Renault F1 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking over this team in 2000. This team won Constructors' and Drivers' titles in and . At the start of the 2011 season, following the Genii Capital acquisition of a majority stake in the team and the acquisition by Lotus Cars of a twenty-five percent holding, the then Renault F1 team was rebranded as Lotus Renault GP. Since Renault no longer own the team, there are plans to use Lotus rather than Renault as the team's constructor/chassis name from the start of the 2012 season. The permission from the Formula One Commission to rename the team is pending approval from World Motorsports Council.

Toleman and Benetton

The team can trace its ancestry back to the Toleman

Toleman

Toleman Motosport was a Formula One constructor based in the UK. It was active between 1981 and 1985 and attended 70 Grands Prix.-Origins:In the 1970s, businessmen and motorsport fans Ted Toleman and Alex Hawkridge began their involvement in various car racing formulae in the UK. Ted was also noted...

team which raced in F1 for the first time in 1981. The team became the Benetton

Benetton Formula

Benetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from to . The team was owned by the Benetton family who run a worldwide chain of clothing stores of the same name. In 2000 the team was purchased by Renault, but competed as Benetton for...

team in 1986 following its purchase by the Benetton family

Benetton family

Four members of the Italian Benetton family founded the Benetton Group S.p.A. fashion company in 1965. The three brothers and one sister were all born in Treviso, Veneto, Italy. Their father owned a bicycle shop...

The Renault years

Renault purchased Benetton Formula Limited for $120 million on 16 March 2000, to return to Formula One. Renault maintained the Benetton name for the and the seasons. When reporting the purchase the International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...

commented that "the team will not race under the Renault name until it is ready to win and reap the marketing benefits." It was not until 2002 that this name change occurred.

2002 season

In , Benetton were rebranded as Renault F1 and contested the season with drivers Jarno Trulli

Jarno Trulli

Jarno Trulli is an Italian Formula One racing driver. He has been a regular in Formula One since 1997, driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault and Toyota. He won the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix for Renault, his only Grand Prix victory to date. He is known for being a qualification expert...

and Jenson Button

Jenson Button

Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British...

who scored 23 points during the season.

2003 season

Despite outscoring his teammate during 2002, Button was dropped by Renault in . His replacement was Spain's Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....

, who had been impressive as a test driver the previous year. Alonso won the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix

2003 Hungarian Grand Prix

The 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on August 24, 2003 at the Hungaroring. It was won by Renault's Fernando Alonso from pole, becoming at the time the youngest ever driver to win a Grand Prix, beating the previous record of Bruce McLaren...

, the first time Renault had won a Grand Prix since the 1983 Austrian Grand Prix

1983 Austrian Grand Prix

The 1983 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Österreichring on August 14, 1983.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings...

. Renault was innovative during this period producing non-standard designs such as the 111° 10-cylinder engine for the 2003 RS23 which was designed to effectively lower the center of gravity of the engine and thus improve the car's handling. This eventually proved too unreliable and heavy, so Renault returned to a more conventional development route.

2004 season

In , the team were contenders for second place in the Constructors' Championship. Trulli won the Monaco Grand Prix

2004 Monaco Grand Prix

The 2004 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on May 23, 2004 at the Circuit de Monaco.__FORCETOC__-Summary:One of the most eventful races of the 2004 season, the Monaco Grand Prix saw Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher qualify in fourth place...

, but his relationship with Renault (particularly with team principal and Trulli's ex-manager Flavio Briatore

Flavio Briatore

Flavio Briatore is an Italian businessman. During the 1980s, he was convicted for multiple counts of fraud, receiving two prison sentences, only one of which he served. As a fugitive from Italy, he set up restaurants and then a number of successful Benneton franchises in the Virgin Islands and the...

) deteriorated after he was consistently off the pace in the latter half of the year, and made claims of favouritism in the team towards Alonso (though the two teammates themselves remained friendly).

Commentators regularly point to the French Grand Prix

2004 French Grand Prix

The 2004 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 4, 2004 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours. This race has become famous for a 4 stop strategy used by Michael Schumacher to beat Fernando Alonso's Renault.__FORCETOC__- Qualifying :-Race:...

as the final straw for Briatore, where Trulli was overtaken by Rubens Barrichello

Rubens Barrichello

Rubens Gonçalves "Rubinho" Barrichello is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He is currently racing for Williams F1.Barrichello has scored the seventh highest points total in Formula One history. Barrichello drove for Ferrari from to , as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable...

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 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 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve

Jacques Villeneuve

Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve, , is a Canadian musician and automobile racing driver. He is the son of the late Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve, and is the namesake of his uncle...

for the final three races. However, Villeneuve – away from F1 racing for almost an entire season and struggling to acclimatise quickly to racing at the premier level – did not impress, and the team finished third behind BAR

British American Racing

British American Racing was a Formula One constructor that competed in the sport from 1999 to 2005. BAR began by acquiring Tyrrell, and used Supertec engines for their first year...

2005 season

Giancarlo Fisichella

Giancarlo Fisichella , also known as Fisico, Giano or Fisi, is an Italian racing driver. He has driven in Formula One for Minardi, Jordan, Benetton, Sauber, Renault, Force India and Ferrari. Nowadays, he drives for AF Corse's GT2 Ferrari in various sportscar events...

was Trulli's replacement for the season. He took advantage of a rain-affected qualifying session to win the first race of the season, the Australian Grand Prix

2005 Australian Grand Prix

The 2005 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit on 6 March 2005.-Practice:The first practice session of the 2005 Australian Grand Prix was dominated by Vitantonio Liuzzi who was appearing at his first grand prix for Red Bull at their first race...

. Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....

then won the next three races to build a considerable lead in the Drivers' World Championship, thereby doing the same for Renault in the Constructors' championship. Meanwhile, Fisichella failed to finish several races. After the San Marino Grand Prix

2005 San Marino Grand Prix

The 2005 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One race held from April 22 to April 24, 2005 at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.-Pre-race:Vitantonio Liuzzi replaced Christian Klien in the second Red Bull car, for this and the next two races; after unanimous agreement between the teams, Klien was...

, Renault and Alonso's championship leads came under attack from a fast-but-fragile McLaren

McLaren

McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup...

-Mercedes team and Kimi Räikkönen respectively for the Drivers' Championship. McLaren took the lead of the Constructors' World Championship by securing a one-two finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix

2005 Brazilian Grand Prix

The 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on September 25, 2005, at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo, Brazil.-Qualifying:...

, but that was to be the race in which Alonso secured the Drivers' title, becoming the youngest ever driver to do so. This achievement was followed by a win in China to secure the Constructors' World Championship for Renault after McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya

Juan Pablo Montoya

Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán is a Colombian race car driver known internationally for participating and winning in Formula One and CART race competitions. He has enjoyed great success. Currently, he competes in NASCAR, driving the #42 Target Chevrolet Impala for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in the Sprint...

's car was badly damaged by a drain cover coming loose on the track. This broke Ferrari

Scuderia Ferrari

Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

's six-year stranglehold on that title. It was the first time Renault had won the title as a manufacturer, and Renault became only the second French constructor (after the triumph of Matra

Matra

Mécanique Aviation Traction or Matra was a French company covering a wide range of activities mainly related to automobile, bicycles, aeronautics and weaponry. In 1994, it became a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group and now operates under that name.Matra was owned by the Floirat family...

in ) to win the title.

2006 season

Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....

and Giancarlo Fisichella

Giancarlo Fisichella

were retained for 2006, while test driver Franck Montagny

Franck Montagny

Franck Montagny is a French motor racing driver. He briefly raced for the Super Aguri Formula One team in 2006.-Early career:...

was replaced by Heikki Kovalainen

Heikki Kovalainen

Heikki Johannes Kovalainen is a Finnish Formula One racing driver who spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with British based team McLaren and the 2010 and 2011 seasons with Team Lotus....

. The team's 2006 contender, the R26 – featuring a seven speed gearbox made of titanium

Titanium

Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....

, was unveiled at a launch event on 31 January.

