Team Biography

In 1979, Toleman's number one driver, Brian Henton, came close to winning the European Formula Two Championship in a Ralt. The following year Toleman built its own cars (they were copies of the Ralt RT4, but with some refinements by Rory Byrne) and won the Formula Two Championship. A move to Formula One in 1981 was character building, because the first car was huge, but Toleman began to show promise in 1983 and it was able to secure the services of Ayrton Senna.

By the end of 1985, it was in financial difficulties which led to it being bought by Benetton, the Italian clothing manufacturer and then Toleman's main sponsor.

Renamed Benetton, the team became one of the top five teams and scored its first win in 1986, with a BMW engine and Gerhard Berger at the wheel. From 1987, Benetton formed a beneficial relationship with Ford and received the latest development of works engines.

The arrival of Flavio Briatore as director of the team added to the gaiety of the Formula One pit-lane. Briatore had advanced the cause of Benetton, the maker of jumpers, by selling large numbers of franchises for their fine woolies, especially in America. An almost complete ignorance of Formula One did not faze him, he proved a remarkably astute businessman and he formed a very productive relationship with Ford.

Ford it was who announced in 1989 that John Barnard would become the team's new Technical Director. Barnard set up a new research facility near his home in Surrey and his arrival caused Rory Byrne to leave to pen a Formula One car for Reynard.

After Briatore dumped Johnny Herbert from Benetton's driver line-up in 1989, it was only a matter of time before the experienced team manager, Peter Collins, would follow his protege. Briatore was not averse to making waves but, on the whole, his record at Benetton was one of solid progress.

Then Tom Walkinshaw bought into the team while Benetton's investment arm bought into Walkinshaw's own core business, which, among other things, acts as a consultant to the motor industry. Soon after Walkinshaw arrived, Barnard left. Simultaneously, the Reynard Formula One project, which came within a whisker of bankrupting the company, was aborted which left Byrne free to return to Benetton.

When Michael Schumacher made a sensational debut for Jordan in 1991, Briatore was on the case and despite a 'letter of intent' from Schumacher's manager to Jordan, Benetton was able to secure Schumacher's services. Schumacher later made a financial settlement with Jordan.

With Michael Schumacher on the team, it went from strength to strength and Schumacher won the World Championship in 1994 and 1995. It did not escape controversy, however, and in 1994 the FIA accused Benetton of using an illegal 'launch control' (traction control by any other name) and a subsequent investigation did find a traction control programme deep in Benetton's computer hardware on the car.

The team claimed that it was used only in testing, and this perfectly reasonable explanation was immediately accepted by everyone. It was clear that neither team nor driver had been cheating in actual racing and all those who had believed otherwise, among whom were the FIA's Technical Delegate, Charlie Whiting, had been mistaken. If you believe that, you are likely to buy gold bricks from strangers.

Benetton severed its long association with Ford at the end of 1994 and switched to Renault engines, a grave error in the long term. Schumacher secured his second Championship with Renault powered, for the first time, Benetton won the constructors' title.

In 1996 Schumacher went to Ferrari for the Gross National Product of a Third World nation and Benetton announced that it was now an Italian team (though still based in England). This bold switch of allegiance coincided with Benetton's decline as key technical personnel were enticed away by Ferrari to form again their relationships with Schumacher. We've not heard the Italian National Anthem very often since Benetton became Italian.

From back-to-back World Championships, Benetton won nothing in 1996, and indeed has since taken the chequered flag just once since, at the 1997 German GP. In late 1997 Briatore left and was soon heading Supertec, which continued to prepare Renault engines, and Benetton had to part with cash to obtain them. Dave Richards, head of race and rally development specialist, Prodrive, replaced Briatore as chief executive.

Richards planned a long-term strategy for technical development, but the Benetton family would not back his plans so, almost a year to the day after his appointment, Richards resigned. He was replaced by Rocco Benetton, son of Luciano, the company's founder. Being the son of a maker of pullovers is not a recognised path to success in Formula One.

Early in 2000 Renault decided to return to Formula One and bought Benetton. Flavio Briatore, a man with a year-round tan, but a man who has not learned that the peak of baseball cap goes to the fore, returned to head the team, which was renamed 'Renault'.

