Renault

**Renault FE Team** was the works team of French car company Renault in Formula Earth. Renault was known as one of the most succesful factory teams in Formula 1 history, winning 2 titles in 2005 and 2006 with Fernando Alonso and maintaining their position as an established top tier side. From 2012 to 2015, they raced as Lotus F1 before reverting back to Renault for 2016. Despite a slow start, Renault started working again and by the time Formula Earth was established in 2020, they returned to their previous status as a decent team. In 2025, the team moved up further the pecking order as a title contender, finally winning a title in 2026 with Esteban Ocon. From 2027 to 2031, Renault started to slowly decline again after failing to defend their titles in 2027, however with the new regulations in 2032 entering, Renault returned again to the high places of the grid. Despite coming very close to winning the double in 2036, Renault announced its departure from the sport following a takeover from Gazprom, which led to the team's rebranding as Gazprom Lada.

## Origins and Formula 1 History

Renault entered as a works team in Formula 1 back in 1977, introducing the turbocharged engine. They initially began as a hit or miss team, either winning races or retire, but became one of the top teams in the early 80s before their sudden withdrawal as a team in 1985. Since leaving, Renault started supplying engines, eventually winning titles with Benet ton in 1995 and Williams in 1996 and 1997. In the end of 1997, they stopped supporting their teams in order to focus on reviving their works team. In 2001, Renault bought Benetton and in 2002 Renault F1 Team was reinvented. From 2003 onwards they became again a superpower, winning their first titles in 2005 and 2006 with Fernando Alonso. 2008 was a dark year for the team due to their involvement in the still-controversial Crashgate scandal.

In 2011, Renault started an alliance with Genii Capital and from 2012 to 2015 they ran as Lotus F1. While they won races in 2012 and 2013, various errors of them during the new regulations era of 2014 led to their decline, and after a short stint of them running Mercedes engines, they reverted to Renault F1 and slowly reverted to their previous status as a decent team, finishing as high as 4th in 2018.

## 2020-2024: Best of the rest

Renault entered the newly-renamed Formula Earth with star driver Daniel Ricciardo and former Mercedes-bound prospect Esteban Ocon. 2020 saw the team slowly making progress, with Ricciardo scoring two podiums, one on the first race of the year. Renault managed to beat McLaren for the best of the rest and finished again 4th on the standings. In 2021, they also scored their first wins since 2013 when they ran as Lotus F1, with Ricciardo winning twice and Ocon adding one more win. While 2022 was winless, it was more consistent, and the Renault drivers were able to beat the likes of Alexander Albon and Antonio Giovinazzi, who raced superior cars during the season.

However, 2023 was a major setback for them, as they failed to score podiums and were beaten by Aston Martin for fifth place. In the end of the season, Ricciardo left the team and was replaced by Ferrari driver Marco Aurelio. 2034 saw again an improvement, with Aurelio proving to be the driver they needed to overcome their setback and avoid a potential decline.

## 2025-2028: Return to the top

2025 was a very different year for the French company. For the first time since 2006, the team had finally made a car ready to challenge for titles. The start was brilliant, as Ocon and Aurelio won the first 6 races of the season and overall won 9 out of 16 races, becoming McLaren's biggest rival. However, they had an inconsistent finishing of the season which led to defeat by McLaren's Carlos Sainz, who ironically won only one race, by just 3 points from Ocon and 9 from Aurelio. While they failed to stop the dominant McLaren, they showed that they were ready to return to the glory days.

2026 turned out to be their year. This time, while they did fend off McLaren, they had a surprise rival in Mercedes's Ivan Marincic, who pushed the far weaker car to battle the Renaults for the title. Renault won the double in the end, with Ocon becoming the world champion for just 2 points after Marincic failed to overtake Max Verstappen for second place. This was the first title for the team since 2006, exactly 20 years after Alonso won his last F1 title.

In 2027, Ocon suddenly left Renault for rivals McLaren. Verstappen was signed to replace him and once again Renault was fighting to win a second succesive title. This time, while Ocon was not a threat, Charles Leclerc was and won the title from Verstappen. 2028 was a similar year, with Verstappen finishing third and Aurelio 5th, as this time Ferrari was also a contender for the title, resulting in a 6-way battle for the title.

## 2029-2031: Back to the midfield

In 2029, Renault endured a dismal by their new standards year, failing to win a single race. While Verstappen remained at the top, finishing 5th, Aurelio fell behind the Aston Martin and Shadow cars and was even threatened by Mercedes. Despite this, both drivers still remained loyal to the team. With the new regulations of 2032 coming, Renault decided to save money and stop supporting the current regulations project. In 2030, the team still battled with the likes of Aston Martin and new contenders Campos Repsol, but 2031 was their worst year as they failed to even score points in several races and fell behind even Red Bull, who was also on a similar money saving strategy.

## 2032-present: Resurgence and nosedive

2032 saw the team enduring a massive overhaul. Both Verstappen and Aurelio, the two loyal soldiers, left the team, Verstappen moving to the recently refurbished Amazon Williams and Aurelio retiring from the sport at the age of just 31. The new lineup saw two strong and experienced signings in reigning champion Charles Leclerc and Aston Martin regular Rory Douglas. The team proved to be one of the winners of the new regulations, with both drivers finishing well in the front of the pack and Leclerc proving his class again even after peaking in the previous year. Renault impressed by finishing 2nd in the standings. In the end of the year, Douglas left to join IndyCar and academy prospect Levi Lea'ai was promoted to the first team. Leclerc finished again 4th in the drivers standings, with Lea'ai also showing glimpses of his immense potential.

With Leclerc leaving for Ferrari, Renault made a questionable signing by taking Roman Massey from Geely Nio on a 2-year basis. This was Renault's worst season in its history, as it failed to score a single point, and its drivers were the only ones who failed to do so.

## 2035-present: Another resurgence, close to the double and Gazprom takeover

Renault made a remarkable comeback from their horrendous 2034 season, with Lea'ai finishing in 5th place in the standings and fighting with Davor Dordevic and Robbie Holzman for third. However, even with a better car, Massey was again at the back of the grid, having failed to score points on the first six races of the year. At the end of the year, the Hungarian was sacked and replaced by Dordevic, who signed on a free transfer from Amazon Williams. The duo made a lightning start, winning 3 out of 4 races, bue eventually lost the title to Aramco's Martin Fenin.

Despite the success, 2036 was the last year of the French team, as in the end of the year, it was announced that Russian oil company Gazprom, who had made multiple unsuccesful attempts to race in Formula Earth in the past, took over a major stake of the team, with Renault itself keeping 25% of the ownership. The team will race from 2037 as Gazprom Lada FE Team, ending Renault's 20-year stint in the sport as itself. Lea'ai and Dordevic will stay in the team, alongsite team principal Noel Delannoy.

## Notable Drivers

* Daniel Ricciardo (2020-2023)
* Esteban Ocon (2020-2026)
* Marco Aurelio (2024-2031)
* Max Verstappen (2027-2031)
* Charles Leclerc (2032-2033)
* Rory Douglas (2032)
* Levi Lea'ai (2032-2036)
* Roman Massey (2034-2035)
* Davor Dordevic (2036)