A comprehensive look at the Formula 1 team, Renault – Part 2
Renault became a part of Formula 1 back in 1977 and back then, no one knew that they would become world champions after exiting from the sport and then returning later on after 16 years.
Renault were one of the top running engine suppliers of the sport and they supplied for championship winning teams like Benetton and Williams.
However, the team decided to return to the sport in 2002 and this time, Flavio Briatore became the team’s principal. Briatore played a major role in helping Benetton in securing championships with Michael Schumacher during the mid 90s.
He signed drivers like Jarno Trulli and the 2009 Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button as the first two drivers of the team after its return. The team secured a pretty satisfactory result after its return as they scored the 4th place in the constructors’
standings with the help of 23 points.
The following year, Fernando Alonso replaced Button and helped the team in securing its first victory after its return. The team secured the 4th position once again after scoring 88 points with the help of 5 podiums and 2 pole positions.
After this point, Renault proved that it had the capability of challenging giants like McLaren and Ferrari and in 2004, the team scored the 3rd place in the constructors’ standings after scoring 105 points with the help of a victory, 6 podium
positions and 3 pole positions.
In 2005, the team scored its first championship in the sport with the help of Fernando Alonso who secured the drivers’ standings for the team as well and later on became one of the best drivers the sport has ever witnessed.
Alonso became the youngest Formula 1 champion back then and since Jarno Trulli was replaced by Giancarlo Fisichella, both of the teams drivers were competitive enough to help the team score points and defeat Ferrari finally after its 5-year long championship
reign.
The following year, the team quite surprisingly retained its championship and proved that they were there to stay in the sport. The most amazing thing about the two championships Renault secured was that they defeated Ferrari during its peak time which seemed
impossible for teams like McLaren and Williams.
Nevertheless, Alonso decided to join McLaren the following year and as a result, the team was unable to retain its performance and finished in 3rd place in the constructors’ standings. The team scored 51 points with the help of 1 podium position.
In 2008, the team re-signed Alonso but since their momentum was interrupted, they were unable to score good results as they ended up in 4th place in the constructors’ standings after scoring 2 race victories and 4 podium positions.
However, Flavio was caught in a ‘crashgate’ scandal. As a result, he was banned from the sport and in 2009, the team was unable to recover from its problems and their performance deteriorated even further.
The team finished in 8th place in the constructors’ standings with the help of 26 points in the 2009 Formula 1 season. Alonso once again left the team and joined Ferrari.
After this, the team signed Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov and the team finished in 5th place in the constructors’ standings in 2010 with the help of 157 points.
Even in 2011, the team is battling in the mid-field along with other teams. Let’s see how they fare in the remainder of the season.
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