Renault F1

The build up to Silverstone 77 began at the start of that decade. Everything in the early Seventies was aimed at the gradual construction of a team capable of winning the Formula One World Championship. However it was not until 1976 that the Renault hierarchy gave their blessing to the Formula One programme.

While Amédée Gordini constructed a 2-litre V6 and Bernard
 Dudot learned about turbochargers at Garrett AiResearch in California, Renault were gaining chassis experience in Formula 2 and 3. As a prelude to entering F1 Renault launched a victorious assault on the 1974 European 2-litre prototype championship and 1976 saw them come runners up in the World Championship for Sports Cars. 1977 saw the launch of the Formula One program and the assault on the famous Le Mans 24 hour race. Second place was secured in Le Mans, but the revolutionary 1.5-litre V6 turbo-charged RS 01 suffered teething problems. Gloating rival teams scoffed, referring to the Renault as the "Yellow Kettle", as a result of the problems with the turbine. The boost pressure had to be increased on the F1 engine to compensate for the reduced engine displacement. Due to running at 2.8 bar boost (compared with 2.0 bar on the sports car) with the single Garrett turbo spinning at 130,000rpm, an asbestos bung was required in the exhaust to extinguish the frequent fires. However, the Régie was satisfied that it was competitive.

Renault RS01

The 1978 season saw the concentration on the Le Mans programme to the detriment of the F1 assault although the subsequent victory of Pirroni and Jussard allowed the company to concentrate solely on the F1 campaign in 1979.

Renault RS10

1979 saw the first serious attempt on Formula One. The main problem with the turbo was the awful lag from opening the throttle to the boost kicking in. In testing at Jarama driver Jean-Pierre Jabouille complained that on the short straights the braking points came up before the boost came in. The solution was to replace the Garrett with two smaller KKK turbo units. A new car was developed - the RS10 which had the twin-turbo engine - and René Arnoux joined Jabouille. The first pole was scored at the high altitude Kyalami, but the French Grand Prix at Dijon saw the realisation of their first goal when Jabouille took his maiden victory and only the incredible driving of Gilles Villeneuve prevented a one-two. The team ended the season a hugely credible 6th overall in the Constructors Cup.

1980 saw even greater success; 4th in the Constructors Cup with Arnoux and Jabouille coming 6th and 8th respectively in the drivers Championship. The number of victories now totalled 4 and it looked as if the gamble on the turbo had paid off. Ferrari agreed and introduced their own turbo for the 1981 season. Renault were by now serious contenders.

Jabouille was replaced by rising French star Alain Prost and a new car was developed the RE30. Unfortunately they took too long to get the car working properly. However Prost scored his maiden victory at Dijon and finished 5th in the championship with the team finishing 3rd in the Constructors Cup beating such long established teams as Ferrari and Lotus.
 

Alain Prost
Renault RE30 

The 1982 Renault RE30B
The 1982 season was seen as make or break. The Régie’s budget was possibly the biggest on the grid but they still had not seriously challenged for either championship. Although Prost and Arnoux’s reliability was lamentable, (they dominated seven races only to retire) they did just enough, finishing within touching distance of the winners of both championships.
 

1983 should have been the year. Everything was in place. After 6 years development, they now had the best driver and after the French Grand Prix (which of course they won), in the RE40, the best car. Unfortunately despite Prost’s protests of complacency, the team allowed a 14 point advantage at the middle of the season to slip and he lost the championship by one point to Piquet with the team ending second to Ferrari in the Constructors Cup. Years later it was revealed that BMW (who powered Piquet’s Brabham) and oil company BASF-Wintershall had been using a fuel concoction, (passed by FISA as legal) that was in fact, literally, a rocket fuel which had been developed at the German rocket research centre at Peenemunde, during World War II. Losing both championships devastated Renault, Prost was made the scapegoat and left for McLaren. This was to prove the biggest mistake in Renault’s F1 history.

Renault RE40 

1983 was to be the closest they ever came to realising the dreams of the Seventies, while 1984 saw a down turn in their fortunes after 5 years of advancement. Two new drivers had been hired. Patrick Tambay had originally moved from Ferrari to partner Prost in an all French "dream ticket". However, Prost was gone, to become with McLaren the best driver in the history of the sport. He was replaced by British driver Derek Warwick.

