The Renault RE20 was 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 raced by the

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 manufacture ...

team in the season. The car was designed by Francois Castaing and Michel Tétu and designed using Ground effect

aerodynamics Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dy ...

. The car was powered by the 1.5L turbocharged Renault Gordini EF1 engine, which by 1981 was producing a reported . This was roughly 50 more than the 3.0L

Cosworth DFV The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. The name is an abbreviation of ''Double Four Valve'', the engine being a V8 development of the earlier four-cylinder FVA, which had fo ...

V8 still in wide use at the time in Formula One, though Renault's power did lag behind the new turbocharged engine being used by Ferrari. In keeping with everything French on the car, the tyres used by Renault were Michelin. The driving lineup for the all French team was made up at the time entirely of French drivers. Driving the RE20 in 1980 were

Jean-Pierre Jabouille Jean-Pierre Alain Jabouille (born 1 October 1942) is a French former racing driver. He raced in 55 Formula One Grands Prix, collecting two wins during the first years of Renault's turbocharged programme in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Jabou ...

and

René Arnoux René Alexandre Arnoux (; born 4 July 1948) is a French former racing driver who competed in 12 Formula One seasons (1978 to 1989). He participated in 165 World Championship Grands Prix (149 starts) winning seven of them, achieving 22 podium fi ...

, while in 1981 Arnoux continued with the team but Jabouille was replaced by a young

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 Micha ...

who had made his Formula One debut in 1980 for McLaren. The Renault RE20 achieved three Grand Prix wins during the 1980 season. Arnoux won both the Brazilian and South African races while Jabouille was the winner of the Austrian Grand Prix. A modified version of the car, the RE20B, raced in first five races of the season. The RE20B was replaced by the Renault RE30.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key) (note: results shown in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) * 48 points scored in using the Renault RE30

References

{{F1 cars 1981 RE20 1980 Formula One season cars 1981 Formula One season cars