Alonso won the opening Bahrain Grand Prix

2006 Bahrain Grand Prix

The 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix was the first round of the 2006 Formula One World Championship, held on 12 March 2006 at the Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain.-Qualifying:...

as well as the Australian Grand Prix

2006 Australian Grand Prix

The 2006 Australian Grand Prix was the third race of the 2006 Formula One World Championship. It was held on the weekend of 31 March–2 April 2006 at Albert Park, Melbourne...

and finished second in Malaysia

2006 Malaysian Grand Prix

The 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix was the second Formula One Grand Prix of the 2006 season. The race took place on 19 March 2006.Qualifying on Saturday saw the new rules being put to the test, as David Coulthard, Felipe Massa, Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello and Ralf Schumacher were all forced...

behind teammate Fisichella to claim Renault's first one-two finish since René Arnoux

René Arnoux

René Alexandre Arnoux is a retired French racing driver who is a veteran of 12 Formula One seasons...

and Alain Prost

Alain Prost

Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is a French racing driver. A four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion, Prost has won more titles than any driver except for Juan Manuel Fangio , and Michael Schumacher . From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix...

in 1982. Alonso took two more second places, and then wins at his home grand prix in Spain, and at the Monaco Grand Prix

2006 Monaco Grand Prix

The 2006 Monaco Grand Prix was the seventh race of the 2006 Formula One World Championship. It took place on the weekend of May 25–28th 2006 at the Circuit de Monaco. Prior to the race, Renault's Fernando Alonso had finished on the podium in all of the previous six Grands Prix, winning three of...

. Fisichella took 8th, 6th and 3rd place finishes in the San Marino Grand Prix

2006 San Marino Grand Prix

The 2006 San Marino Grand Prix was the fourth race of the 2006 Formula One World Championship. It was held on the weekend of April 21–April 23, 2006 at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola in Italy....

, European Grand Prix

2006 European Grand Prix

The 2006 European Grand Prix was the fifth race of the 2006 Formula One World Championship. It was held on the weekend of May 5–7, 2006 at the Nürburgring. Franck Montagny made his Formula One debut, becoming the first French F1 driver in 18 months....

and the Spanish Grand Prix.

The team celebrated its 200th Grand Prix at Silverstone, which was won by Alonso. As the season progressed to its North American stint, Alonso won the Canadian Grand Prix

2006 Canadian Grand Prix

The 2006 Canadian Grand Prix was the ninth race of the 2006 Formula One World Championship. It took place on the weekend of June 23–25th 2006 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada....

in Montreal, Canada. At the U.S Grand Prix

2006 United States Grand Prix

The 2006 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana, USA on July 2, 2006 . The race, which was the tenth round of the 2006 Formula One season, was won by Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher....

, Ferrari had a distinct performance advantage over the whole weekend. However, Renault were the fastest of all the Michelin

Michelin

Michelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...

runners. Fisichella finished 3rd, while Alonso finished 5th.

At the French Grand Prix

2006 French Grand Prix

The 2006 French Grand Prix was the eleventh race of the 2006 Formula One season. It was held on July 14 – July 16, 2006 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours...

, Renault were expected to be faster than Ferrari, but Ferrari again had the advantage. Alonso ran third for most of the race, unable to challenge the Ferraris of Schumacher and Massa. However, a tactical switch to a two stop strategy enabled him to pass Massa and finish second.

On 21 July 2006 the FIA banned the use of mass damper systems, developed and first used by Renault and subsequently used by 7 other teams, including Ferrari. Flavio Briatore claimed that McLaren

McLaren

had raised the issue of the system's legality with the FIA. The system used a spring-mounted mass in the nose cone to reduce the sensitivity of the car to vibration. This was particularly effective in corners and over kerbs to keep the tyres in closer contact to the track surface than they would otherwise be. However race stewards at the German Grand Prix

2006 German Grand Prix

The Großer Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland was the twelfth race of the 2006 Formula One season. It was held on 28 July–30 at the Hockenheimring. The Grand Prix weekend got off to a controversial start when the mass damper system fitted by Renault was deemed legal by the FIA appointed stewards,...

deemed the system legal. The FIA announced its intention to appeal that decision and Renault announced they would not race with the system for fear of retrospective punishment if the appeal was upheld. Renault's performance at the German Grand Prix was one of their worst of the season; however, the team blamed blistering of their Michelin tyres rather than the loss of the mass damper system. The FIA International Court of Appeal met in Paris on 22 August 2006, to examine the appeal made by the FIA against the decision of the German Grand Prix stewards. The Court ruled that use of the device known as a Tuned Mass Damper is an infringement of Article 3.15 of the Formula One Technical Regulations.

Points scored in the Brazilian Grand Prix

2006 Brazilian Grand Prix

The 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 22, 2006 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo. It was the 18th and final race of the 2006 Formula One season...

secured the constructor's championship for Renault in 2006.

On 16 October 2006, Renault announced that the Dutch banking giant ING

ING Group

The ING Group is a global financial institution offering retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, asset management, and insurance services. ING is the Dutch member of the Inter-Alpha Group of Banks, a cooperative consortium of 11 prominent European banks...

would replace Mild Seven

Mild Seven

Mild Seven is a brand of cigarettes produced by Japan Tobacco. Mild Seven cigarettes are the third widest smoked cigarette in the world, behind Marlboro and Camel. Manufactured originally in Tokyo, by Japanese Tobacco Inc. it has been a top seller since its creation in 1977...

as title sponsor for three years starting in .

2007 season

Renault confirmed Giancarlo Fisichella

Giancarlo Fisichella

and Heikki Kovalainen

Heikki Kovalainen

Heikki Johannes Kovalainen is a Finnish Formula One racing driver who spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with British based team McLaren and the 2010 and 2011 seasons with Team Lotus....

as their race drivers for 2007 with Nelson Piquet, Jr. and Ricardo Zonta

Ricardo Zonta

Ricardo Luiz Zonta is a Brazilian racing driver.-Early career:Born in Curitiba, Brazil, Zonta began karting in 1987, winning his first race shortly thereafter. The following year, he was runner-up for the Curitiba Karting Championship, and in 1991, he won the title...

as test drivers. The car for 2007, the R27

Renault R27

The Renault R27 is a Formula One racing car, used in the 2007 Formula One season.It made its first public outing on the 16th January 2007 at Jerez circuit after completing a short first test at Silverstone the week before.-Aerodynamics:...

, was unveiled on 24 January 2007, and bore a new yellow, blue, orange and white livery in deference to the corporate colours of ING. Renault engines were also supplied to the Red Bull Racing

Red Bull Racing

Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the...

team for the 2007 season.

Renault struggled in comparison to their form in previous seasons in Australia

2007 Australian Grand Prix

The 2007 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 18 March 2007 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. It was the first race of the 2007 Formula One season. The race, contested over 58 laps, was won by Kimi Räikkönen for the Ferrari team after...

, with Giancarlo Fisichella

Giancarlo Fisichella

finishing the race in 5th place. Rookie Heikki Kovalainen

Heikki Kovalainen

Heikki Johannes Kovalainen is a Finnish Formula One racing driver who spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with British based team McLaren and the 2010 and 2011 seasons with Team Lotus....

struggled even more than the Italian, spinning his car as he chased Toyota's Ralf Schumacher

Ralf Schumacher

Ralf Schumacher is a German racing driver, and the younger brother of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher...

and ending up in 10th place. Results did not improve until the start of the European season, although both drivers finished in the points in the next race at Malaysia

2007 Malaysian Grand Prix

The IX Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, held on 8 April 2007 at the Sepang International Circuit and the second race of the 2007 Formula One season. Reigning world champion Fernando Alonso won the race from second on the grid, with McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton...

. Heikki Kovalainen struggled in Bahrain

2007 Bahrain Grand Prix

The 2007 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix is a Formula One motor race and is the third round of the 2007 Formula One season. It took place on the weekend of the 13–15 April at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain....

too, although the gap between himself and Fisichella at the end of the race was not as great as was seen at Melbourne, with Fisichella finishing only 8th. The team's pace began to pick up in Barcelona, with both drivers making it into Q3, setting competitive lap times in the race (4th fastest lap for Kovalainen) and looking set for 5th and 8th, only to be hampered by an identical problem on both fuel rigs, forcing both drivers to make extra pitstops which dropped them back to 7th and 9th.