Despite a relatively disappointing season in 2001 it was clear that Renault meant business when it returned to the fray in 2002. The French outfit, which revolutionised F1 in the late seventies with the introduction of the turbo-engine, and has never shied away from technological experimentation returned to F1 with a radical wide-angle V10, of which much was expected. Sadly it delivered little, and continued to do so.

Most of the Renault package for 2002 was rather good. The chassis was good, the traction control was the best in F1, the wide angle V10 meant that the car had a nice low centre of gravity, and in Jenson Button and Jarno Trulli the team had two very able drivers.

Early in the season the Renault was more than a match for the Mercedes and Hondas, unfortunately as the others improved and found more grunt, Renault remained static. As if this wasn't bad enough the engine was none too reliable either.

For 2003 Trulli was joined by Spanish hot-shot Fernando Alonso, with the highly experienced Allan McNish assuming the role of test driver along with Franck Montagny.

The decision to take part in the Friday test sessions - for which team boss Flavio Briatore took full responsibility - was inspired. Despite the derision of McLaren's Ron Dennis, who described those taking part in the sessions as 'track cleaners', Renault was able to turn the tests to its advantage, the subsequent banning of the sessions in 2004 proving the point.

That said although the chassis continually impressed, the decision to continue with the wide-angled V10 engine was misjudged and by the time the French outfit had come to the only sensible conclusion - to follow the conventional layout - it was too late. Although the team was regularly scoring points, reliability, particularly with regards the R23 engine, was giving cause for concern.

There were some memorable moments in 2003, not least Alonso's fine, historic win in Hungary, when the Spaniard gave a demonstration of superiority worthy of Michael Schumacher, who suffered the indignity of being lapped by the youngster.

Behind the scenes all was not well. For much of the season technical director Mike Gascoyne was rumoured to be unhappy and in talks with Toyota. Eventually the deal was done and the Englishman headed to Cologne, only months after aerodynamicist John Iley had left Enstone for Maranello.

Having built such wonderful cars and engines during its previous foray into F1, then having powered Williams and Benetton to World Championship titles, Renault still feels aggrieved that it never received due recognition for its achievements. This time around the French outfit wants to prove just how good it is both in terms of innovation and success. 2003 saw Renault finish fourth in the Constructors' Championship, albeit almost 60 points behind third placed McLaren-Mercedes.

At the launch of the team's 2004 contender, the R24, there was much talk of displacing either McLaren, WilliamsF1 or even Ferrari to join the big three, unless the engine department has made a significant step forwards this seems unlikely.

Alonso was the revelation of 2003, though those who had witnessed the youngster in the Minardi a couple of years earlier already knew what he was capable of. Youngest driver to take pole position was soon followed by becoming the youngest driver to win a Grand Prix, who would bet against him going on to become Spain's first World Champion, and F1's youngest to boot. That said, Renault can not take him for granted - even though he is part of Briatore's stable of youngsters - for other teams, especially Ferrari, are known to be interested.

Jarno Trulli was clearly overwhelmed by his young teammate, but as the season progressed he began to re-establish himself. The Italian continues to suffer appalling luck, but then there are many that still believe you create your own.

With the departure of Iley and Gascoyne and the appointment of Bob Bell and Rob White, combined with the decision to opt for a conventional engine configuration, much had changed at Renault.

Despite some doom and gloom predictions, Renault's 2004 season wasn't too bad, indeed in the early stages of the year the French outfit appeared to be the only team capable of mounting a serious challenge to Ferrari. However, the momentum appeared to falter round about the halfway mark, and from France onwards there was an obvious decline, both on and off track.

Despite the loss of key players, and the decision to revert to a more traditional engine configuration, in the early stages of the season the R24 surprised many, while at long last, Jarno Trulli appeared to have stepped up a gear, determined not to live in the shadow of his younger teammate.

In the opening races, Trulli regularly out-qualified the Spaniard, subsequently ramming home the advantage in the race. The highlight came in Monaco, where the Italian delivered a supreme performance, taking pole and fastest lap.

Although clearly unable to take on Ferrari, Renault looked comfortable for runner-up spot, then came Canada.

Some would have you believe that the French outfit's fortunes began to go awry in France, not so, it was in Canada, when, having qualified third and fifth, the team came way empty handed for the first time since France 2003.

However, the team was about to face another crisis.