The 1984 RE50 was by no means a bad car, it was one of the most advanced on the grid pioneering, among other things, pit to car radio. In Prost’s hands it may have proved to be a race winner, however despite some sterling drives by Warwick the team was winless for the first time since 1978, not even managing to win their by now traditional French Grand Prix (Tambay took pole but his brake and clutch problems allowed Lauda’s McLaren-TAG to win). The other teams had closed the gap on the engine front; the turbo was now de riguer.

If 1984 was bad worse followed in 1985. The works team scored only 16 points in the whole season and finished in 7th position - below even Ligier, to whom they were by now supplying engines. The drivers dubbed the RE60, "tow car of the year", this may have been slightly unfair for neither driver had the talent of, for example, Ayrton Senna who could flatter uncompetitive cars. The works team pulled out of F1.

In 1983 Renault had begun to supply engines to rival chassis manufacturers and by 1985 they were supplying Lotus, Ligier and Tyrrell. They continued to supply engines in the 1986 season. The engine was probably the most powerful that year, developing somewhere in the region of 1375bhp in qualifying trim, enabling Senna to put his Lotus-Renault on pole eight times. The engine, while being one of the more rip-snorting of the year, suffered from high fuel consumption. With tight fuel limits in 1986 this prevented it from running high boost for the full race, a serious impediment to winning. While it had a less sophisticated engine management system the engine did have an interesting development - DP (distribution pneumatique). This was a valve actuation system which closed the valves using compressed nitrogen rather than springs, allowing higher revs. Unfortunately the championship eluded them once again and they pulled out of Formula One altogether.

The first phase of Renault’s involvement in F1 was unconvincing as they failed in their ultimate objective to win the championship. However their impact on F1 was vast. One should remember that F1 was a very different sport from today, when they entered in 1977. Most of the teams, with the obvious exception of Ferrari were small British concerns. They nearly all used the ubiquitous Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0-litre V8 normally aspirated engine, which could be bought - off the shelf - for under £10,000. However with Formula One becoming more popular the major car makers began to take an interest. Renault blazed the trail, as a result Alfa-Romeo re-introduced their own works team, while BMW, Porsche and Honda entered to supply engines.

Renault’s bold step of developing a turbo engine led to one of the most exciting times in F1 history as huge budgets were spent on developing the engines. Unfortunately they were eventually beaten at their own game. Their best chance for dominance had been in the late 70s and early 80s. Although they suffered from lacklustre chassises, Renault’s advantage lay in their more powerful engine. This was however offset by the other teams successfully harnessing the concept of "ground effect". This was a major chassis development that dramatically increased cornering speed, add to this the fact that the frighteningly complex turbo technology put Renault on a daunting learning curve, and this helps to explain their initial lack of success. By the time they had developed a decent chassis their main rivals had turbo engines as well. They should have won the championshp in 1983, but by sacking Prost they compounded the misery. Had he stayed the RE50 may have proved to be a car capable of winning races. With Prost’s departure their chances of championship glory were seriously diminished no matter how good a car they produced.

At this level success is often about personalities, rather than machinery. Therefore the fact that everything was done by committee at Renault attributed to their lack of championship glory. The Williams team dominated by owner Frank Williams, entered F1 at around the same time as Renault. Although Frank Williams had previously run several teams, the Williams team of today did not appear until 1977. They scored their maiden victory in the 1979 British Grand Prix - the race after the French Grand Prix in which Renault had scored their first win. In contrast to Renault they quickly built on their success and won both championships in 1980, the Constructors cup in 1981 and the drivers World Championship in 1982. This rather puts Renault’s success in the shade. The whole saga became an object lesson to other manufacturers - those with little racing experience would do better to supply engines to specialist teams. Honda proved this conclusively with associations with Williams and McLaren. Ironically press reports indicate that Honda may return to F1 in the near future with a full works team.

This route does have some advantages, for unless a manufacturer can link up with one of the top teams the return on their investment can be low. A prime example of this is Peugeot, who have suffered since being dropped by McLaren and remain winless after 4 years.

Although Renault pulled out of F1 at the end of 1986 there was a feeling that the job had not been finished and a Technical Watch Group was set up, to allow chief engineer Bernard Dudot to keep fully abreast of the developments in Formula One. The FIA soon made it clear that forced induction engines would be banned for the start of the 1989 season.

