Renault

Renault's logo upon their last entry as a constructor

## Renault *as a Formula One engine manufacturer*

**Renault** (***REN**-oh*), a French automobile manufacturer, has been associated with Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1977. In 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine to Formula One with its EF1 engine. In 1983, Renault began supplying engines to other teams. Although the Renault team had won races, it withdrew at the end of 1985. Renault engines continued to be raced until 1986.

Renault returned to Formula One in 1989 as an engine manufacturer.

## History

### 1977

Renault's first foray into Formula One was through its Renault Sport subsidiary. Renault entered the final five races of 1977 with Jean-Pierre Jabouille driving its only car. The Renault RS01 was well-known for its Renault-Gordini *EF1* 1.5 V6 turbocharged engine, which was the first turbo engine to be used regularly in Formula One. Jabouille's car and engine proved extremely unreliable and became something of a joke during its first races, earning the nickname "Yellow Teapot" from Ken Tyrrell and failing to finish any of them despite their relative power.

The team's first race, under the name Équipe Renault Elf, was the 1977 French Grand Prix, the season's ninth round, but the car was still in development. The team's debut was delayed until the following round, the British Grand Prix. The car's first qualifying session was a failure, with Jabouille finishing 21st out of 30 runners and 26 starters, 1.62 seconds behind McLaren pole sitter James Hunt. Jabouille performed admirably in the race, reaching as high as 16th before the car's turbo failed on lap 17. The team missed the German and Austrian Grands Prix while the car was being improved following its disappointment in Britain. They returned for the Dutch Grand Prix, and Jabouille qualified tenth, demonstrating significant improvement. He got off to a slow start but worked his way up to sixth place before the suspension failed on lap 40. The team's poor qualifying form returned in Italy, with Jabouille qualifying 20th. He was outside the top ten until his engine failed on lap 24, continuing their poor run of reliability. Things improved at Watkins Glen for the United States Grand Prix, with Jabouille qualifying 14th, but Zandvoort's good pace appeared to be gone, as he once again ran outside the top ten before retiring on lap 31 due to yet another reliability issue, this time with the alternator. Jabouille failed to qualify in Canada; of the 27 drivers who entered the race, only one did not qualify, and that was Jabouille, who finished last, more than 7.5 seconds behind the fastest qualifier Mario Andretti of Lotus and nearly two seconds behind his nearest rival, Rupert Keegan of Hesketh. Following this, Renault did not attend the season finale in Japan.

### 1978

The following year was hardly better, with four consecutive retirements due to blown engines, but by the end of the year, the team was showing signs of success. The RS01 qualified third on the grid twice, and while finishing was still an issue, it finished fourth in its first race on the lead lap at Watkins Glen near the end of 1978, earning the team its first Formula One points. The team did not compete in the first two races of 1978, in Argentina and Brazil, but returned for the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami. Jabouille secured Renault's best qualifying position to date, finishing sixth, 0.71 seconds behind polesitter Niki Lauda in the Brabham. He dropped out of the points early in the race before retiring due to electrical issues on lap 39. Jabouille qualified 13th in Long Beach but retired after the turbo failed again on lap 44. He qualified twelfth for the team's first Monaco Grand Prix and earned the team its first Formula One finish, finishing tenth four laps behind race winner Tyrrell's Patrick Depailler.

### 1979

Expanding to two drivers with René Arnoux joining Jabouille, the team struggled, despite Jabouille's pole position in South Africa. By mid-season, both drivers had a new ground-effect car, the RS10, and at Dijon for the French Grand Prix, the team proved itself with a brilliant performance in a classic race. The two Renaults qualified on the front row, and pole-sitter Jabouille won the race, becoming the first driver in a turbocharged car to do so, while Arnoux and Gilles Villeneuve battled for second place, with Arnoux narrowly losing out at the finish line. While Jabouille struggled after that race, Arnoux finished second at Silverstone the following race and repeated it at the Glen, demonstrating that it was no fluke.

### 1980-83

Arnoux built on this in 1980, winning consecutive races in Brazil and South Africa, both on high-altitude circuits where Renaults dominated. Jabouille continued to struggle with retirements, but he won his only points finish in Austria. At the end of the year, Jabouille crashed heavily at the Canadian Grand Prix, sustaining serious leg injuries that effectively ended his Grand Prix career. Alain Prost was signed up for 1981. Prost demonstrated the form that would propel him to the status of Formula One legend during his three years with the team, and the Renaults were among the best in the sport, finishing third in the Constructors' Championship twice and second once. Prost won nine races with the team, and Arnoux added two more in 1982. After 1982, Arnoux left for rival Ferrari, and American Eddie Cheever took his place. Renault and Prost came close to winning the drivers' title in 1983, but Nelson Piquet (Brabham-BMW) edged them out at the season's final race in South Africa. After the season, a rival fuel company claimed that the fuel used by the Brabham-BMWs in South Africa exceeded the maximum Research Octane Number of 102 allowed by Formula One regulations. BMW claimed that this was incorrect, and FISA released a dossier supporting their position. There was no action taken. Alain Prost finished second in the 1983 championship with the Renault RE40.

### 1984-85

Prost was fired two days after the 1983 season for publicly criticising the team's lack of development of the Renault RE40, which resulted in his loss to Piquet and the team's loss to Ferrari in the 1983 championship. He later joined McLaren, and Cheever left to join Alfa Romeo. The team turned to Frenchman Patrick Tambay (who had left Ferrari) and Englishman Derek Warwick (formerly of Toleman) to help them regain prominence. Despite a few good results, including Tambay's last pole position at the 1984 French Grand Prix in Dijon, the team was not as competitive in 1984 and 1985 as it had been in the past, with other teams doing a better job with turbo engines, particularly Lotus and, to a lesser extent, Ligier. Another F1 first came in 1985, when the team raced a third car at the new Nürburgring in Germany, featuring the first in-car camera that a television audience could view live. Frenchman François Hesnault drove the car for only 8 laps before retiring due to a clutch problem. Renault experienced major financial problems in 1985, and the company was unable to justify the high costs required to keep the racing team competitive. CEO Georges Besse reduced the company's involvement in Formula One from full-fledged racing team to engine supplier for the 1986 season before exiting the sport completely at the end of the year.

## Formula One record

### Engine Use Summary

#### By Year

 1983
 1984
 1985
 1987–1988
 1993 | Ligier-Prost, Williams

### Season-by-season record

#### As Engine Supplier

*Drivers' champions in **bold**.*

Notes

* \* – Season still in progress.

### Wins

*For wins as an engine supplier, see Renault/Race Wins#As Engine Supplier*

*Only wins as a constructor are listed.*

*All wins achieved using the Renault-Gordini* EF1 *1.5 V6 turbocharged engine.*

## Notes

1. ↑ Richmond, Duke Of (20 March 2019). Inside the Renault F1 team (en).
2. ↑ 1983 F1 Teams List: See all Constructors & Driver Line-up info (en-US) (25 November 2018).
3. ↑ Renault Sport F1 Team // Formula 1 team (en).
4. ↑ https://www.paddock-legends.com/en/news/forgotten-legends-renaults-yellow-turbo-teapot-2020-02-07/b-119/
5. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Henry, Alan (1985). *Brabham, the Grand Prix Cars*. Osprey. ISBN 0-905138-36-8. pp.267–269