Information about Renault

A relatively new team by name but certainly not newcomers to F1 or victory as a engine supplier. Previously known as Benetton, the team enjoyed success in the mid nineties as Constructors' Champions as Renault engines dominated the championship, following a return to F1 after leaving the sport in 1996. In their current form they finished fourth upon debut in 2002 and again in 2003 with a maiden victory for promising youngster Fernando Alonso. In 2004 they were edged out of second by Honda BAR after parting company with race winner Jarno Trulli mid season, but bounced back spectacularly in 2005 to hand Alonso the Drivers' Championship and Renault their first Constructors' Trophy. In 2006 they repeated the 'double' again, but less convincingly after fending off a late charge from Ferrari. Fortunately seven wins in the first nine races set up their back-to-back victories, before losing Alonso to McLaren for the 2007 season. Without him, the team seemed less galvanised and hardly competed in 2007, finishing third behind even BMW, with their best showing in Japan where they scooped 12 points. They are expected to do better in 2008 but are unlikely to scale the heady heights of 2005 and 2006.

Base: Enstone, UK
Drivers: Fernando Alonso (SPA) and Nelson Piquet Jnr. (BRA), (test driver L. di Grassa, R. Grosjean, S. Yamamoto).

Fernando Alonso, won the Spanish cadet national kart title, when he was just 13. Alonso continued an impressive karting career, switching to car racing and then to F3000. soon he was signed on as a test driver for Minardi in 2001 and moved on to become the number one driver for them - starting the Australian Grand Prix as the youngest F1 driver in history. Even after an impressive season, Alonso decided to move to Renault as a test driver. In the 2003 season Alonso showed his talents, finishing third in Malaysia and Brazil followed by a second in Spain. In Hungary the youngster went into the history books as the youngest driver to win a Grand Prix, having become the youngest pole-sitter at the start of the season in Malaysia. In 2005 he came of age to upstage defending champion Michael Schumacher to overwhelmingly win the Drivers' Championship as Renault also took the Constructors' Championship. In doing so he became the youngest champion in the history of F1. In 2006 he cemented his reputation by again winning the Drivers’ Championship and helping Renault to the ‘double’, but not without an exciting late season charge from Schumacher. He then moved to McLaren as their number 1 driver to take on Ferrari without Schumacher but it didn’t quite go as planned. His rookie teammate Lewis Hamilton was soon showing him up with a string of consistent podium finishes that left Alonso trailling him all season for the title lead. He became increasingly unhappy at McLaren accusing them of favouring Hamilton and resulted in some on track scraps and plenty of media gossip. It all came down to the final race where both lost out to Kimi Raikkonen. Alonso not unexpectedly left to go back to Renault for 2008, having finished third in 2007. But will he be able to compete in a car that faded the previous season.

Statistics
Date of Birth: 21 July 1981
First Grand Prix win: Hungarian Grand Prix 2003
Number of Grand Prix driven: 105
Grand Prix wins: 19
Pole positions: 17
Podiums: 49
Career points: 490

Nelson Piquet Jnr: is the son of former Brazilian F1 driver of the same name and prevously been a test driver for several teams. 2008 marks his debut in F1. His career started by winning the South American Formula 3 on his second attempt in 2002 after which he moves to the UK Formula 3 series where he finishes third and tests for Williams. The following year he becomes the youngest ever winner, before moving to drive simultaneously for GP2 and the new A1 series on behalf of the Brazilian team. He goes on to finish second in GP2 in 2006 behind Lewis Hamilton and test drives for BAR and Renault, being the official test driver for the latter in 2007.

Statistics
Date of Birth: 25 July 1985
First Grand Prix win: Hungarian Grand Prix 2003
Number of Grand Prix driven: 0
Grand Prix wins: 0
Pole positions: 0
Podiums: 0
Career points: 0

Technical details and statistics:
Chassis: R28 Engine: RS28 Tyres: Bridgestone First season: 1977
World championships: 2
Highest race finish (number of times): 1 (33)
Pole position: 50
Official web-site: http://www.renaultf1.com

note: Statistics up to the end of 2007 season