Although it was widely presumed that Alonso and Trulli would be retained for 2005, the Italian did not have a contract. Then, following a lapse of concentration at the last corner of the French Grand Prix, which allowed Rubens Barrichello through to take second, the Italian's relationship with the team, and more importantly team principal Flavio Briatore, began to go downhill.

The relationship quickly deteriorated and soon it appeared that Trulli was goading his former manager, driving at 75% for most of the race, then suddenly banging in a fast lap, just to prove a point.

Alonso was as exciting as ever, but constantly made things hard for himself by getting it wrong in qualifying. Thankfully, the Renault R24 was one of the quickest at getting away from the grid, so the Spaniard was usually able to make up the 'lost' positions by the first corner.

With regards Trulli, things came to a head at Monza, and following the race, Renault and the Italian parted company, the very next day he signed two year deal with Toyota.

Surprisingly, rather than promote Franck Montagny, who had completed thousands of test miles in the R24, the French team opted to bring in Jacques Villeneuve, who hadn't driven since USA 2003.

It had all gone wrong, and in the closing stages of the championship, BAR snuck through on the inside and took the runner-up spot. Despite the Monaco win, despite three poles and six trips to the podium, Renault will feel, quite rightly, that 2004 was a case of mission not accomplished.

For 2005 Alonso was joined by Giancarlo Fisichella who last raced for the team in 2001, when it was Benetton.

Although much was expected on the R25, it is safe to say that, pre-season, few in 'Planet Paddock' thought that the French team would be serious contenders for either title, let alone both. Alonso was seen as fast and brave, but a little too immature, while Ferrari, BAR and McLaren were seen as the main Constructors' Championship protagonists.

Other than a great car, and two excellent drivers, the key to Renault's success in 2005 was the stability, teamwork and passion.

Although Ferrari is widely described as being the most passionate of F1 teams, few people seem to have watch the French team. Many of the people have been on-board for longer than even they would care to remember, and hence there is a tremendous bonding with the team - not simply done for the cameras.

It is no coincidence that Flavio Briatore has built two World Championship winning teams, he inspires those around him, and though quick to punish mistakes is first in line to praise and reward success.

The pain of 2004's failure hurt the team, and in 2005 it decided to make amends.

The season got off to a great start with Giancarlo Fisichella taking a convincing win in Australia, before the bad luck which has dogged most of his career returned to haunt him. However, Fernando Alonso was quick to step up to the mantle, giving a season-long performance that belied his tender age.

The R25 was a superb car, though clearly not the best, whilst the Renault engine was the class of the field, suffering just one failure.

Other than Ferrari, Renault is the best in the pitlane when it comes to strategy, and that, combined with few mistakes and the team's momentum, resulted in the French outfit taking both titles, even though the Constructors' Championship looked to be heading to Woking in the final rounds.

In 2006, Alonso and Fisichella were both retained, while test driver Franck Montagny was replaced by Finnish sensation Heikki Kovalainen.

However, ahead of the new season there was a huge question mark hanging over the World Championship winning team. At the end of 2005, the entire pitlane, not least Flavio Briatore, was shocked to hear that McLaren had signed Alonso for 2007.

The Spaniard's decision to leave Renault was no doubt partly influenced by his concern that the team's parent company had no long-term commitment to the sport. Indeed, if one believed everything one read in certain sections of the media the Renault F1 team was dead and buried, with the plug about to be pulled on the entire venture. This, combined with the fact - according to the usual suspects in the media - that sponsors were unwilling to get involved with the team and no drivers were showing an interest in taking Alonso's - soon to be vacant - seat, suggested that Renault had had its 15 minutes of F1 fame.

However, at the launch of the 2006 contender the French manufacturer pledged its full support for the F1 programme, providing the team remained competitive. And competitive it was.

Despite the threat from Ferrari and Michael Schumacher, Renault and Alonso retained both championships in a season when nothing was made easy for the French team. Other than a momentous fight with the Maranello outfit, Renault found itself the victim numerous dubious decisions, not least the 'mass dampers sage' and Alonso's outrageous grid penalty at Monza.

It was an odd season with the pendulum swinging one way and then the other. Had the temperature not risen in Spain, contrary to all forecasts, there is no doubt that Schumacher would have taken a third successive victory. Then there was the wheel nut in Hungary and the engine failure - an unheard of problem with the French powerplants - at Monza.

