Although Renault has the distinction of having won the very first grand prix ever – the 1906 French GP, the company did not participate in the Formula 1 World Championship until 1977. When they finally did, the sport would never be the same.
The Yellow Teapot
A clause within the F1 rulebook allowed teams to use 1500CC super-charged engines. The Renault engineers did their sums and determined that such an engine would have a performance advantage over the traditional normally aspirated 3 liter engine used by every team in F1.
On July 16th, 1977 Renault introduced their first F1 car. Painted in bright yellow corporate colors and without an engine cover, the ungainly machine was disparagingly dubbed the Yellow Teapot by rival teams. Retiring after only 16 laps, few felt that there was much to be concerned about.
Over the next two seasons, Renault endured countless engine failures as components expired under the intense heat and stress of the turbo-charged engine. Each part was examined, re-engineered and re-tried. Finally, after enormous effort and cost, Renault won their first Grand Prix on July 1st, 1979 in France. The turbo era had begun.
The Turbo Wars
With their turbo concept proven, Renault found itself in a race with Ferrari, BMW and Porsche to become the first turbo champions. In 1983 it was obvious that a turbo racecar would win the championship, it was just not certain who. Renault went into the final race confident of their inevitable victory only to be humiliated by Brabham-BMW. Second place would be their best result.
Manufacturer involvement had not only pushed the technical envelope to the extreme but it had also driven up costs. When Renault ran into financial troubles in 1985, the company had little choice but to scrap the F1 program and start selling its engines to other teams. Renault left F1 altogether in 1986.
The Williams/Benetton Partnerships
Renault returned to Formula 1 in 1989 but only as an engine supplier. The company developed a 3 liter V10 engine that when combined with the Adrian Newey designed cars for the Williams Team dominated the series.
The exception to that domination was a Renault powered Benetton Team. The French company found itself in the awkward position of having to supply two fiercely competitive teams battling each other for the World Championship.
So dominant were the Renault engines that from 1992 until the 1997, they would power all but one driver to the World Championship and win every constructor’s trophy.
Despite its unprecedented success the French company left F1 once more at the end of 1997 though several teams continued using the Renault engine through a third party company.
Return to Formula 1
Renault purchased the Benetton team in 2000 and changed its name to Renault F1 in 2002. The team is unique in that it builds its engines in France and the chassis in the UK. It is a combination that seems to work – the team won its first race in 2003 on its way to the top of the sport in 2005.
Facing the might of McLaren and Ferrari, Renault and driver Fernando Alonso won back to back World Championships and Constructors’ trophies in 2005 and 2006. It was mission accomplished for the French squad nearly 30 years after it set out on its journey to conquer Formula 1.
In that time, they not only conquered it, they changed it beyond all recognition.
References
Formula One Administration. Official Review of the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship, USA, SRO Sports Entertainment, 2006.
Henry, Alan & Tremayne, David. The World of Formula 1, Hamlyn Publishing Group, London, 1989.
