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