At the end of the day however, Renault and Alonso won through, deservedly retaining both titles. Once again, the R26 was not the best car, however, with a little bit of Pat Symonds' strategic magic the threat from Ferrari, not to mention the FIA and its race stewards, was kept at bay.

Having been unable to get its driver of choice (Raikkonen), Renault opted to retain Giancarlo Fisichella for a third season in 2007. The Italian was partnered by rookie Heikki Kovalainen, with Ricardo Zonta and Nelson Piquet Jr carrying out test duties.

Fisichella was hugely disappointing in 2006, and at times it was hard to believe he was driving the same car as Alonso. The decision to retain him, following the failure to attract Raikkonen, was described by one Renault insider as being the result of the French team being left "up the creek without a paddle". That said, with a rookie for a teammate, 2007 would hopefully give the Roman a chance to shine.

Despite a new title sponsor - the Dutch banking group ING - and livery, there were sections of the media peddling doom and gloom even before the season got underway. In some ways however, they were to be proved correct.

Following the success of its two title winning years, Renault was one of the teams that really struggled following the switch to Bridgestone rubber in 2007. That said, nobody was expecting the decline to be so quick and so complete. Having scored 16 wins in 2005/2006, in 2007 the French outfit was to only make one visit to the podium, far less take a victory.

In short, the problems can be attributed to the tyre switch and also to incorrect information coming out of the windtunnel. Either of these issues would have been problematic for the reigning champions, but in tandem it was to prove a disaster.

Some say that perhaps the French outfit had become a little complacent, and Pat Symonds readily agreed. In terms of the drivers, Giancarlo Fisichella continued to disappoint, though in fairness the R27 wouldn't have allowed even Alonso to shine. If truth be told, the Italian's experience, and calmness under pressure was probably just what was needed in such a season.

Following a nightmare start to the season, causing Flavio Briatore to describe his debut as "rubbish", Heikki Kovalainen eventually found his feet, and by mid-season was leading the French outfit's challenge. A fine second place in the rain-hit Japanese GP was just reward for the Finn following the nightmare of Melbourne.

It was clear, long before the end of the season, that neither driver would be retained for 2008, however, it was only in mid-December that the team confirmed that Fernando Alonso would partner Nelson Piquet.

Much like Honda, Renault soon came to realise that it was going nowhere in 2007 and therefore focussed its efforts on 2008. However, we weren't far into the new season when it was clear that in reality the French outfit had made little progress.

Whilst no doubt delighted to have left the internal strife at McLaren behind, Alonso must have been dreadfully disappointed to find himself in the R28, a far cry from the title-winning cars of 2005 and 2006, and indeed the MP4-22.

For much of the season the French team struggled, the R28 clearly suffering a lack of grip, aerodynamic instability and inferior horsepower. In terms of the engine, Renault discovered that whereas it had strictly adhered to the engine freeze, its rivals had made a number of legal changes over the off season having simply asked for permission.

Furthermore, in the light of the freeze, the French team had reduced the size of its engine department, which meant that it simply didn't have the resources to make the necessary changes, changes which were costing as much as 35bhp.

The aerodynamic problems were a mixture of issues one of the most important being the loss of (senior aerodynamicist) Dino Toso who was battling Cancer and was to pass away in August.

Dirk de Beer was recruited from BMW, but initially the aero problems of the R28 were a carry over from the data problems which blighted its predecessor.

Despite a weak start to the season however, the team fought back, constantly introducing new aero packages, thanks in part to the establishment of a new CFD department at Enstone.

In Spain, Alonso qualified for the front row, largely due to a light fuel load, and though he was to retire from the race, it was clear that the aero improvements were working as was the team's new damper, the device at the centre of the other spy saga of 2007.

The new damper helped significantly in the way the R28 treated its tyres, the car having originally been notoriously hard on its rubber.

While the continuous development drive was to see a remarkable turnaround in fortune for the French team, it is fair to say that the R28 was never a serious threat to BMW, far less McLaren and Ferrari.

The initial poor form of the car took its toll on Alonso, whose head was noticeably down at times, culminating in a woeful race at Hockenheim when it was hard to believe this was the same guy who had won two titles.

