Lotus Renault GP

History in F1

Renault has a long and illustrious history in F1, having debuted the first turbo engine in F1 at the 1977 British Grand Prix, at Silverstone. In 1997, Renault pulled out of F1 and only re-entered in 2000, when it bought Team Benetton. In 2005, Renault won it’s first Constructors’ Championship title and it’s second subsequently in 2006. This season, Renault is expanding to supporting three teams, instead of two: Lotus Renault, Red Bull and Team Lotus.

Information

Team Renault has a long history in F1, but it has been intermittent and the team has not always been a constructor, which makes it difficult to evaluate its record. The Renault engine won the Drivers’ Championships five-times between 1992 and 1997, but technically this does not count towards Renault’s statistics, since the actual constructors were Benetton and Williams. However, Team Renault did win both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships in 2005 and 2006. 2010 was a good season for Renault, finishing 5th with 163 points and it has a lot to prove in 2011.

Technical Details & Statistics

This season, three teams are using the Renault RS27-2011 engine – Renault, Red Bull and Team Lotus. Team Renault is using the R31 chassis, which unveiled in January at the Circuit Ricardo Torno.

Base: Enstone (UK)
Team Principal: Eric Boullier
Main drivers: Nick Heidfeld & Vitaly Petrov
Engine: Renault RS27-2011
Chassis: R31
Debut F1 Season: 1977
World Championship Titles: 2
Highest race finish: 1 (x35)
Pole Position: 51
Fastest lap times: 31

Drivers

Driver 1: Nick Heidfeld

Replacing Robert Kubia, is German driver, Nick Heidfeld. Heidfeld joined the F1 circuit in 2000, from racing in F3 and Formula 3000. He originally drove for Prost and then joined Sauber for three years, where he drove with Kimi Raikkonen until he retired. Then joined Jordan and Williams and BMW Sauber between 2006 and 2009. Heidfeld has a good driving track record, with 225 career points, but has yet to win a Grand Prix race. In 2010, Heidfeld came in 18th position, with just 6 points. No doubt, a frustrating record and something Heidfeld will want to change in 2011.

Driver Statistics:

Nationality: Germany
Date of Birth: 10 May 1977
World Championship Titles: 0
Number of Grand Prix won: 0
Pole Positions: 1
Career Points: 225
Podiums: 12

Driver 2: Vitaly Petrov

Vitaly Petrov joined F1 racing in 2010 with Team Renault and this will be his second year with the team. He is a driver that has come up through the GP2 Series ranks and the Russian motor racing scene. He scored his first F1 World Championship points at the Chinese Grand Prix, by placing seventh and his highest Grand Prix finish in 2010 was 5th at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Petrov did well for his first F1 season, scoring 27 points and ranking 13th. He is definitely hungry for more and a driver to watch this season.

Driver Statistics:

Nationality: Russia
Date of Birth: 8 September 1984
World Championship Titles: 0
Number of Grand Prix won: 0
Pole Positions: 0
Career Points: 27
Podiums: 0