The Renault RE50 was the
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 with which the factory
Renault
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
team competed in the
1984 Formula One World Championship
The 1984 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 38th season of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Formula One motor racing. Drivers and teams competed in sixteen Grands Prix for the World Drivers' and World Constructors ...
. The car was driven by Frenchman
Patrick Tambay
Patrick Daniel Tambay (25 June 1949 – 4 December 2022) was a French racing driver, commentator, and politician, who competed in 123 Formula One races between 1977 and 1986, securing five pole positions and winning twice. Between 1977 and 198 ...
and Briton
Derek Warwick
Derek Stanley Arthur Warwick (born 27 August 1954) is a British former professional racing driver from England, who lives in Jersey. He raced for many years in Formula One, collecting four podiums but never winning a Grand Prix. He did, however, ...
, who joined the team from
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
and
Toleman
Toleman Motorsport was a Formula One constructor based in the UK. It was active between 1981 and 1985 and participated in 70 Grands Prix.
Origins
The Toleman company was formed in 1926 by Edward Toleman for the purpose of delivering Ford c ...
respectively; a third car was entered at the final race of the year in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
for test driver
Philippe Streiff
Philippe Streiff (26 June 1955 – 23 December 2022) was a French racing driver. He participated in 55 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 21 October 1984. He achieved one podium, and scored a total of 11 championship points.
A pre-season tes ...
. The car's best results were three second-place and two third-place finishes, making it the first factory Renault not to win a Grand Prix in a season since the
RS01 in .
The car was expected to be as competitive in the hands of two-time Grands Prix winner Tambay and the highly rated Warwick as the
RE40 had been when driven by
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 ...
to four wins in . While the car was quick straight out of the box, it had a few problems that the team and drivers could not overcome. The Renault EF4 turbo engine was said to be powerful at but usually proved too thirsty for either driver to challenge for more than 2nd or 3rd place at most races. This proved to be the same problem for other Renault engined cars such as the
Lotus 95T
The Lotus 95T was a Formula One racing car designed by Gérard Ducarouge for use by Team Lotus in the 1984 Formula One World Championship. The car brought Lotus its best results for several seasons, frequently reaching the podium.
Design
The ...
(which was designed by former Renault designer
Gérard Ducarouge
Gérard Ducarouge (23 October 1941 – 19 February 2015) was a French Formula One car designer whose career in motorsport started in 1965 when he joined Equipe Matra Sports. His Matra MS80 car, entered by the privateer Matra International te ...
who had joined Lotus in 1984). In 1984 Formula One cars were restricted to a maximum of 220 litres of fuel per race with the re-fueling of 1983 now banned and the French team never got on top of that problem despite a new and exciting (for 1984) electronic fuel monitoring device. The other main problem was that the car's tub which was somewhat fragile, despite being made of
carbon fibre
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
which was stronger than the traditional
aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
. This fragility saw Warwick injuring his legs in crashes at both
Dijon
Dijon (, , ) (dated)
* it, Digione
* la, Diviō or
* lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920.
The earlies ...
and
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
, while Tambay suffered a broken left leg after crashing into Warwick's already crashed car at the first corner of the race in Monaco. Both drivers were injured as a result of their cars suspension arms punching through the carbon fibre
monocoque
Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell".
First used for boats, ...
.
Over the season, Warwick achieved five points finishes (two second places, two thirds and a fourth) and Tambay four (one second place, two fifths and a sixth). Warwick finished seventh in the Drivers' Championship with 23 points while Tambay finished eleventh with 11; the combined 34 points placed Renault fifth in the Constructors' Championship. Additionally, both drivers set one fastest race lap each, while Tambay took the team's only pole position of the season at their home race 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 ...
, leading over half the race before finishing second behind the
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
-
TAG of eventual World Champion
Niki Lauda
Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur. He was a three-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, winning in , and , and is the only driver in Formula ...
.
The RE50 was replaced for with the
RE60.
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
External links
{{F1 cars 1984
RE50
1984 Formula One season cars