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Renault was in on motor racing right from the beginning, cutting its teeth in the road races held in the closing years of the 19th century. However, the massive French manufacturer has a peculiar Formula 1 history.
A late entry
Marques such as Ferrari and Alfa Romeo have long racing histories, constant in the case of Ferrari. But for Renault the decision to enter the world championship in 1977 was risky, especially with its 1.5-litre turbocharged engine against 3-litre normally aspirated opposition.
Formula 1 was the domain of British manufacturers which used customer engines and gearboxes. So, for a company the size of Renault to do less than win would be disastrous. Since 3-litre engines were introduced in 1966, an equivalence formula existed which allowed a 1.5-litre turbo engine. It was never regarded as a feasible proposition, but Renault had gained a lot of turbo experience in sports car racing.
Debut in 1977
The Renault RS01 appeared at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1977, with Jean-Pierre Jabouille at the wheel. Initially, the Formula 1 project was hampered by Renault's resources being split with its sports car programme and preoccupation with winning the Le Mans 24 Hours. Once that was achieved in 1978, the Formula 1 project became more serious.
Victory is sweet
Renault introduced the RS10 ground-effect cars at Monte Carlo in 1979 and Jabouille scored a popular first win in the French Grand Prix at Dijon-Prenois later that year, a race that was also memorable for a crazy last-lap tussle between Villeneuve's Ferrari and Arnoux in the second Renault.
The Renault turbos were devastatingly effective in the high altitude of Kyalami, where the normally aspirated cars were left gasping for breath. Arnoux won in South Africa and Brazil in 1980 and it was soon obvious that turbocharging was the way to go.
But Renault had a head start and for 1981 it signed the brilliant young Alain Prost. Immediately the Frenchman was competitive and won three races, including his home Grand Prix, but lost out to Nelson Piquet's Cosworth-powered Brabham in the championship. By 1982 BMW and Ferrari had turbo engines and were closing the gap.
The Ferraris looked probable champions, but Villeneuve was killed in a qualifying accident at Zolder and team-mate Didier Pironi ended his career when he smashed his legs after colliding with Prost's Renault in poor visibility at Hockenheim. Williams driver Keke Rosberg wound up champion with a single victory, and this was the last time that a normally aspirated car would get the better of the turbos.
A wasted opportunity
The 1983 season looked to be Renault's year. Prost had three wins and a 14-point lead in the championship when the circus got to Austria, but he warned that Piquet and the Brabham-BMW had overtaken the Renault team's level of development.
The title race went right to the final round, the South African Grand Prix, with Renault sending many staff and journalists along in anticipation of Prost's crowning glory. But Prost was out early on and Piquet's Brabham strolled home third to win the championship, as team-mate Riccardo Patrese won the race. Prost spoke out and said what he thought, promptly getting his marching orders as a result. He then joined McLaren and enjoyed the best years of his career.
Starting to struggle
Renault took on Derek Warwick and Patrick Tambay for 1984. Warwick led in Brazil, but he tangled with Lauda and retired with suspension problems. With rival engines now just as good, Renault was facing a tough time and there were no more wins as McLaren's MP4 dominated, ironically with Prost aboard. After another struggling season when both of its drivers dubbed their chassis "tow-car of the year", Renault quit Formula 1.
A winning relationship
Renault continued as an engine supplier from 1986 and began its association with Williams in 1989. Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost took consecutive drivers' titles in 1992 and 1993, while Williams-Renault won the constructors' title three years in a row from 1992 to 1994. Benetton-Renault was top in 1995, thanks to Schumacher's efforts, before the Williams-Renault combo returned to the top of the tree in 1996 and 1997.
The unthinkable happened at the end of 1997: Renault pulled the plug and quit Formula 1. The reason given for quitting while still winning was that people expected the Renault-powered cars to win and gave them no credit anymore for doing so, only pointing out their failures when others won.
However, a specially set-up company, Mecachrome, was established to take over the engines, albeit supplying them on a commercial basis rather than for free. These failed to shine in 1998 and fared little better when renamed Supertecs in 1999. The engines continued to power Benetton and Arrows in 2000. Early that year Renault announced that they would come back as an official works team in 2002 after buying out Benetton.
Talent will out
F1 teams can often seem like oil tankers when you try to turn them round. New Renault boss Flavio Briatore and technical wizard Mike Gascoyne wouldn't necessarily agree. While Renault struggled initially to get their radical new V12 engine to fly by 2003 they were a force to be reckoned with. With Jarno Trulli and a dazzling new Spaniard Fernando Alonso in the cockpit they positively stormed to fourth place in the constructors championship with 88points. Alonso became the youngest ever winner in Hungary. Gascoyne now departs for Toyota and new engine changes are afoot but the team have displayed that they are a serious player in motorsport's big league.
Drivers: Rubens Barrichello | Gerhard Berger | David Coultard | Giancarlo Fisichella | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Mika Hakkinen | Eddie Irvine | Olivier Panis | Michael Schumacher | Ralf Schumacher | Jacques Villeneuve
Teams: Ferrari | Jordan | McLaren | Renault | Williams