After the summer break however, it was the Alonso of old, and this combined with the updates from his team - including a new front wing - and a new fuel from Total, saw the Spaniard back on form, even if his car remained 0.5s off the pace of the McLaren and Ferrari. In terms of its other rivals, Renault had made real progress, and this, combined with the development drop off at BMW, saw the French team become the third force in the final races of the season.

While the win in Singapore was fortuitous, the same thing couldn't be said about Japan, where Alonso and his team were on top form. Yes, a first corner incident had ruled out Ferrari and McLaren but the R28 was there to pick up the pieces when it mattered.

While Alonso returned to form, eventually finishing fifth in the championship, Piquet was largely disappointing. Despite the shortcomings of the R28, the young Brazilian was clearly overwhelmed by the pace of his teammate. Ironically, Piquet's best performance was in Germany, where he finished second, the very race in which his teammate fell apart.

Piquet was retained for 2009, however, as we said at the time, the Brazilian would need to "significantly improve if he was to keep his seat for a third season, especially with Romain Grosjean waiting in the wings".

Right from the outset Renault faced major hurdles in 2009. The global financial crisis which had seen Honda quit F1 threatened all the manufacturer teams. While Renault had always said that it would support the F1 drive while its team was winning this was before the credit crunch.

Even before the season got underway, Renault suffered a major setback when title sponsor, the Dutch banking group ING announced it was terminating its contract ahead of schedule at the end of the season. If Renault thought things couldn't get worse they were wrong.

Renault knew it couldn't wait until mid-season for a revival, it had to start the season up there with McLaren and Ferrari. Furthermore, both drivers had to give 100 percent in every race.

On its unveiling, the R29 was widely described as one of the ugliest F1 cars ever seen, Red Bull having proved that the new rules didn't have to mean ugly. Things wouldn't have been so bad if the car performed but it didn't, indeed, some feel the car was a step backwards.

Renault had also missed out badly in the double diffuser row, for when the when the French team first approached the FIA with its plan it was rejected, yet a similar concept from Brawn, Williams and Toyota which was accepted proved to be a winner, especially as the Brackley team was concerned.

The problem for Renault is that when it went to the FIA it went with a specific design, and it was this - the specific design not the concept - which was rejected.

Renault was one of the few teams that tried to persist with KERS, but like several of its rivals found the controversial device made its car unstable.

The situation wasn't helped by the fact that team boss Flavio Briatore, a leading light in the teams' alliance (FOTA), was not convinced that KERS would be worthwhile and that in anticipation of the FIA's budget cuts he could comfortably reduce his workforce. The shortage of staff combined with the dithering as to whether to spend its development money on aero or KERS was to cost the French team dearly. The team did run KERS however, after the Bahrain GP it was only ever used for one more race, the Italian GP.

Although the R29 was in touch with the pace-setters it was never likely to bother them and the 26 points earned by the French team were mostly down to the dogged determination of Alonso.

In addition to another fifth in Spain, Alonso claimed fastest race lap in German where he hung on to the rear end of the two Brawns. Running on fumes he took pole in Hungary however, he was sidelined by a fuel pump problem just fifteen laps into the race.

It was at this point in the season that Renault's world fell apart.

Following another disappointing performance from Nelson Piquet, it was announced that the Brazilian had been dropped with reserve driver Romain Grosjean being called in to replace him for the rest of the season.

Shortly after the next race however - Belgium, where Alonso looked set for a points finish until he suffered damage to his wheel - the Brazilian media broke a story which was to overshadow not only Renault but the entire sport.

Nelson Piquet claimed that ahead of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix he had been ordered to deliberately crash, a move which would effectively hand the race to his teammate who would have been put on a strategy aimed at allowing for the incident.

'Crashgate', as it came to be known, is now regarded as one of the most infamous incidents in the entire history of sport and the fall-out continues.

Team boss Flavio Briatore and executive director of engineering Pat Symonds left the team and were subsequently banned from motorsport. ING ended its sponsorship of the team with immediate effect and at a subsequent WMSC hearing the French team was handed a two-year suspended sentence.

While lenient, many saw the suspended sentence as the only way of keeping Renault in F1 for BMW had already announced its intention to follow Honda out of the sport and Toyota was to make a similar announcement at season end.

