The Renault R23 is a
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
car that competed in the
2003 Formula One season
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
. The driver lineup were
Jarno Trulli
Jarno Trulli (; born 13 July 1974) is an Italian racing driver. He regularly competed in Formula One from 1997 to 2011, driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault, Toyota, Lotus Racing and Team Lotus. His best result in the World Drivers' Cham ...
and
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...
who replaced
Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver. He won the 2009 Formula One World Championship when he drove for the Brawn GP team. After his F1 career, he became champion of the 2018 season of the Super GT ...
who left for
British American Racing
British American Racing (BAR) was a Formula One constructor that competed in the sport from 1999 to 2005. BAR began by acquiring Tyrrell, and used Supertec engines for their first year. Subsequently, they formed a partnership with Honda which l ...
.
Design and development
The chassis was designed by
Mike Gascoyne
Michael Robert Gascoyne (born 2 April 1963) is a British Formula One designer and engineer.
Gascoyne has worked for numerous Grand Prix teams including McLaren, Sauber, Tyrrell, Jordan (later known as Midland F1, Spyker, Force India, Racing P ...
,
Bob Bell,
Tim Densham and
John Iley
John Alastair Iley (born 29 September 1967) is a British motor racing aerodynamicist, who was formerly the technical director for the Caterham F1 team.
After graduating from Lanchester Polytechnic, Coventry, while studying at Imperial College, ...
with
Pat Symonds
Patrick Bruce Reith Symonds (born 11 June 1953) is a British motor racing engineer. He was the Chief Technical Officer at Williams Grand Prix Engineering, from 2013 until 2016 having previously worked at the Benetton, Renault and Virgin Formula ...
overseeing the design and production of the car as executive director of Engineering and Jean-Jacques His leading the engine design.
Renault was innovative during this period producing non-standard designs such as the 111° 10-cylinder engine for the 2003 RS23 which was designed to effectively lower the center of gravity of the engine and thus improve the car's handling. This eventually proved too unreliable and heavy, so Renault returned to a 72 degree vee angle with the
following year's R24.
R23B
A "B Specification" car named the Renault R23B made its debut at the
British Grand Prix
The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World C ...
and used for the remainder of the 2003 season.
Racing history
The Renault R23 was launched at an official ceremony in
Lucerne
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
in January, 2003. At this initial launch, it was confirmed sponsor
Mild Seven
, previously called , is a Japanese brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Japan Tobacco.
History
Mevius was launched in 1977 under the name Mild Seven. It was intended to be a mild version of the Seven Stars (cigarette), Seve ...
would be continuing to be the primary sponsor of the team. Just days later, the Renault team re-launched the car at the
Paul Ricard Circuit
The Circuit Paul Ricard () is a French motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, Var, near Marseille, with finance from pastis magnate Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of building a racetrack. The circuit has ho ...
in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. The double launch was caused by Renault promising a branded car launch for sponsor Mild Seven, something that would be illegal in France. Both Trulli and Alonso completed laps of the circuit in the car at Paul Ricard to begin the new season for the team. The team had an extensive pre season test program, including former Toyota driver turned Renault reserve driver
Allan McNish
Allan McNish (born 29 December 1969) is a British former racing driver, commentator, and journalist from Scotland. He is a three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, most recently in 2013, as well as a three-time winner of the American Le Ma ...
. Following the pre-season, the technical team including Pat Symonds were satisfied with the progress from 2002.
The season started well, with both drivers scoring points at the
2003 Australian Grand Prix
The 2003 Australian Grand Prix (formally the 2003 Foster's Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 9 March 2003 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit. The race was won by McLaren driver David Coulthard, who took the 13th and fi ...
. Alonso taking advantage of the new points system, allowing him to secure two points for seventh place. At the following race in Malaysia, Fernando Alonso secured pole position. Alonso was both the youngest driver and first Spaniard to take a pole position in F1 at the time. In the race, Alonso would finish in third taking his first podium in Formula One.
At the third race of the season in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, Alonso would once again take third place. However, the chaotic Grand Prix saw him secure this following a major accident with debris from an earlier crash caused by
Mark Webber in the Jaguar. Whilst Trulli's form in the R23 began to falter, Alonso continued to impress scoring points on a regular basis and a career best second place at his home race, the 2003 Spanish Grand Prix. Following a double retirement at the 2003 French Grand Prix, Renault introduced the R23B spec car for the British Grand Prix, an aerodynamic upgrade from the original R23. It took Jarno Trulli to a third place podium just weeks later in Germany.
The
2003 Hungarian Grand Prix
The 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix (formally the Marlboro Magyar Nagydíj 2003) was a Formula One motor race held on 24 August 2003 at the Hungaroring, Mogyoród, Pest, Hungary. It was the thirteenth round of the 2003 Formula One season. The 70-lap r ...
would be a momentous one for the team. Fernando Alonso won the race, becoming the youngest driver since
Bruce McLaren
Bruce Leslie McLaren (30 August 1937 – 2 June 1970) was a New Zealand racing car designer, driver, engineer, and inventor.
His name lives on in the McLaren team which has been one of the most successful in Formula One championship history, ...
to do 44 years prior. In addition to being the first Spanish driver to win a race in history, Alonso also delivered the teams first victory since
Alain Prost
Alain Marie Pascal Prost (; born 24 February 1955) is a French retired racing driver and Formula One team owner. A four-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, from 1987 until 2001 he held the record for most Grand Prix victories until Mich ...
at the
1983 Austrian Grand Prix
The 1983 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Österreichring on 14 August 1983. It was the eleventh race of the 1983 FIA Formula One World Championship.
The 53-lap race was won by Alain Prost, driving a factory Renault, w ...
as a full constructor and the
1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix
The 1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix (formally the Grosser Preis von Luxemburg 1997) was a Formula One motor race held at the Nürburgring, Nürburg, Germany on 28 September 1997. It was the fifteenth race of the 1997 Formula One World Championship.
Th ...
as an engine supplier.
The final three races of the season saw Alonso score one point and two retirements, while team mate Trulli took the R23B to another two points scoring finishes.
The R23 and R23B steered Renault to a fourth place finish in the Constructors' Championship with 88 points.
Complete Formula One results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (results in bold indicate pole position, results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
References
R23 R23 or R-23 may refer to:
Military
* R-23 (missile), a Soviet air-to-air missile
* , a destroyer of the Royal Navy
* Rikhter R-23, a Soviet aircraft autocannon
* , a submarine of the United States Navy
Roads
* R23 road (Belgium)
* R-23 regional ...
2003 Formula One season cars
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