On 8 November 2007 the FIA

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile

The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...

accused Renault F1 of having McLaren

McLaren

F1 technical information in their possession. According to the charge, the information in hand "included the layout and critical dimensions of the McLaren car as well as details of McLaren's fuelling system, gear assembly, hydraulic control system and suspension". The hearing on this matter took place in Monaco

Monaco

Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...

on 6 December 2007. The charge faced by Renault F1 – breaching of article 151c of the Sporting Regulations – was the same as that faced by McLaren earlier on in 2007 in the espionage controversy involving Ferrari & McLaren

2007 Formula One espionage controversy

The 2007 Formula One espionage controversy, also known as "Spygate," or "Stepneygate" involves allegations that the McLaren Formula One team was passed confidential technical information from the Ferrari team, and that the Renault F1 team was passed confidential technical information from the...

. The FIA found Renault F1 in breach of article 151c but did not penalise the team.

2008 season

It was announced on 10 December 2007 that Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....

had signed with Renault F1 for . Alonso drove alongside promoted test driver Nelson Piquet, Jr., and was believed to have secured number one status within the team. The team started 2008 in a similar manner as the year before; Fernando Alonso managed to garner fourth at the opening Australian Grand Prix

2008 Australian Grand Prix

The 2008 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 16 March 2008 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. It was the first race of the 2008 Formula One season. The race, contested over 58 laps, was won by Lewis Hamilton for the McLaren team after...

as a result of a mistake from previous Renault employee Heikki Kovalainen. However, form was still short of 2006 by a large degree over the first half of the 2008 season. The team brought new parts to the Spanish Grand Prix

2008 Spanish Grand Prix

The 2008 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on April 27, 2008 at the Circuit de Catalunya, Spain. It was the fourth race of the 2008 Formula One season. The race, contested over 66 laps, was won by Kimi Räikkönen for the Ferrari team after starting from pole position...

, including a new engine-cover, dubbed the "Shark-fin", similar to the one introduced by Red Bull on their RB4

Red Bull RB4

The Red Bull RB4 is a Formula One racing car with which the Red Bull Racing team competed in the 2008 Formula One season.-Launch:The RB4 is the team's second Adrian Newey-designed car; this car has had the help of Geoff Willis whom the team had recruited from Honda in 2007...

. Alonso managed to qualify on the front row for that race on a light fuel-load, yet retired with an engine-failure halfway through. Alonso's front row qualifying performance in Spain was a rare moment of achievement from the former world champion. Both cars retired at the Canadian Grand Prix

2008 Canadian Grand Prix

The 2008 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 8, 2008 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada. It was the 7th race of the 2008 Formula One season. The race, contested over 70 laps, was won by Robert Kubica for the BMW Sauber team after starting from...

and Nelson Piquet Jnr., who retired from six of the first nine races, failed to score until the French Grand Prix

2008 French Grand Prix

The 2008 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 22, 2008 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, France. This race is the last French Grand Prix. It was the eighth race of the 2008 Formula One season...

.

The German Grand Prix

2008 German Grand Prix

The 2008 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on July 20, 2008 at the Hockenheimring, Hockenheim, Germany. It was the 10th race of the 2008 Formula One season and was contested over 67 laps. It was won by Lewis Hamilton for the McLaren team after starting from pole...

heralded a change in the team's fortune. Piquet Jr. benefited from the deployment of the safety car to secure Renault's first podium of the year with second. Both drivers scored at the Hungarian Grand Prix

2008 Hungarian Grand Prix

The 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on August 3, 2008, at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, near Budapest, Hungary. It was the 11th race of the 2008 Formula One season. Contested over 70 laps, the race was won by Heikki Kovalainen for the McLaren team, from a second...

although they failed to pick up anything at Valencia two weeks later. Two fourth places for Alonso in Belgium and Italy were a prelude to the Singapore Grand Prix

2008 Singapore Grand Prix

The 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, formally known as the 2008 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, was a Formula One race held on 28 September 2008 at the newly built Marina Bay Street Circuit in Marina Bay, Singapore...

, in which Alonso profited from the early crash of his team mate (later revealed to be a deliberate crash to aid the Spaniard. See: Renault Formula One crash controversy

Renault Formula One crash controversy

The Renault Formula One crash controversy, dubbed Crashgate by some in the media, is a sporting scandal perpetrated by the Renault F1 team who ordered Nelson Piquet, Jr...

) to claim his first victory of the season, and Renault's first since the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix

2006 Japanese Grand Prix

The 2006 Japanese Grand Prix was the seventeenth race of the 2006 Formula One season. It was held between 6–8 October at Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka. It was won by Fernando Alonso, his last win for the Renault team before he moved to McLaren the following season...

. This victory made Alonso and Renault the first ever winners of a formula one race held under floodlights. Renault underlined their return to the front at the subsequent Japanese Grand Prix

2008 Japanese Grand Prix

The 2008 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 12, 2008, at the Fuji Speedway, Oyama, Japan. It was the 16th race of the 2008 Formula One season. The race, contested over 67 laps, was won by Fernando Alonso for the Renault team from fourth position on the starting...

, in which Alonso steered clear of Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire...

's first-corner mistake to record another win. Piquet Jr. finished fourth in the team's best performance of the season. A further double points finish in China

2008 Chinese Grand Prix

The 2008 Chinese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 19, 2008 at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, China. It was the 17th and penultimate race of the 2008 Formula One season. The race, contested over 56 laps, was won by Lewis Hamilton for the McLaren team after...

was followed by Alonso's second place finish at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix

2008 Brazilian Grand Prix

The 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on November 2, 2008, at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Interlagos, in São Paulo, Brazil. It was the 18th and final race of the 2008 Formula One season. The race, contested over 71 laps, was won by Ferrari driver Felipe Massa...

. The Renault R28

Renault R28

The Renault R28 is a Formula One racing car, with which Renault F1 contested the 2008 Formula One season.-Launch: Similarly to Honda, Renault arrived at Valencia with their contender a week before its official launch, giving the first laps of the R28 to Fernando Alonso on the January 21 2008...

was believed by many insiders to have overtaken BMW Sauber by season's end as the closest challenger to the domination of the sport by Ferrari and McLaren.

2009 season

Renault entered the season with high hopes of challenging for both world titles. Although Alonso managed four points finishes in the first six races, it was soon clear that this target was unrealistic. By mid-season it appeared as though Renault were making progress, with Alonso setting the fastest lap in Germany

2009 German Grand Prix

The 2009 German Grand Prix was the ninth race of the 2009 Formula One season. It was held on July 12, 2009 at the Nürburgring in Nürburg, Germany; the earliest German Grand Prix on the calendar, since 1926....

and securing pole position in Hungary

2009 Hungarian Grand Prix

The 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on July 26, 2009 at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, north of Budapest, Hungary. It was the tenth race of the 2009 Formula One season. The race, contested over 70 laps, was won by world champion Lewis Hamilton for McLaren-Mercedes,...

, albeit on a light fuel load. However, Alonso was forced to retire early in Hungary due to a fuel pump failure, after a front wheel came loose as it was incorrectly fitted at his first pit-stop. At Belgium

2009 Belgian Grand Prix

The 2009 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, held on August 30, 2009 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps near the town of Spa, Belgium. It was the 12th race of the 2009 Formula One season. The race was contested over 44 laps, with an overall race distance of 308.2 km...

Alonso again looked like scoring a podium for the team, but had to retire with another problem with one of his wheels which was damaged as a result of a first-lap clash with Adrian Sutil

Adrian Sutil

-Biography:Sutil is the son of professional musicians Monika, a German, and Jorge, a Uruguayan. He has two brothers named Daniel and Raphael. He weighs 165 pounds and is 6 feet tall. A talented pianist, Sutil started karting at 14 before moving up to Swiss Formula Ford 1800 in 2002...

. Piquet performed poorly in the first half of the season and was replaced by Romain Grosjean

Romain Grosjean

Romain Grosjean is a racing driver, who holds dual nationality from France and Switzerland, but competes under a French racing licence. He was the 2007 Formula Three Euroseries drivers' champion and the inaugural GP2 Asia Series champion and drove in Formula One in 2009...

for the last third of the season. Neither Piquet nor Grosjean managed to score a point. A podium in Singapore

2009 Singapore Grand Prix

The 2009 Singapore Grand Prix was the fourteenth race of the 2009 Formula One season. It was the second Singapore Grand Prix to be part of a Formula One Championship and the tenth Singapore Grand Prix overall. It was also the second Formula One race to be held at night...

was little consolation in what had been a frustrating and controversial season for the team.

Renault had been suspended for one race (the 2009 European Grand Prix) due to the incident involving Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....