Dudot and his team decided to develop a normally aspirated engine which was to be fitted in the Williams chassis. Renault had had their fingers burnt and would not return as a full works team. The engine team decided upon a V10 configuration, a compromise between the power of a V12, which Ferrari opted for and the economy of V8 such as Ford’s. The most successful engine supplier at that time - Honda - also opted for the V10 compromise.

Despite their success in the early and mid eighties with first Ford and then Honda, the Williams team were not in a strong position in 1989. The previous season had seen them compete with the underpowered Judd V8, after losing the Honda V6 Turbo to arch rivals McLaren. Despite having the highly rated Nigel Mansell at the helm, the under strength car had failed to win a single race. A frustrated Mansell left for Ferrari, leaving Williams without a true number one driver. Mansell was replaced by Theirry Boutsen, who would partner Riccardo Patrese for the next 2 years.

However the first race of the 1989 season was a revelation. Patrese qualified second, Boutsen fourth and a first corner incident left the Renault powered cars in first and second. Unfortunately both cars retired due to engine problems, but not before Patrese had led for 15 laps, during which he set the fastest lap of the race. Steady development over the next few races culminated in the maiden victory for both Boutsen and Williams-Renault in Canada with Patrese making it a one-two. The season finished on a high note with a second win for Boutsen and Williams completed the season second in the Championship, albeit well adrift of winners McLaren. Needless to say the Régie were more than pleased with their return to Formula One.

The team lined up in the 1990 season in the same form as they had the year before. Despite a victory apiece for the two drivers Williams were not satisfied with their performance, ending the season in 4th place. Renault however fared better, the new RS2 was constantly developed and had become virtually an RS3 by the end of the season; it was a match for all but the Honda. Fuel partner Elf developed 20 different high octane brews, throughout the season, enabling the engine to have special "click one" and "click two" mixture switch settings which operated like the turbo boost buttons of old. It was now obvious that a top driver was needed to spearhead a drive for the World Championship. For the 1991 season the moustachioed messiah returned.

Renault now returned to where they had been at the start of 1983. They had a good car, engine and driver package. However at the beginning of the season McLaren-Honda had a better car, engine and driver combination and Ayrton Senna stormed to victory in the first 4 races. The Williams pair’s ambitions had been hampered by gremlins in the new semi-automatic gearbox. A problem with the gearbox software cost Mansell the Canadian Grand Prix within touching distance of the flag when his engine died.

By Mexico however the Williams pair were the class of the field. Patrese put his car on pole for the second race in succession and led team mate Mansell at the chequered flag by 1.3s. Mansell picked up the fastest lap of the race giving Williams-Renault a "perfect". Senna attacked Honda for not developing an engine capable of beating the Renault. Finally, it was starting to come together for the Régie.

Mansell followed up with a hat-trick of victories in France, Britain and Germany. However, despite 2 more victories for Mansell and 1 for Patrese both Championships eluded them, a result of the poor start to the season. This was Renault’s most successful season of F1 so far. Their engine was now regarded as the most powerful, with victory assured on the "power" circuits such as Monza.

If 1991 had seen Renault come frustratingly close to realising their aims, 1992 saw all their dreams come true. The team line-up was the same - Mansell and Patrese - but this time they had a Williams-Renault FW14B at their disposal. Mansell made full use of having, possibly the greatest F1 car of all time. He took a record 9 victories, a record 5 consecutively at the beginning of the season, a record 14 poles in a season and a record 108 points over the whole season. Patrese finished second in the Championship with a victory in Japan. Indeed, so marked was Mansell’s superiority that only Patrese remained on the same lap at the end of the Brazilian Grand Prix. Needless to say Williams-Renault won the Constructors Cup. Renault’s supremacy contributed to arch rivals Honda’s decision to pull out of Formula One, champion Mansell also retired to take up the challenge of Indycar.

Williams-Renault FW15C The dominance continued in 1993. Prost came in as number one driver with the supporting role being filled by rookie test driver Damon Hill. Again the Williams-Renault was the class of the field. Prost roared to his fourth World Championship with 7 victories (4 consecutively), 13 poles and a total of 99 points. Exceptional drives from Hill saw him take 3 consecutive victories mid season, 2 poles and third in the championship. Only the consummate skill of Aryton Senna in the McLaren-Ford prevented greater domination.

