Magic Moments: 30 Years of Renault in F1
Magic Moments: 30 Years of Renault in F1The Hungarian Grand Prix has only been in existence for just over 20 years, but this race was the first signal of the drive to non-traditional markets that has seen Formula 1 expand east from its European base...
Magic Moments: 30 Years of Renault in F1
The Hungarian Grand Prix has only been in existence for just over 20 years, but this race was the first signal of the drive to non-traditional markets that has seen Formula 1 expand east from its European base since that time. The tight, twisty Hungaroring circuit has never been considered a classic, but has nevertheless produced some enthralling battles – as well as some tedious races devoid of passing. For Renault, though, it will always have a special place in the company's F1 history, as the place where Nigel Mansell won its first world championship in 1992.
Renault at the Hungarian Grand Prix
The Hungaroring saw just one race in Renault's turbo era, the very first race in 1986. Ayrton Senna's Lotus took pole position, and then engage in a race-long battle with Nelson Piquet's Williams. Piquet ultimately emerged victorious as Senna settled for second, while two more Renault-powered cars (Dumfries/Lotus and Brundle/Tyrrell) finished in fifth and sixth positions, the final points-scoring places.
On Renault's return in the V10 era, the company began a series of strong performances at the Hungaroring that would see Renault-powered cars on the podium every year until 1997. Patrese took pole in 1989, the year of Renault's return, while team-mate Boutsen took the final podium position. The Belgian followed up the feat the following year by winning from pole position, while in 1991 Mansell and Patrese took a double podium finish behind Senna's victorious McLaren. 1992, though, was the year which engraved the Hungaroring in Renault's sporting history. The Williams-Renaults annexed the front row and while Mansell only finished in P2, it was enough to bring him his only, and Renault's first, world championship.
The run of success continued in 1993: an all Williams-Renault front row, with Damon Hill taking his first Grand Prix win. In 1994, the Englishman started and finished second, while twelve months later the Williams-Renault duo of Hill and Coulthard took the front row – and a 1-2 finish. Things improved one step further in 1996, with a one-two-three finish for Hill, Alesi and Villeneuve in three of the four Renault-powered cars, while in 1997, Villeneuve made the most of Hill's misfortune aboard his ailing Arrows to make it three wins in a row for Renault power in Hungary.
In the era of the Renault F1 Team, the Hungaroring has also come to be regarded as something of a milestone. After an inauspicious race in 2002, the following year saw the team take its first victory since Renault's return to Formula 1, after Fernando Alonso dominated from pole position. The Spaniard followed this up with a podium in 2004, but since then, Renault has not scored a single point in Hungary – although Alonso spun out of a dominant lead last year after a wheel came loose. In total, Renault power has competed in 16 Hungarian Grands Prix, taking 7 pole positions, 6 wins and 16 podiums. Following a disappointing outing at the Nürburgring, the team will be striving to add to that record in 2007.
Over at Red Bull Racing with Fabrice Lom
Fabrice, the Renault-powered Red Bull Racing team had a strong race at the Nürburgring… Yes, it was a fantastic result for the team. At Magny-Cours and Silverstone, we endured two difficult races, but we knew the potential was in the car. Everybody worked very hard and, at the last race, we got the first rewards for that: not just a podium, but both cars in the points at the chequered flag. We scored ten points, the same number as McLaren and more than Ferrari or BMW. More importantly, though, we scored ten more than Toyota and five more than Williams. In terms of the championship, that made it a very successful weekend.
Looking ahead to this weekend in Budapest, are there any major challenges for the engine? No, not really. This is a demanding circuit or the car, with lots of bumps, high kerbs and a lot of gearchanges. From the engine's point of view, though, the time spent at full throttle is below average, and there are no particularly severe challenges. The only thing we will have to pay special attention to is the cooling, as we are expecting extremely hot temperatures. We worked on a range of different cooling options and bodywork configurations during our test in Jerez last week. While we are confident about the car's cooling, we will nevertheless be particular special attention to this area.
After your good result at the Nürburgring, do you think you can achieve the same this weekend? That would be nice! I think we should have a competitive package in Hungary. It is a twisty circuit, but one with few very slow corners; it is more about series of medium-speed corners, and our car seems pretty strong in this area, both in terms of braking and downforce levels at these speeds. If everything goes smoothly then we should be capable of a competitive showing, but as always, we need to wait for the opening sessions on Friday to get a better idea. Certainly, we will be working hard to secure a strong result.