's wheel not being fitted properly in the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix

2009 Hungarian Grand Prix

, however this has been overturned on appeal following a decision from the FIA on 17 August 2009.

On 4 August, Nelson Piquet, Jr. was told by Renault he would not continue driving for them for the rest of the season."I have received notice from Renault of its intention to stop me from driving for them in the current F1 season," read a statement on Piquet's website. Piquet had described the 2009 season

2009 Formula One season

The 2009 Formula One season was the 60th FIA Formula One World Championship season. The season took place over 17 rounds, and started with the on 29 March 2009. It ended on 1 November 2009 with the inaugural ....

as "the worst period of my career" and had criticised team boss Flavio Briatore

Flavio Briatore

. He was replaced by test driver Romain Grosjean

Romain Grosjean

as of the European Grand Prix

2009 European Grand Prix

The 2009 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, held on August 23, 2009 at the Valencia Street Circuit in Valencia, Spain. It was the 11th race of the 2009 Formula One season. The race was contested over 57 laps, an overall race distance of 303.9 km...

.

After his first podium of the year in Singapore, Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....

confirmed that he would be leaving Renault, moving to Scuderia Ferrari

Scuderia Ferrari

starting in 2010 and ending in 2012. Alonso stated he would end his career at the Italian giant, so it is unlikely he will return to the French team. Alonso was replaced by Polish driver Robert Kubica

Robert Kubica

Robert Józef Kubica is the first Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test driver to race driver during 2006...

.

Race fixing allegations
During the 2009 season, the actions of Renault F1 during the 2008 season were examined over alleged race fixing. The issue surrounded Nelson Piquet, Jr.'s crash during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix

2008 Singapore Grand Prix

which Renault team mate Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....

went on to win. At the time, Piquet, Jr. had characterised the incident as a simple mistake. After Piquet, Jr. left the Renault team in August 2009, allegations surfaced that this crash had been deliberate, to give an advantage to Alonso. Following an Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile

(FIA) investigation in which Piquet, Jr. stated he had been asked by Renault team principal Flavio Briatore

Flavio Briatore

and engineer Pat Symonds

Pat Symonds

Patrick Bruce Reith Symonds is the former Executive Director of Engineering of the Renault Formula One team....

to stage the crash, on 4 September 2009 Renault were charged with conspiracy and race fixing, and were due to face the FIA World Motor Sport Council

FIA World Motor Sport Council

The World Motor Sport Council is the most powerful body of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . It decides on rules and regulations for the FIA's various racing series, from karting to Formula One. Its membership is chosen by the FIA General Assembly, which contains representatives from...

in Paris on 21 September 2009. Initially, Renault and Briatore stated they would take legal action against Piquet, Jr. for making false allegations, however, before the 21 September meeting, Renault announced they would not contest the charges, and that Briatore and Symonds had left the team. Briatore contested his ban in a French court, which then overturned the ban so Briatore can be involved in any FIA-sanctioned motorsport.

2010: Genii Capital steps in

In 2010, Renault sold a majority stake in the team to Genii Capital

Genii Capital

Genii Capital is an international financial advisory and investment firm, which specialises in brand management, promising technologies, motorsport and a wide spectrum of venture capitalism activities. It was created in 2008, by two Luxembourger investors, Gerard Lopez and Eric Lux and has a...

, a Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

based investment company. However Renault still retained a 25% share in the team and continued as an engine supplier. Red Bull Racing

Red Bull Racing

confirmed they would be using Renault engines for . Robert Kubica

Robert Kubica

Robert Józef Kubica is the first Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test driver to race driver during 2006...

was signed as Alonso's replacement on 7 October 2009, but following the shareholding deal, Kubica and his manager Daniel Morelli asked for clarification on the management structure before committing to the outfit. However, in the new year, clarification was sought and Kubica was ready to commit to the outfit. On 31 January, Vitaly Petrov

Vitaly Petrov

Vitaly Alexandrovich Petrov is a Russian Formula One racing driver, currently driving for the Lotus Renault GP team. He is known as "Vyborg Rocket" in Russia. He is, to date, the only Russian to have competed in the Formula One World Championship....

was signed to be Kubica's team-mate, becoming Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

's first Formula One driver.

On 5 January, Eric Boullier

Éric Boullier

Éric René Boullier is a French motor racing engineer and manager, currently the team principal of the Lotus Renault GP Formula One team and vice chairman of FOTA.-Career:...

was announced as the new team principal at Renault, replacing Bob Bell, who will return to his former role as Technical Director.

At the opening round in Bahrain

2010 Bahrain Grand Prix

The 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 March 2010, at the Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the seventh Bahrain Grand Prix and the opening race of the 2010 Formula One season. It was the first time since 2006 that Bahrain had hosted the opening...

, Petrov retired with broken suspension while in the pit lane on lap 14, and Kubica finished in eleventh place.

Kubica took his first podium with the team, with a second place finish in Australia

2010 Australian Grand Prix

The 2010 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 28 March 2010 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. It was the second race of the 2010 Formula One season. The race was won by McLaren driver Jenson Button, the first back-to-back Australian Grand Prix winner...

. Petrov retired from the race, after spinning off the circuit.

Kubica finished the next 3 races in the points, a 4th place in Malaysia

2010 Malaysian Grand Prix

The 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix was the third round in the 2010 Formula One season. It was held in Sepang, Malaysia on April 4, 2010....

, 5th place in Shanghai

2010 Chinese Grand Prix

The 2010 Chinese Grand Prix was the fourth round in the 2010 Formula One season. It was held in Shanghai, China on April 18, 2010.The race was won by Jenson Button ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton....

, and 8th place in Barcelona

2010 Spanish Grand Prix

The 2010 Spanish Grand Prix was the fifth round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was held on May 9, 2010 at the Circuit de Catalunya...

. Petrov meanwhile scored his first points in Formula 1 in China, it could have been more, but he spun off whilst in fourth, yet he still recovered to bring some points home in 7th place.

After setting fast times on Thursday and the fastest time in Saturday's practice session, – followed by P2 in qualifying, Kubica finished in 3rd place in Monaco

2010 Monaco Grand Prix

The 2010 Monaco Grand Prix was the sixth round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was held in the streets of Monaco on 16 May 2010, and was won by Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber.-Background:...

, just 1.6 seconds behind the winner. Petrov retired in the closing laps of the race, but was still classified 13th.

Vitaly Petrov

Vitaly Petrov

's season has not lived up to Renault's expectations, out-qualified and out-raced by Robert Kubica

Robert Kubica

Robert Józef Kubica is the first Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test driver to race driver during 2006...

at almost every race weekend. However, Petrov did find considerable form at the when he outqualified Kubica for the first time and finished the race fifth. However, in Belgium

2010 Belgian Grand Prix

The 2010 Belgian Grand Prix was the 66th Belgian Grand Prix and the thirteenth round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Spa, Belgium on August 29, 2010. Williams driver Rubens Barrichello celebrated his 300th Grand Prix...

, Petrov made a mistake that ended with in a crash in the first session of qualifying when he explored the kerbs at Liege corner, claiming he was testing to see how wet they were and if they were usable on his flying lap. His failure to set a time placed him 24th on the grid, though a gearbox penalty to Sauber's Pedro de la Rosa

Pedro de la Rosa

Pedro Martínez de la Rosa is a Formula One driver who has participated in 87 Grands Prix for the Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren and Sauber teams, debuting on 7 March 1999, becoming one of very few drivers to score a point at his first race...

promoted him to 23rd. However, he went onto finish ninth, resulting in three consecutive points finishes in a row. In Singapore

2010 Singapore Grand Prix

The 2010 Singapore Grand Prix, officially the 2010 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, was the fifteenth round of the 2010 Formula One season, the third Singapore Grand Prix to be held as part of the Formula One World Championship and the eleventh overall. It was held at the Marina Bay Street...

, Petrov was running seventh before being pushed off by Williams'

WilliamsF1

Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head...

Nico Hülkenberg, whilst Kubica was forced to make an unscheduled stop late in the race with a puncture, before going on to recover almost every place he had lost.

Rumours had tipped World Champion Kimi Räikkönen

Kimi Räikkönen

Kimi Matias Räikkönen , nicknamed Iceman, is a Finnish racing driver, who will drive in Formula One for Lotus in . After nine seasons racing in Formula One, in which he took the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he competed in the World Rally Championship from 2009-2011.Räikkönen entered...

to replace Petrov for , but the Finn angrily rejected claims he would join the team, stating that he was upset Renault was using his name for their own image and that their actions meant he would not race for them.

