How Renault overcame early hiccups to prove its worth in F1

The end of Renault as an engine manufacturer in Formula 1 will be nothing like the beginning. How could it be when the French firm arrived in the Silverstone paddock halfway through the 1977 season like Del Boy and Rodney turning up at a wake dressed as Batman and Robin?

There were jokes about the Renault (nicknamed the Yellow Teapot because of its unfortunate habit of emitting clouds of steam) but, beneath the ribaldry, there was an unmistakable nervousness among British teams fearing the beginning of the end to their decade of uncomplicated running with the Ford-Cosworth DFV.

On the other hand, the more technically minded observers were as excited as Mohammed Ben Sulayem spotting a photo opportunity. They were happy to delve into the intricacies of turbocharging thanks to Renault taking up a complex option that had been available since 1966.

Everyone else in F1 had dismissed that preference as being uncompetitive in the same way the owner of an SUV with personal number plates would ridicule the thought of doing the school run on a tandem. Turbocharging was for pre-war Bentleys at Le Mans, not for a Tyrrell made in a Surrey woodyard.

There was a touch of the past at the debut when Renault invited everyone to their motor home on race morning because it coincided with Bastille Day. This national celebration of a major event in the French Revolution and the storming of a medieval armoury in 1789 presented an ideal excuse for introductions while serving a flavour of France. Brie de Meaux and Sancerre may have made a stark and stylish alternative to a bacon buttie in the paddock cafe but there was no fear of the yellow RS01 storming the F1 arsenal even though Jean-Pierre Jabouille had managed to qualify ahead of a Shadow and a Surtees.

Turbo failure (cue smoke and scoffing) just as Jabouille worked his way into 16th place meant a rethink and, in the more relaxed 1970s, taking advantage of the opportunity to miss a couple of races.

A Gordini turbocharged engine in the Renault RS01 of Jean-Pierre Jabouille

Photo by: David Phipps

When Renault turned up again in Holland, the seriousness of intent was demonstrated by major modifications to the inlet manifold, ignition, camshaft design, exhaust and Kugelfischer fuel injection. Such a wholesale upgrade today would not only have Sky F1’s Ted Kravitz on speed gabble but the stewards would also be awash with protest because – well, this couldn’t possibly be legal, could it?

Despite never having been to Zandvoort before, Jabouille qualified on the fifth row. When he retired with a broken top link (rather than turbo trouble), that was seen as progress. It would be a false dawn. The F1 Bastille would remain impregnable for quite some time.

It was not until halfway through 1978 that the routine retirement reason of either turbo or engine failure would show signs of making way for the single car entry being classified as a runner at full distance. Renault’s first championship points came with a fine fourth place in the penultimate race of the season at Watkins Glen. With its tail up following victory in the Le Mans 24-Hour race, Renault felt confident enough to fly a gaggle of journalists to Paul Ricard in November for a full-blown preview of the following season.

The crash helmet had a sticker with my name on it – presumably to make identification easier for the photographer rather than in the event of an accident

It was explained how the competitions department in the Alpine premises in Dieppe had been closed and the racing facility at Viry-Chatillon expanded. It was to be the start of a distinguished history at Viry and the prompt for protests at this year’s Italian Grand Prix over the engine department’s imminent closure.

Back in 1978, the Renault people were telling us about how a state-of-the-art dyno was coming on stream and ensuring engine and turbo malfunctions were likely to be a thing of the past. That was all well and good, but there was still a way to go – as I was about to discover.

Renault had brought its Le Mans winner (minus its enclosed top) to Paul Ricard. Didier Pironi was on hand to act as chauffeur for any willing passengers. I climbed into the left-hand seat, secured the lap and diagonal belt and was told to hang on to the chrome bar coming across my left shoulder. No full seat harness; no flameproof overalls.

Never mind: the crash helmet had a sticker with my name on it – presumably to make identification easier for the photographer rather than in the event of an accident. In truth, wild horses wouldn’t have stopped me getting into that car. And Pironi was about to demonstrate why with playful power-slides through the curves leading to the back straight.

Our scribe Hamilton had a memorable ride with Didier Pironi in the Renault Alpine A442

Photo by: Maurice Hamilton

The big question was: could he take the very fast right-hander at Signes flat? Yes, he could! Moments later, the adrenalin levels received an unexpected surge from a different direction as the A442 suddenly snapped sideways under braking for the next right-hander. I could tell from my driver’s reactions that this wasn’t in the script. 

Gone were the languid dabs of opposite lock, replaced by urgent and violent grabs of the wheel – first this way, then that – as if it were red hot. As we made a glorious sideways exit under full power, the cause of the drama became evident.

A hundred metres or so further on, a grinning Rene Arnoux was nonchalantly leaning against the rear wing of his parked RS01 while giving Pironi a round of applause. The F1 car’s engine had just blown – and we had found the oil.

Needless to say (considering the cavalier approach to safety at the time) there were no flag marshals on duty. No matter. No harm done. “Sorry about that!” grinned Didier when we got back to the pits. I told him not to worry. Guaranteed the same outcome, I’d go through it all again.

Which, I daresay, is what those in the engine department at Viry-Chatillon are thinking right now as they look back on finally storming the F1 Bastille with 11 drivers’ and 12 constructors’ titles.

The most recent Renault-powered constructors' title came in 2013 with Red Bull in the final year of the V8 normally-aspirated era

Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch / Motorsport Images