Renault R202 launched in Paris

Renault is back! The Mild Seven Renault F1 team unveiled the car and driver line-up which will spearhead the company's full works return to Formula One at an impressive and ambitious launch in Paris today (Sunday, 27 January).

The new 2002 Mild Seven Renault F1 R202.

Photo by Renault F1.

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Renault Louis Schweitzer opened the ceremony at the Renault Technocentre, the heart of the company's innovative philosophy and birthplace of all Renault road cars, in front of more than 1,000 people.

"Formula One represents the heart of Renault - passion, daring and innovation," said Schweitzer. "Our return to competition is aimed at increasing brand awareness and our global presence. Formula One implies excellence and the mastery of cutting-edge technology and Renault F1 will place us in direct competition with all our largest global rivals."

Renault last raced in Formula One as a works team in 1985, but won six consecutive Constructors' World Championships between 1992 and 1997 as an engine supplier. Now the company returns aiming to repeat that success in its own colours.

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Renault F1 Patrick Faure said: "We have returned to F1 to win with a 100 percent Renault team. I will be disappointed if we don't finish in the top four this year. Our aim is to be as close to the top teams as possible with the objective of winning races regularly next year and then challenging for the title in 2004."

The Mild Seven Renault F1 R202 car, which was unveiled at the launch, is powered by the RS22 engine. It was designed and built through the combined efforts of two technical teams based at Enstone, in England, and at Viry-Ch?tillon, in France, and features an evolution of the daring wide-angle V10 engine pioneered last year.

"Last year, we built a solid unified team between Viry and Enstone," said Flavio Briatore, Managing Director of Renault F1 UK. "Now, under the guidance of Mike Gascoyne and Jean-Jacques His, we have a strong technical line-up working in harmony and drivers with great potential in Jarno Trulli and Jenson Button and our test driver Fernando Alonso. We are aiming for continuous competitiveness."

Mild Seven Renault F1 will begin testing tomorrow (Monday 28 January) at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain with drivers Jarno Trulli and Jenson Button.

Technical specifications of the new R202:

Chassis: Moulded carbon fibre and aluminium honeycomb composite monocoque, manufactured by Renault F1 and designed for maximum strength and stiffness with minimum weight. Engine installed as a fully-stressed member.

Front Suspension: Carbon fibre top and bottom wishbones operate an inboard titanium rocker via a pushrod system. This is connected to a torsion bar and damper units which are mounted at the front of the monocoque.

Rear Suspension: Carbon fibre top and bottom wishbones operating vertically-mounted torsion bars and horizontally-mounted damper units mounted on the side of the gearbox casing.

Transmission: Six-speed automatic gearbox with one reverse gear.

Fuel system: Kevlar-reinforced rubber fuel cell provided reduced risk of fire and is mounted behind cockpit in chassis monocoque.

Cooling system: Separate oil and water radiators located in the car's sidepods and cooled using airflow from the car's forward motion.

Electrical: Renault F1-developed chassis electronics and software controls items such as gearbox, and the system links to engine management system (Magneti Marelli).

Braking system: Carbon fibre discs and pads (Hitco); calipers by AP Racing.

Cockpit: Removable driver's seat made of anatomically formed carbon composite, with six-point harness seat belt. Steering wheel has gear change and clutch paddles attached.

Car dimensions and weight:
- Front track: 1,450mm
- Rear track: 1,400mm
- Wheel base: 3,100mm
- Overall length: 4,600mm
- Overall height: 950mm
- Overall width: 1,800mm
- Overall weight: 600kg including driver, camera and ballast

The Renault RS22 engine:
Configuration: Naturally aspirated three- litre V10 engine with a wide v-angle and 4 pneumatic valves per cylinder. Cylinder block made from light alloy.
Performance: Maximum revs in excess of 17,500rpm, providing a maximum power of more than 800bhp.

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