Renault RS10
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The Renault RS10 was a
Formula 1 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 developed to compete in the
1979 Formula One season The 1979 Formula One season was the 33rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1979 ''World Championship of F1 Drivers''FIA Yearbook 1980, Grey Section, page 84 and the 1979 ''International Cup for F1 Constructors''FIA Yearb ...
, which became the first turbocharged F1 car to win a
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. This changed the framework of F1 as this car spurred the development of the turbocharged cars of the 1980s and rang the death knell for normally aspirated engines. This car, along with its predecessor, the Renault RS01, was one of the most revolutionary Grand Prix cars of all time.


Development

The RS10 was designed and developed by François Castaing,
Michel Têtu Michel Têtu, born 6 August 1941, is a French engineer best known as a designer of Sports car racing, racing sports cars and Formula 1 (F1) cars for marques such as Ligier, Alfa Romeo, and Renault. Early years Têtu was born in Châteauroux, Fra ...
and Marcel Hubert and was developed from the much-maligned RS01. The RS01 was conceived alongside Renault's effort to build a turbocharged Le Mans winning car. The RS01 was no more than a development mule for the 1.5-litre turbocharged engine. Jean-Pierre Jabouille with his engineering degree, mechanical aptitude and driving skill was hired to run Renault's F1 program in 1977. Jabouille worked to develop this engine over the 1977-1979 seasons. The Renault turbo effort was a joke along the paddock as the RS01 earned the moniker "Yellow Teapot" as its race would often end with the yellow car smoking and parked. It would not be long however, before the jokes and laughs along the grid turned to panic. The RS10 was finally built in 1979 as a serious contender with a Renault Gordini twin-turbo 1.5-litre V6. Where the RS10 differed from the RS01, however, was that it incorporated twin-turbochargers, a 6-speed transmission and a completely new ground effect chassis.


Racing history

The RS10 was introduced a third of the way through the 1979 season at the
1979 Spanish Grand Prix The 1979 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 29 April 1979 at the Circuito Permanente del Jarama near Madrid, Spain. It was race 5 of 15 in both the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1979 International Cup for F1 ...
. Initially only one car was available for Jean-Pierre Jabouille and it retained the single turbocharger of its predecessor. At the Monaco Grand Prix a second car became available for René Arnoux and twin turbochargers were used for the first time. Though reliability issues still plagued the new twin-turbo, its pace made the paddock finally take notice. Through the final eight races of the season the RS10 scored five poles and one memorable home win at the
1979 French Grand Prix The 1979 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 1 July 1979 at Dijon. It marked not just the first victory of a forced-induction car in Formula One since the Alfa Romeo 159's victory at the Spanish Grand Prix in 1951, but also the ...
at Dijon-Prenois. More wins would surely have followed if not for the engine troubles. Jabouille in particular saw his hard work hardly rewarded thanks to the new engine technology. His win in Dijon though, in front of home fans with an all French car, engine, tyres and even French fuel (Elf), was his prize for three hard years of no results.


Legacy

The car and team that began as a joke quickly had the paddock scrambling.
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and
Brabham Brabham () is the common name for Motor Racing Developments Ltd., a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. Founded in 1960 by Australian driver Jack Brabham and British-Australian designer Ron Tauranac, the team won four ...
(using BMW engines) quickly put together a turbo program in the 1980s, soon to be joined by the likes of
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-
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) and Williams (
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). The other major manufactures did so as well as the turbo cars began to gain power and reliability. Soon all the major teams had forced-induction power. The smaller, mainly British teams (most notably Tyrrell who were the last major team to turn to turbo power, Renault no less, in ) lacked the funding to obtain this technology and their results suffered. The turbos became so disparagingly fast that
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adopted a non turbo cup in 1987 known as the
Jim Clark Cup The 1987 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 41st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1987 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1987 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contes ...
. In an attempt to limit soaring engine power outputs (by , the 4cyl BMW engine was reportedly producing around in qualifying, with the Renault's output quoted at around ), and the escalating costs of
research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...
, turbo boost was severely limited to 4.0 Bar in and 2.5 Bar in , before turbos were banned from . Turbo pioneers Renault never won a championship using the technology, although they did manage two runner-up positions. Conclusively, their vision in the late 1970s sparked a new era in Formula One.


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

http://www.f1technical.net/f1db/cars/433
http://www.f1-grandprix.com/history5.html#Turbos {{DEFAULTSORT:Renault Rs10 RS10 1979 Formula One season cars