1977 and with it came the introduction of the turbo charged engine. Making it debut in the official championship (Renault raced prior to the inception of the championship in 1950) the yellow 1.5 litre turbo powered RS01 qualified 21st at Silverstone with Jean-Pierre Jabouille behind the wheel. The Renault team failed to finish at Silverstone and would retire from the other four races contested that year, but with the new turbo engine, Renault had kicked off a whole new era in the sport.

The team persisted with the then unreliable turbo engine and at Dijon in 1979; Jabouille took Renault's first victory in the RS11 on the way to sixth position in the championship. Three victories would follow in the 1980 with Alain Prost joining the team in 1981 from McLaren and helping scoring two of Renault's three wins.

Renault finished second in the championship in 1983 with Prost missing out on the title by just two points from Nelson Piquet in the Brabham BMW. Prost would move on to McLaren the following season and Renault began to slide.

After finishing fifth and seventh in the championship in 1984 and 1985, Renault had competed in 123 Grand Prix, recording an impressive tally of 31 Pole Positions and 15 race wins. Pulling out of the sport for the time being the team had not won the title and would have to wait until 2005 to achieve its ultimate goal.

Renault returned as an engine supplier in 1989 with Williams supplying the squad with its fabulous V10 powerplant and would achieve multiple championships with the team and later with Benetton. However, 2002 saw Renault return to Grand Prix racing under its own name having taken over the Benetton team.

Jenson Button continued with the outfit alongside Jarno Trulli. A few strong performances scattered throughout the 17-race calendar saw them move up to fourth place overall, Team principal Flavio Briatore decided to replace Button with rising Spanish star Fernando Alonso for 2003.

Renault would finish the 2003 season fourth in the Constructors' championship once again with Alonso taking his first victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The driver line up remained unchanged for the start of the 2004 season with Trulli taking a textbook victory around the streets of Monte Carlo.

It would be a bitter-sweet season for Trulli as he recorded the team's single win of the season but he and Briatore fell out and by the end of the season, the Italian was racing with Toyota. Jacques Villeneuve was drafted in for the final races of the year but made little impact while the team went one better than the previous two years by finishing third in the title race.

2005 was the season that Briatore's plans all came together. Armed with the effective R25 chassis and teamed up with Giancarlo Fisichella, Alonso secured seven wins and claimed the Drivers' title from Kimi Raikkonen. The season finale in China also saw Renault beat season-long rivals McLaren Mercedes to the Constructors' Championship. It had been a while in the making, but Renault had finally achieved its ultimate ambition. Renault had retained all of its key players and started the 2006 in dominant style.

Three straight wins at the start of the season indicated the raw pace of the R26 package. The rule changed and the move to 2.4 litre V8 engines seemed to do little to slow Renault down and at mid-season it seemed the titles were all but done and dusted. However, some controversial re-evaluation of the rule saw Renault loss its Mass Damper system that they had first introduced at the end of 2005. This technical change combined with a strong challenge from Ferrari ensured that the title went right down to the wire.

Alonso's first half of the season was stunning, winning six of the first nine races. However, some bad luck and errors ensured that he would win just one more round and a critical race that was too. Heading to Suzuka for the penultimate race of the season, Alonso was tied with Schumacher in the championship standings but the Ferrari V8 failure at Suzuka took the pressure off and next time out in Brazil, Alonso took the drivers' title and Renault the constructors' title.

Alonso quit Renault for McLaren in 2007. Giancarlo Fisichella had not proven to be a regular race winner and with rookie team-mate Heikki Kovalainen being promoted from test to race driver, it was not surprising that the team struggled in 2007.

Renault had enjoyed a close relationship with tyre supplier Michelin, but with the series moving to spec-Bridgestone rubber, the team scored just one podium over the whole season.

Fisichella's season started relatively strongly but tailed off mid-season while Kovalainen had a tough start to his Formula One career but put in a strong second half of the year culminating in a fine second position at the rain hit Japanese Grand Prix.

The team are regrouping for the forthcoming season and have regained the talents of Alonso following his turbulent single season at McLaren. Alonso will be partnered by Nelson Piquet who steps up to the race seat from his test role with the team. It remains to be seen if the team can turn around its poor 2007 performance…