2011: Involvement of Group Lotus

On 5 November 2010, Autosport

Autosport

Autosport is a weekly magazine covering motorsport, published in the United Kingdom every Thursday by Haymarket Consumer Media. It was first published on 25 August 1950 by Gregor Grant, immediately prior to the Silverstone International Trophy meeting of that year...

reported that Renault was poised to scale back its involvement in 2011 and become only an engine supplier, with the team closing in on a tie-up with Lotus Cars

Lotus Cars

Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and fine handling characteristics...

to buy its 25% stake in the team. The deal was finalised in early December 2010, with the team to be renamed Lotus Renault GP for 2011, under a sponsorship deal signed with Lotus Cars until 2017. Renault continues to support the team by supplying engines and its expertise. The Renault chassis name continues to be used, with Renault branding featuring in the new black and gold livery that was last used when Renault and Lotus joined forces in the 1980s.

The team races against another team using the Lotus name. The team which raced in the 2010 season as Lotus Racing (using a licence from Group Lotus which was later terminated by Group Lotus) has rebranded itself as Team Lotus

Team Lotus

Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...

for the 2011 season after purchasing the privately-owned rights to the historic name.

In January, team principal Éric Boullier

Éric Boullier

Éric René Boullier is a French motor racing engineer and manager, currently the team principal of the Lotus Renault GP Formula One team and vice chairman of FOTA.-Career:...

announced that the team will race under a British licence in , having raced as a French outfit since Renault took over in 2002. This leaves the sport without any team racing under a French licence for the first time since the 1975 season

1975 Formula One season

The 1975 Formula One season was the 26th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1975 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1975 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers which were contested concurrently from January 12 to October 5 over fourteen races...

. Group Lotus has yet to purchase a stake in the team, but has an option to do so by the end of .. Along with the launch of their new car, Lotus Renault GP announced that they had hired Jean Alesi

Jean Alesi

Jean Alesi is a French racing driver of Italian origin. His Formula One career included spells at Tyrrell, Benetton, Sauber, Prost, Jordan and most notably Ferrari where he proved very popular among the tifosi...

as an ambassador for the team and test driver for the T125 single-seater project.

On 6 February, Robert Kubica

Robert Kubica

Robert Józef Kubica is the first Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test driver to race driver during 2006...

was severely injured in an accident during a rally in Italy. It was unclear if he would be able to return to Formula One during the 2011 season. On 16 February, it was announced that Nick Heidfeld

Nick Heidfeld

Nick Lars Heidfeld is a German racing driver.Despite scoring regular podium finishes in and , Heidfeld has yet to win a race since entering Formula One in . This means that amongst the current drivers, he has had the most GP starts without standing at the top spot on the podium...

was signed as Kubica's replacement, while Kubica still remains signed with the team for 2011.

The team started the season strongly at the , with Petrov taking his first podium in Formula One, finishing third, and Heidfeld finished twelfth with a damaged car. Heidfeld finished third in the next race in Malaysia

2011 Malaysian Grand Prix

The 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 10 April 2011 at the Sepang International Circuit in Selangor, Malaysia. It was the second round of the 2011 Formula One season. The race, contested over 56 laps, was won by Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel after starting from...

, while Petrov retired late on; he hit a bump caused by a drainage gully which launched his car into the air and broke the car's steering column on landing. The team had a tougher weekend in China

2011 Chinese Grand Prix

The 2011 Chinese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 17 April 2011 at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. It was the third round of the 2011 Formula One season...

, with Petrov finishing ninth having started tenth after a mechanical problem in qualifying, with Heidfeld finishing twelfth. Heidfeld and Petrov finished seventh and eighth in Turkey

2011 Turkish Grand Prix

The 2011 Turkish Grand Prix, formally the 2011 Formula 1 DHL Turkish Grand Prix, was a Formula One motor race held on 8 May 2011 at Istanbul Park in Istanbul, Turkey. It was the fourth round of the 2011 Formula One season. The race, contested over 58 laps, was won by the championship leader,...

, as the team's early season performance began to fade. Heidfeld finished ninth in Spain

2011 Spanish Grand Prix

The 2011 Spanish Grand Prix, formally the Formula 1 Gran Premio de España Santander 2011, was a Formula One motor race that was held on 22 May 2011 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain. It was the fifth round of the 2011 Formula One season...

after missing qualifying due to a fire in practice, while Petrov finished just outside the points in eleventh place. Heidfeld scored more points in Monaco

2011 Monaco Grand Prix

The 2011 Monaco Grand Prix, formally the Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2011, was held on 29 May 2011 at the Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Sixth round of the 2011 Formula One season, the 78 lap race was won by the championship leader, Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel who started from...

with eighth place, while Petrov retired after being caught up in an accident involving several other cars. Petrov finished fifth in the rain-affected , with Heidfeld retiring after damaging his car's front wing in a collision with Kamui Kobayashi

Kamui Kobayashi

is a Japanese racing driver. He has competed in the GP2 Series, won the GP2 Asia Series, and made his Formula One debut with Toyota in the final two races of when he replaced Timo Glock after the German was injured in a crash during qualifying for the...

. The team endured a difficult weekend in Valencia, as Heidfeld scored a single point for tenth place and Petrov finished 15th.

New restrictions over the use of off-throttle blown diffusers were introduced for the , and the team were badly affected having designed their car around the system. Heidfeld managed 8th place in the race, with Petrov 12th. Heidfeld was replaced by Bruno Senna

Bruno Senna

Bruno Senna Lalli is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver and the nephew of the late three-time Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna. His mother is Ayrton's older sister, Viviane. His father, Flávio Lalli, died in a motorcycle crash in 1996. He wears a slightly modified version of his uncle's...

for the in August.

On 29 November 2011, the team confirmed that they had successfully hired Kimi Räikkönen to drive full time in 2012.

Renault in F1

Renault

Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...

(the French car company) had some involvement in early motorsport, including Ferenc Szisz

Ferenc Szisz

Ferenc Szisz , was a Hungarian race car driver and the winner of the first Grand Prix motor racing event on a Renault Grand Prix 90CV on 26 June, 1906....

winning the first

1906 French Grand Prix

The 1906 Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France, commonly known as the 1906 French Grand Prix, was a motor race held on 26 and 27 June 1906, on closed public roads outside the city of Le Mans...

French Grand Prix

The French Grand Prix was a race held as part of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One automobile racing championships....

. However, it was not until 1977 that the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine to Formula One in their first car, the Renault RS01

Renault RS01

The Renault RS01 was the first F1 car to be powered by a turbocharged engine. Designed by André de Cortanze and Jean-Pierre Jabouille, it first appeared at the 1977 British Grand Prix. The rules of F1 at the time permitted 3.0 litre engines of natural aspiration, with a clause for a 1.5 litre...

. Although the Renault team won races and competed for world titles, it withdrew at the end of .

The Renault car company returned to Formula One as a team in 2002 when it completed its takeover and rebranding of the UK-based team previously known as Benetton

Benetton Formula

(and before that, Toleman

Toleman

). Under the Renault F1 Team guise the team won the Drivers' and Constructors' championships in 2005 and 2006.

At the end of 2009, the Renault car company sold a 75% stake in the team to the Genii Capital

Genii Capital

investment company. At the end of 2010, Renault sold its remaining 25% share to Genii, which then decided to enter into an alignment with Group Lotus.

Since the beginning of the 2011 Formula One season the team has competed under the name Lotus Renault GP.

The team continues to be coordinated from its UK base at Enstone, Oxfordshire where the chassis are designed and built. The team continues to use engines that are manufactured by the Renault car company at their facility at Viry-Châtillon

Viry-Châtillon

Viry-Châtillon is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Inhabitants of Viry-Châtillon are known as Castelvirois.-Transport:Viry-Châtillon is served by Viry-Châtillon station on Paris RER line D....

near Paris.

The Renault car company has also supplied engines to other teams, including Team Lotus

Team Lotus

(1984–1987), Benetton

Benetton Formula

(1995–1997) and Williams

WilliamsF1

Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head...

(1989–1997). As an engine supplier, the Renault car company has contributed to seven driver's world championships ' onMouseout='HidePop("35187")' href="/topics/Nigel_Mansell">Nigel Mansell

Nigel Mansell

Nigel Ernest James Mansell OBE is a British racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the CART Indy Car World Series...