The Hungarian Grand Prix has only been in existence for just over 20 years, but this race was the first signal of the drive to non-traditional markets that has seen Formula 1 expand east from its European base since that time. The tight, twisty Hungaroring circuit has never been considered a classic, but has nevertheless produced some enthralling battles – as well as some tedious races devoid of passing. For Renault, though, it will always have a special place in the company's F1 history, as the place where Nigel Mansell won its first world championship in 1992.
Renault at the Hungarian Grand Prix
The Hungaroring saw just one race in Renault's turbo era, the very first race in 1986. Ayrton Senna's Lotus took pole position, and then engage in a race-long battle with Nelson Piquet's Williams. Piquet ultimately emerged victorious as Senna settled for second, while two more Renault-powered cars (Dumfries/Lotus and Brundle/Tyrrell) finished in fifth and sixth positions, the final points-scoring places.
On Renault's return in the V10 era, the company began a series of strong performances at the Hungaroring that would see Renault-powered cars on the podium every year until 1997. Patrese took pole in 1989, the year of Renault's return, while team-mate Boutsen took the final podium position. The Belgian followed up the feat the following year by winning from pole position, while in 1991 Mansell and Patrese took a double podium finish behind Senna's victorious McLaren. 1992, though, was the year which engraved the Hungaroring in Renault's sporting history. The Williams-Renaults annexed the front row and while Mansell only finished in P2, it was enough to bring him his only, and Renault's first, world championship.
The run of success continued in 1993: an all Williams-Renault front row, with Damon Hill taking his first Grand Prix win. In 1994, the Englishman started and finished second, while twelve months later the Williams-Renault duo of Hill and Coulthard took the front row – and a 1-2 finish. Things improved one step further in 1996, with a one-two-three finish for Hill, Alesi and Villeneuve in three of the four Renault-powered cars, while in 1997, Villeneuve made the most of Hill's misfortune aboard his ailing Arrows to make it three wins in a row for Renault power in Hungary.
In the era of the Renault F1 Team, the Hungaroring has also come to be regarded as something of a milestone. After an inauspicious race in 2002, the following year saw the team take its first victory since Renault's return to Formula 1, after Fernando Alonso dominated from pole position. The Spaniard followed this up with a podium in 2004, but since then, Renault has not scored a single point in Hungary – although Alonso spun out of a dominant lead last year after a wheel came loose. In total, Renault power has competed in 16 Hungarian Grands Prix, taking 7 pole positions, 6 wins and 16 podiums. Following a disappointing outing at the Nürburgring, the team will be striving to add to that record in 2007.
Over at Red Bull Racing with Fabrice Lom
Fabrice, the Renault-powered Red Bull Racing team had a strong race at the Nürburgring… Yes, it was a fantastic result for the team. At Magny-Cours and Silverstone, we endured two difficult races, but we knew the potential was in the car. Everybody worked very hard and, at the last race, we got the first rewards for that: not just a podium, but both cars in the points at the chequered flag. We scored ten points, the same number as McLaren and more than Ferrari or BMW. More importantly, though, we scored ten more than Toyota and five more than Williams. In terms of the championship, that made it a very successful weekend.
Looking ahead to this weekend in Budapest, are there any major challenges for the engine? No, not really. This is a demanding circuit or the car, with lots of bumps, high kerbs and a lot of gearchanges. From the engine's point of view, though, the time spent at full throttle is below average, and there are no particularly severe challenges. The only thing we will have to pay special attention to is the cooling, as we are expecting extremely hot temperatures. We worked on a range of different cooling options and bodywork configurations during our test in Jerez last week. While we are confident about the car's cooling, we will nevertheless be particular special attention to this area.
After your good result at the Nürburgring, do you think you can achieve the same this weekend? That would be nice! I think we should have a competitive package in Hungary. It is a twisty circuit, but one with few very slow corners; it is more about series of medium-speed corners, and our car seems pretty strong in this area, both in terms of braking and downforce levels at these speeds. If everything goes smoothly then we should be capable of a competitive showing, but as always, we need to wait for the opening sessions on Friday to get a better idea. Certainly, we will be working hard to secure a strong result.