- The 2011 season marked the dawn of a brand-new chapter in Renault’s F1 history. By opting to supply three teams, Renault is going back to its core activity as an engine supplier.
- Renault Sport F1 is the department that has been set up to oversee this programme.
- The main thrust of its work takes place at Viry-Châtillon, traditionally the technical hub of Renault’s F1 activities: engines have been developed, built and tested here for more than 30 years.
- Renault Sport F1 supplies three teams on the grid – 25 percent of the field – Red Bull Racing Renault, Lotus Renault GP and Team Lotus. A team of six engine engineers and technicians services each team at every race on the F1 calendar.
- In total, nearly 250 people work at Renault Sport F1 on current and future F1 engines, and contribute to making Formula 1 a showcase for the company’s quality and excellence.
This season, three teams, accounting for 25 percent of the field, have chosen the Renault engine to power them. The 2010 world championship-winning engine will equip Red Bull Racing-Renault, with whom Renault won last year’s title; Lotus Renault GP, double world champions in 2005 and 2006 when racing as the Renault F1 Team; and Team Lotus, the best rookie team of 2010.
All three partner teams supplied by Renault Sport F1 receive identical engines. Each team also has its own bespoke group of six engine specialists and technicians who will be assigned for the season’s duration. This ability to adapt to the demands, cultures and ambience of different partner teams has been a key factor behind the success of Renault’s engines throughout the company’s long F1 history. To date, this approach has been rewarded with nine world titles in the Constructors’ World Championship and eight titles in the drivers’ World Championship.
Renault’s renewed commitment to F1 underlines how important Grand Prix racing is to the brand. As well as being a formidable springboard to promote its image across the globe, motor racing’s highest tier doubles up as a test laboratory for new technology – a factor that will become ever more relevant in the years ahead, when new engine regulations are implemented in 2014.