, Alain Prost

Alain Prost

, Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher is a German Formula One racing driver for the Mercedes GP team. Famous for his eleven-year spell with Ferrari, Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver of all time...

, Damon Hill

Damon Hill

Damon Graham Devereux Hill OBE is a retired British racing driver. In 1996 Hill won the Formula One World Championship. As the son of the late Graham Hill, he is the only son of a world champion to win the title...

, Jacques Villeneuve

Jacques Villeneuve

Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve, , is a Canadian musician and automobile racing driver. He is the son of the late Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve, and is the namesake of his uncle...

and Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel is a German Formula One racing driver, currently driving for Red Bull Racing. He is the current World Champion, having won the championship in and ....

respectively) and seven constructor's world championships (– and ) as engine supplier for Benetton, Williams and Red Bull

Red Bull Racing

. The engine supply has continued during periods when the Renault car company was not active as a constructor in its own right.

1977

Renault first involvement in Formula One was made by the Renault Sport

Renault Sport

Renault Sport Technologies is the France motorsport division of Renault. Renault Sport was responsible for Renault's sports car racing entries during the 1970s, including their win at the 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans race with the Renault Alpine A442.Actual Renault's Formula One team, Renault F1 in...

subsidiary. Renault entered the last five races of with Jean-Pierre Jabouille

Jean-Pierre Jabouille

Jean-Pierre Alain Jabouille is a former racing driver from France.-Biography:A native of Paris, Jabouille was one of the last of a breed of Formula One drivers who were also engineers....

in its only car. The Renault RS01

Renault RS01

was well known for its Renault-Gordini

Gordini

Gordini is a French sports car manufacturer. The firm was founded by Amédée Gordini nicknamed "Le Sorcier" .Gordini competed in Formula One from 1950 to 1956....

V6 1.5 L

Litre

pic|200px|right|thumb|One litre is equivalent to this cubeEach side is 10 cm1 litre water = 1 kilogram water The litre is a metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre , to 1,000 cubic centimetres , and to 1/1,000 cubic metre...

turbocharged

Turbocharger

A turbocharger, or turbo , from the Greek "τύρβη" is a centrifugal compressor powered by a turbine that is driven by an engine's exhaust gases. Its benefit lies with the compressor increasing the mass of air entering the engine , thereby resulting in greater performance...

engine

Internal combustion engine

The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the 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 despite being extremely powerful.

The first race the team, under the name Equipe Renault Elf, entered was the 1977 French Grand Prix

1977 French Grand Prix

The 1977 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Dijon on 3 July 1977.-Report:Once again it was Mario Andretti on pole with James Hunt second and Gunnar Nilsson third on the grid. Hunt got the best start and led into the first corner from John Watson and Jacques Laffite, with Andretti...

, the ninth round of the season, but the car was not yet ready. The team's début was delayed until the following round, the . The car's first qualifying session was not a success, and Jabouille qualified 21st out of the 30 runners and 26 starters, 1.62 seconds behind pole sitter James Hunt

James Hunt

James Simon Wallis Hunt was a British racing driver from England who won the Formula One World Championship in . Hunt's often action packed exploits on track earned him the nickname "Hunt the Shunt." After retiring from driving, Hunt became a media commentator and businessman...

in the McLaren

McLaren

. Jabouille ran well in the race, running as high as 16th before the car's turbo failed on lap 17. The team missed the German

1977 German Grand Prix

The 1977 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Hockenheimring on July 31, 1977. After Niki Lauda's near-fatal accident at the dangerous Nürburgring in 1976, the German Grand Prix was moved to and held every year except for 1 at Hockenheim until 2007, and this was the second year the race...

and Austrian

1977 Austrian Grand Prix

The 1977 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Österreichring on August 14, 1977. It was the tenth Austrian Grand Prix since the race was first held in 1963. It was held over 54 laps of the six kilometre venue for a race distance of 320 kilometres...

Grands Prix as the car was being improved after its British disappointment. They returned for the , and the qualifying performance was much improved as Jabouille qualified tenth. He had a poor start, but ran as high as sixth before the suspension failed on lap 40.

The team's poor qualifying form returned in Italy

1977 Italian Grand Prix

The 1977 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monza on September 11, 1977.-Report:The fact that it was Ferrari's home race did not deter James Hunt who took pole, whereas Carlos Reutemann cheered the home fans by starting second in front of Jody Scheckter...

, as Jabouille qualified 20th. He ran outside the top 10 until his engine failed on lap 24, continuing their awful run of reliability. Things improved at Watkins Glen

Watkins Glen International

Watkins Glen International is an auto race track located near Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. The facility is owned by International Speedway Corporation...

for the as Jabouille qualified 14th, but the good pace from Zandvoort seemed to be gone as he once again ran outside the top 10 before retiring with yet another reliability problem, this time the alternator, on lap 31. Jabouille failed to qualify in Canada

1977 Canadian Grand Prix

The 1977 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 9 October 1977 at Mosport Park.-Report:The field arrived in Canada without Niki Lauda who, having clinched the championship at the previous race, and already announced his intention to drive for Brabham the following year, abruptly quit...

; as 27 drivers entered the race, only one would not qualify, and this was Jabouille as he ended up last, over 7.5 seconds behind fastest qualifier Mario Andretti

Mario Andretti

Mario Gabriele Andretti is a retired Italian American world champion racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR...

of Lotus

Team Lotus

, and almost two seconds behind his nearest rival, Rupert Keegan

Rupert Keegan

Rupert Keegan is a former racing driver from England. He participated in 37 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 8 May 1977. He scored no championship points....

in the Hesketh. After this, Renault did not travel to the season finale

1977 Japanese Grand Prix

The 1977 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 23 October 1977 at Fuji.-Report:Mario Andretti and James Hunt continued their late-season battle, with the American pipping Hunt to the pole, with John Watson heading the second row...

in Japan.

1978

The following year was hardly better, characterised 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

Watkins Glen International

Watkins Glen International is an auto race track located near Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. The facility is owned by International Speedway Corporation...

near the end of , giving the team a fourth place finish and its first Formula One points.

The team did not enter the first two races of 1978, in Argentina

1978 Argentine Grand Prix

The 1978 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 15 January 1978 at Buenos Aires.-Report:Mario Andretti took pole in his Lotus, with Carlos Reutemann's Ferrari joining him on the front row and Ronnie Peterson in the other Lotus third on the grid...

and Brazil

1978 Brazilian Grand Prix

The 1978 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 29 January 1978 at Jacarepagua. The race was won by Argentine driver Carlos Reutemann driving a Ferrari 312T2 in a flag-to-flag performance. The win also represented the first win for tyre manufacturer Michelin...

, but returned for the at Kyalami

Kyalami

Kyalami is a motor racing circuit located in Midrand, Gauteng province, South Africa. The circuit has been used for Grand Prix and Formula One races and has hosted the South African Grand Prix many times. In recent years, the area surrounding the circuit has developed into a residential and...

. Jabouille secured Renault's best qualifying position to date, with sixth place, just 0.71 seconds behind polesitter Niki Lauda

Niki Lauda

Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver and three-time F1 World Champion. More recently an aviation entrepreneur, he has founded and run two airlines and was manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years.- Early years in racing :Born in Vienna,...

in the Brabham. He dropped out of the points early in the race before retiring with electrical problems on lap 39. At Long Beach

1978 United States Grand Prix West

The 1978 United States Grand Prix West was a Formula One race held on April 2, 1978 at Long Beach, California.__FORCETOC__-Summary:Carlos Reutemann took over at the halfway mark from Ferrari teammate Gilles Villeneuve, when the Canadian crashed out of the lead, and won by eleven seconds...

, Jabouille qualified 13th, but retired as the turbo failed again on lap 44. He was twelfth in qualifying for the team's first Monaco Grand Prix

1978 Monaco Grand Prix

The 1978 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 7 May 1978 at Monaco. It was won by Patrick Depailler of France, his first Formula One victory.-Report:...

, and gave the team their first finish in Formula One, finishing in tenth place four laps down on race-winner Tyrrell

Tyrrell Racing

The Tyrrell Racing Organisation was an auto racing team and Formula One constructor founded by Ken Tyrrell which started racing in 1958 and started building its own cars in 1970. The team experienced its greatest success in the early 1970s, when it won three drivers' championships and one...