The lack of results and the global financial crisis had taken Renault to the very brink of withdrawing from F1 and it was widely thought that 'Crashgate' would be the final straw. However, in the wake of the WMSC's sympathetic ruling a deal was done which saw Luxembourg investment company Genii Capital buy a 75.1% stake in the team while Renault would continue to supply engines.

Shortly after the WMSC's decision Ferrari announced that it had signed Fernando Alonso, while the enforced departure of Briatore and Symonds brought the story of the double-winners of 2005 and 2006 to a sad end. Ironically, however, in one of the oh so cruel twists, Alonso scored his only podium result of 2009 at, guess where? Yes, Singapore! While, on one of his first laps in Friday free practice, Romain Grosjean crashed at exactly the same spot where his predecessor had deliberately gone off a year earlier.

On February 31, at the unveiling of its 2010 contender, the team announced that 2009 GP2 runner-up Vitaly Petrov would partner Robert Kubica - who had been signed way back in October 2009 - with Ho-Pin Tung recruited as reserve driver along with Jerome d'Ambrosio. In terms of management, former DAMS boss Eric Boullier was recruited as team boss while stand-in team principal Bob Bell was handed the role of managing director.

While the Genii Capital buy-out appears to ensure the future of the team one cannot help but wonder how much longer Renault itself will want to be involved. Furthermore, while there is no doubting his talent, the fact that Petrov - the first Russian to race in F1 - brought a "significant" financial package to the team only adds to the sense of (long-term) doubt.

Statistics - Prior to 2009 Season

Drivers' Titles: 2
Constructors' Titles: 2
Seasons in F1: 17
Grand Prix: 262
Wins: 35
Points: 1082
Poles: 51
Fastest Laps: 29

Best result in 2009: 3rd (Singapore)
Best qualifying 2009: Pole (Hungary)
Worst qualifying 2009: 19th (3 times)
2009: Alonso out-qualified Piquet 9 times
2009: Alonso out-qualified Grosjean 7 times
2009: Piquet out-qualified Alonso 1 time
2009: Grosjean out-qualified Alonso 0 times
2009: Completed 1618 out of 1976 laps (81.9%)
2009: Finished 27 times from 34 starts (79.4%)

Management

Team Principal:Eric Boullier

Managing Director: Bob Bell

Technical Director: James Allison
Deputy Technical Director: Naoki Tokunaga
Deputy Managing Director (Engine): Rob White
Head of Engine Track Operations: Remi Taffin
Deputy Managing Director (Support Ops): Laurent Chedorge

Chief Designer: Tim Densham
Operations Director: John Mardle
Head of Aerodynamics: Dirk De Beer

Sporting Director: Steve Nielsen
Chief Race Engineer: Alan Permane

Technical Specifications

Renault R30

Chassis: Moulded carbon fibre and aluminium honeycomb composite monocoque, manufactured by the Renault F1 Team and designed for maximum strength with minimum weight. RS27-2010 V8 engine installed as a fully-stressed member.

Front suspension: Carbon fibre top and bottom wishbones operate an inboard rocker via a pushrod system. This is connected to a torsion bar and damper units which are mounted inside the front of the monocoque. Aluminium uprights and OZ machined magnesium wheels.

Rear suspension: Carbon fibre top and bottom wishbones with pushrod operated torsion bars and transverse-mounted damper units mounted in the top of the gearbox casing. Aluminium uprights and OZ machined magnesium wheels.

Transmission: Seven-speed semi-automatic titanium gearbox with reverse gear. "Quickshift" system in operation to maximise speed of gearshifts.

Fuel system: Kevlar-reinforced rubber fuel cell by ATL.

Cooling system: Separate oil and water radiators located in the car's sidepods and cooled using airflow from the car's forward motion.

Electrical: MES-Microsoft Standard Electronic Control Unit.

Braking system: Carbon discs and pads (Hitco); calipers and mastercylinders by AP Racing.

Cockpit: Removable driver’s seat made of anatomically formed carbon composite, with six-point harness seat belt by OMP Racing. Steering wheel integrates gear change and clutch paddles, front flap adjuster.

Dimensions

Front track: 1450 mm
Rear track: 1400 mm
Overall length: 5050 mm
Overall height: 950 mm
Overall width: 1800 mm
Overall weight: 620 kg, with driver, cameras and ballast

RS27-2010