With Prost’s retirement Senna moved to Williams. This should have been another "dream ticket" but at the San Marino Grand Prix, the great Brazilian lost his life in a horrifying crash, at the infamous Tamburello kink. Test driver David Coulthard (and for 4 races Mansell) replaced Senna but it took the Williams team most of the season to recover their form and in the end Michael Schumacher won his maiden Championship by one point from Hill. The team, however, retained the Constructors Cup.

1995 saw Renault in the unique position of supplying engines to both the top teams. This was to be Benetton-Renault’s year. Schumacher won a record equalling 9 races and scored 102 points. Benetton took the Constructors Cup - Renault’s fourth in a row. Williams chipped in with 5 wins and 12 poles. Only Ferrari driver Jean Alesi’s solitary win in Canada and team-mate Gerhard Berger’s pole in Belgium prevented total Renault domination.

1996 saw the Williams-Renault package lead the field home. Hill was champion leading for 47.435% of the laps contested. On route to the championship he scored eight wins and secured 9 pole positions. His team-mate Jacques Villeneuve (who had replaced Coulthard in the winter) clinched 4 victories and 3 pole positions in his inaugural season. Only the brilliance of Michael Schumacher (now in a rejuvenated Ferrari) and Olivier Panis (Ligier-Mugen Honda), prevented all the races going to Renault powered cars. They of course claimed their 5th consecutive Constructors Cup.

By the start of the 1997 season Renault had already announced that it would be their last as a works manufacturer. There was however no downturn in their commitment to Formula One, a new engine, the RS9, was developed and had proved by the end of the season to be still the best all round engine in the Championship. It powered Jacques Villeneuve and his Williams to the championship with 7 victories. It also provided team-mate Heinz-Harold Frentzen with his maiden victory and Gerhard Berger, now in a Benetton-Renault scored an emotional last win in Germany. Renault powered cars took 13 pole positions and 11 fastest laps, a good measure of their continued superiority.

Renault’s return to Formula One had certainly been a success. They finally won the Championship, laying to rest the ghost of 83 - in fact it is doubtful that even they expected such a return on their investment when they returned from hibernation in 1989. Patrick Faure head of Renault Sport said in an interview after the race at Jerez that historians will talk of the "Renault Era". It is difficult to disagree with him. Since their return in 89 their performance has been remarkable and can be contrasted with both Peugeot and Mercedes-Benz.

Peugeot entered F1 with the McLaren team in 1994, who were in a position comparable to that of Williams in the winter of 1988/89. Yet they failed to win a single race in their first season and were never really in a position to challenge the leaders. Their performance was so lacklustre that they were quickly dropped by the Woking outfit in favour of the Mercedes engine for 1995. Not until 1997 did Peugeot have an engine which came close to the Renault. Mercedes themselves had little to shout about in the early years. Two development years with the Sauber team led to a switch to McLaren, but it took a further two years before the combination came to fruition with a win and it wasn’t until 1997 that Mercedes provided the first real threat to Renault’s domination. To match the Renault for power the Mercedes engine was having to work much harder; this tended to mean it was unreliable. The most spectacular example of this was at Luxembourg when the leading pair of McLarens’ engines expired on consecutive laps 23 before the end, allowing Renault power to repeat their performance of the 1996 French Grand Prix and finish in the top 4 slots - in Mercedes backyard!

Now that they have pulled out of F1 we can evaluate Renault’s overall performance. It certainly makes for impressive reading: 95 wins, 75 with the normally-aspirated V10 engine; 135 poles, 85 again with the V10; 105 fastest laps; 250 podiums; 2016 world Championship points; 77 front row starts; two one-two-three-four finishes; ten one-two-threes; 34 one-twos; six constructors titles; five Driver’s World Championships. They also provided, amongst others, World Champions, Alain Prost, Aryton Senna, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve with their first F1 victories.

In short Bernard Dudot’s RS series V10 can lay claim to being one of the greatest engines of all time. Experienced television commentator Murray Walker said, "I have no hesitation in saying that from 1950 onwards, the Renault RS is the greatest engine of all time in Formula One. There are those who may counter that suggestion by pointing to the remarkable number of victories achieved by the Ford Cosworth DFV, but you have to remember that Cosworth scored those wins at a time when just about everybody was using that engine. That has simply not been the case for Renault. They have faced tremendous competition and seen the lot off!".