's Patrick Depailler

Patrick Depailler

Patrick André Eugène Joseph Depailler was a racing driver from France. He participated in 95 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 2 July 1972. He also participated in several non-Championship Formula One races.Depailler was born in Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme. As a child, he...

1979

Expanding to two drivers with René Arnoux

René Arnoux

René Alexandre Arnoux is a retired French racing driver who is a veteran of 12 Formula One seasons...

joining Jabouille, the team continued to struggle although Jabouille earned a pole position

Pole position

The term "pole position", as used in motorsports, comes from the horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole. The term made its way, along with several other customs, to auto racing. In circuit motorsports, a driver has pole position when he or she...

in South Africa

1979 South African Grand Prix

The 1979 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 3 March 1979 at Kyalami.- Classification :- Notes :* Lap Leaders: Jean-Pierre Jabouille 1 lap ; Gilles Villeneuve 39 laps ; Jody Scheckter 38 laps ....

. By mid-season, both drivers had a new ground-effect

Ground effect in cars

Ground effect is term applied to a series of aerodynamic effects used in car design, which has been exploited to create downforce, particularly in racing cars. This has been the successor to the earlier dominant aerodynamic theory of streamlining...

car, the RS10, and at Dijon

1979 French Grand Prix

The 1979 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 1 July 1979 at Dijon.It marked the first victory of a turbocharged car in Formula One, with Renault overcoming the reliability problems that had initially plagued their car...

for the French Grand Prix

French Grand Prix

The French Grand Prix was a race held as part of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One automobile racing championships....

the team legitimised 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

Gilles Villeneuve

Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve, better known as Gilles Villeneuve , was a Canadian racing driver. An enthusiast of cars and fast driving from an early age, he started his professional career in snowmobile racing in his native province of Quebec...

were involved in an extremely competitive duel for second, Arnoux narrowly getting beaten to the line. While Jabouille ran into hard times after that race, Arnoux finished a career-high second at Silverstone

1979 British Grand Prix

The 1979 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 14 July 1979 at Silverstone. It marked the Williams team's first GP pole position and win .- Classification :- Notes :...

in the following race and then repeated that at the Glen, proving it was not a fluke.

1980–83

Arnoux furthered this in with consecutive wins in Brazil

1980 Brazilian Grand Prix

The 1980 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Interlagos on January 27, 1980.- Classification :-Notes:*Lap leaders: Gilles Villeneuve , Jean-Pierre Jabouille , René Arnoux...

and South Africa

1980 South African Grand Prix

The 1980 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on March 1, 1980.Alain Prost and Marc Surer both crashed in separate incidents during qualifying: Prost broke his wrist and Surer suffered serious injuries to his legs. Neither started the race, with Prost also missing...

, both on high altitude circuits where the Renaults were dominant. Jabouille continued to have problems with retirements, but in his only points finish he emerged victorious in Austria

1980 Austrian Grand Prix

The 1980 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on August 17, 1980 at the Österreichring circuit in Austria. It was the tenth race of the 1980 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :*Milestones:...

. At the end of the year Jabouille crashed heavily at the Canadian GP

1980 Canadian Grand Prix

The 1980 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 28, 1980, at the Montreal Circuit in Canada. It was the thirteenth race of the 1980 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :* Milestones:...

and suffered serious leg injuries, which effectively ended his career as a Grand Prix driver. Alain Prost

Alain Prost

was signed up for . In his three years with the team, Prost showed the form that would make him a 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 . Arnoux left for rival Ferrari

Scuderia Ferrari

after 1982 and was replaced by American Eddie Cheever

Eddie Cheever

Edward "Eddie" McKay Cheever, Jr. is an American racing driver who raced for almost thirty years in Formula One, Sports cars, CART and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 World Championship Formula One races and started 132, more than any other American, driving for nine different...

. In , Renault and Prost came very close to winning the drivers' title but were edged out by Nelson Piquet

Nelson Piquet

Nelson Piquet Souto Maior , known as Nelson Piquet, is a Brazilian former racing driver. He was Formula One world champion in , and . He is one of eight drivers to win three or more world championships, the others being Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna , Alain Prost , Juan...

(Brabham-BMW) at the last race of the season in South Africa

1983 South African Grand Prix

The 1983 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on October 15, 1983. It was the final race of the 1983 Formula One season....

. After the end of the season, a rival fuel company said that the fuel used by the Brabham-BMWs in South Africa had exceeded the maximum Research Octane Number of 102 permitted under the Formula One regulations. BMW said that this was incorrect and FISA released a dossier supporting their stance. No action was taken.

1984–85

After Prost left, the team turned to Patrick Tambay

Patrick Tambay

Patrick Daniel Tambay is a French former racing driver. He competed in 123 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, winning twice, securing 5 pole positions and scoring a total of 103 Championship points...

and Englishman Derek Warwick

Derek Warwick

Derek Stanley Arthur Warwick is a British former racing driver from England. He raced for many years in Formula One, but never won a Grand Prix. During the early 1980s he was thought more likely to achieve World Championship success than his contemporary Nigel Mansell, but a series of wrong...

to bring them back to prominence. Despite a few good results, the team was not as competitive in and as in the past, with other teams doing a better job with turbo engines, some of which came from Renault themselves. provided another F1 first, as the team ran a third car in Germany

1985 German Grand Prix

The 1985 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Nürburgring on August 4, 1985. It was the ninth round of the 1985 Formula One season....

that featured the first in-car camera which could be viewed live by a television audience. The car only lasted 8 laps before a clutch problem forced it to retire. In 1985, major financial problems emerged at Renault and the company could no longer justify the large expenses needed to maintain the racing team's competitiveness. CEO Georges Besse

Georges Besse

Georges Besse was a French businessman who led several large state-controlled French companies during his lifetime. He was assassinated outside his home on November 17, 1986...

pared down the company's involvement in F1 from full-fledged racing team to engine supplier for the season before taking it entirely out of F1 at the end of that year.

2000–

In 2000 Renault re-entered F1 with the purchase of the Benetton

Benetton Formula

team, and from 2002 operated it as Renault F1.

As an engine supplier

From 1983 to 1986, Renault became engine supplier to Team Lotus

Team Lotus

with its iconic John Player Special livery. Though not competitive initially, with the recruitment of genius designer Gérard Ducarouge

Gérard Ducarouge

Gérard Ducarouge is a French former Formula One car designer. Like many designers, his background was based in aeronautical engineering...

the marque gained competitiveness towards the later part of the 1983 season into 1984, with Nigel Mansell

Nigel Mansell

Nigel Ernest James Mansell OBE is a British racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the CART Indy Car World Series...

and Elio De Angelis

Elio de Angelis

Elio de Angelis was an Italian racing driver who participated in Formula One between and , racing for the Shadow, Lotus and Brabham teams. He was killed during testing at the Paul Ricard circuit at Le Castellet in 1986...

scoring regular podiums. Rising superstar Ayrton Senna

Ayrton Senna

Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver. A three-time Formula One world champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time...

joined Team Lotus

Team Lotus

in 1985 and the combination of his immense speed, talent and the superfast, but thirsty Lotus 97T

Lotus 97T

The Lotus 97T was a Formula One racing car designed by Gérard Ducarouge and built by Team Lotus. A development of the Lotus 95T of 1984, it was designed for the 1985 Formula One season by French engineer Gérard Ducarouge and powered by a 1500cc Renault turbocharged engine. Sponsorship came from...

notched up numerous pole positions and grand prix wins, but chronic unreliability prevented a sustained attempt at either title. In 1986, aristocrat

Aristocracy (class)

The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...

Johnny Dumfries

John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute

John Colum Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute , styled Earl of Dumfries before 1993 and from this courtesy title usually known as Johnny Dumfries, is a Scottish peer and a former racing driver. He does not use his title and prefers to be known solely as John Bute...

was chosen to be Senna's new partner after Senna vetoed the original choice of Derek Warwick

Derek Warwick

. More pole positions and occasional wins followed with the Lotus 98T

Lotus 98T

The Lotus 98T was a development of the Lotus 97T of 1985. Of the four chassis built three were assigned to Ayrton Senna, now in his second year with Team Lotus, and one to team mate Johnny Dumfries....

but the tallies could have been improved further with better reliability or fuel consumption lasting the full race duration. In the four seasons between 1983 to 1986, Team Lotus

Team Lotus

with Renault engines scored 19 pole positions and 5 Grand Prix victories. This period helped to launch Ayrton Senna

Ayrton Senna

Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver. A three-time Formula One world champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time...

to superstardom.

Renault Sport

Renault Sport

pulled out completely from Formula One after the season but for only a brief sabbatical until they renewed their involvement in , when they became an engine supplier to Williams

WilliamsF1

Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head...

and by the sixth round in Canada

1989 Canadian Grand Prix

The 1989 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 18, 1989.It was the first Formula One victory for Belgian driver Thierry Boutsen, who won three F1 races overall, all during his two-year stint with Williams-Renault.- Classification :- Notes :*Lap...

, the team had already secured their first Renault powered victory. Renault had also pioneered the first pneumatic valved V10 engine in F1. Williams enjoyed signs of promise for the next 2 years and by , with the aid of active suspension

Active suspension

Active or adaptive suspension is an automotive technology that controls the vertical movement of the wheels with an onboard system rather than the movement being determined entirely by the road surface...

, the Williams-Renault was a World Championship-winning car, winning over half of the races during the season.

Williams perfected their active suspension for and won the Constructors' Title in yet another dominant year with Alain Prost

Alain Prost

winning 7 of the 16 rounds. would prove to be the only time Renault did not win the Drivers championship after Williams driver, Ayrton Senna

Ayrton Senna

Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver. A three-time Formula One world champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time...

, the favourite to win the title, was killed at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix

1994 San Marino Grand Prix

The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 1, 1994 at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy. It was the third race of the 1994 Formula One season...

. This left the Brazilian's inexperienced teammate, Damon Hill

Damon Hill

, to take Senna's seat as team leader, but by the French Grand Prix

1994 French Grand Prix

The 1994 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on July 3, 1994 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours. It was the seventh race of the 1994 Formula One season.-Race:...

, Hill was 37 points behind Championship leader Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher

. After a series of disqualifications for the German, Hill managed to close the gap down to 1 point before the last race in Adelaide

1994 Australian Grand Prix

The 1994 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on November 13, 1994 at the Adelaide Street Circuit. It was the sixteenth and final race of the 1994 Formula One season. The race is remembered for an incident involving the two title contenders Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher which...

, but the two drivers collided controversially and both retired from the race, making Schumacher the drivers' champion. Schumacher was the only driver to win a Drivers title during the time between 1992 and 1997 without a Renault engine, but Williams still retained the Constructors' championship.

Benetton

Benetton Formula

acquired Renault engines for and their driver, Michael Schumacher, managed to successfully defend his Drivers title by 33 points from his nearest rival, Damon Hill, while Benetton won their first, and only, Constructors title by 29 points. Williams won the next two seasons in both the Drivers' and Constructors' championship with Damon Hill winning the title in and Jacques Villeneuve

Jacques Villeneuve

Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve, , is a Canadian musician and automobile racing driver. He is the son of the late Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve, and is the namesake of his uncle...

in .

Renault pulled out of Formula One at the end of 1997, coinciding with the departure of Adrian Newey

Adrian Newey

Adrian Newey is a notable Formula One engineer and widely regarded one of the great engineers in the sport's history. He is the only designer to have won Constructors Championships with three different Formula One teams...

, the head of Williams' design team, who had designed all of the Renault powered Williams' from 1992 onwards. However, the power unit was still bought by teams 'off the shelf' for several years afterwards by Benetton (where the engine was re-badged as Playlife
Playlife
Playlife is a fashion company based in Treviso, Italy.The company is owned by the Benetton family and is the sporting label of the clothes manufacturer....

), Williams (where it was re-badged as Mecachrome
Mecachrome
Mecachrome SAS is a precision engineering company involved in aviation, the automotive industry, motor racing and industrial engineering, but is most famous for assembling the engines designed by Renault for the Renault Formula One team.-Formula One:...

) and BAR

British American Racing

British American Racing was a Formula One constructor that competed in the sport from 1999 to 2005. BAR began by acquiring Tyrrell, and used Supertec engines for their first year...

and Arrows

Arrows

Arrows Grand Prix International was a British Formula One team active from to . For a period of time, it was also known as Footwork.-Origins :...

(where it was re-badged as Supertec
Supertec
Supertec was a Formula One engine supplier in 1999 and 2000. Supertec supplied Renault-designed, Mecachrome-built 1998 season engines updated for 1999 and 2000....

).

On 15 September 2006, Renault announced that it had agreed to supply Red Bull Racing

Red Bull Racing

with engines in and . On 1 November 2006, Red Bull Racing

Red Bull Racing

confirmed the use of Renault engines and the transfer of the Ferrari units to Scuderia Toro Rosso

Scuderia Toro Rosso

Scuderia Toro Rosso , also known simply as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, is an Italian Formula One racing team...

.

On 5 November 2010, Lotus Racing announced that they would use Renault engines for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

Since the end of 2010, when the Enstone-based constructor and its former Viry-Châtillon

Viry-Châtillon

engine factory split ways, Renault supplies engines through a subsidiary known as Renault Sport F1

Renault Sport F1

Renault Sport F1 is the current incarnation of Renault's involvement in Formula 1. It was born at the end of 2010, when the carmaker sold the 25 per cent final share property from its Enstone-based team, Renault F1, to major stockholder Genii Capital but kept for itself the control of its...

Partnerships and sponsorships

In the mid 2000s, questions were raised regarding the Renault car company's commitment to its Formula One team, particularly after the appointment of Carlos Ghosn

Carlos Ghosn

Carlos Ghosn, KBE , born 9 March 1954, is a Brazilian-Lebanese-French businessman who is currently the Chairman and CEO of Yokohama, Japan-based Nissan and holds the same positions at Paris-based Renault, which together produce more than one in 10 cars worldwide...

as CEO in 2005. Ghosn had a reputation as a ruthless businessman, nicknamed "le cost cutter", but confirmed his belief in Formula 1, both as an advertising vehicle and a substantial technology investment. 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." After Renault won both championships in 2006 for a second year, Ghosn said: "It is an important victory because it justifies the investment Renault has made in Formula 1, and will make in the future. More and more, Formula 1 is working as an investment for us, not a loss." In May 2008, two years since the Renault F1 Team dominated the sport and amidst a relatively weak season for the team, Ghosn again stated that irrespectively of results, Renault as a company would stay in F1 for "many years". Renault have signed an agreement with Formula One Management pledging their allegiance to Formula 1 until 2012.

Lotus Renault GP have a research relationship with Boeing

Boeing

The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...

, the aim of which is "to investigate technology collaboration projects of mutual interest." Similar relationships include that of McLaren

McLaren

and BAE Systems

BAE Systems

BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...

.

The team's current sponsors include title sponsor Lotus Cars

Lotus Cars

, French oil company Total S.A.

Total S.A.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world.Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and...

, Dutch watch manufacturer TW Steel

TW Steel

TW Steel is a Dutch watchmaker known for its large oversized watches and chronographs. The company was established in 2005 by father and son team Jordy & Ton Cobelens in Holland.-History:...

, Italian tyre brand Pirelli

Pirelli

Pirelli & C. SpA is a diverse multinational company based in Milan, Italy. The company, the world’s fifth largest tyre manufacturer, is present in over 160 countries, has 20 manufacturing sites around the world and a network of around 10,000 distributors and retailers.Founded in Milan in 1872,...

, Russian car manufacturer Lada

Lada

Lada is a trademark of AvtoVAZ, a Russian car manufacturer in Tolyatti, Samara Oblast. All AvtoVAZ vehicles are currently sold under the Lada brand, though this was not always so; Lada was originally AvtoVAZ's export brand for models it sold under the Zhiguli name in the domestic Soviet market...

, Russian petrochemical company Sibur

Sibur

Sibur is a Russian petrochemicals company controlled by Russian billionaire Leonid Mikhelson. The activities of Sibur include refining of the feedstock gas, production of monomers and polymers, methanol production , mineral fertilizer, tires, synthetic rubber and plastics processing.Russian...

, American razor brand Gillette, Chinese photovoltaics manufacturer Trina Solar

Trina Solar

Trina Solar Limited is a Chinese manufacturer of photovoltaic modules, which was founded in 1997 as a system installation company. Trina Solar's solar modules provide electric power for residential, commercial, industrial and other applications worldwide....

and French fashion brand Japan Rags.

External links

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