40-something

About two months ago, 7-time world champion Michael Schumacher celebrated his 42^nd birthday.  Not quite a pensioner yet, but already ancient in terms of world-class athletes of practically any sport.  Especially motor racing, where youthful reflexes and gusto are always necessary to produce stunning lap times needed in the game.  Case in point is the mantle of youngest ever world champion being passed over 3 times in the last 6 seasons, first to Fernando Alonso (24 in 2005), then to Lewis Hamilton (23 years & 10 months in 2008), and again last year to Sebastian Vettel (23 years and 4 months).  Seems like there is no room in the sport for someone who is old enough to be Vettel’s father.

When Schumacher was announced as Mercedes GP’s driver for 2010, hopes were high on not only both sides of the camp, but in fans and detractors even.  He was still considered by everyone to be on top of the game when he retired at the end of 2006, and even in retirement, Schuey kept himself in decent shape.  Other than the neck injury caused by a motorbike accident, there were little concerns about Schumacher’s comeback being a letdown.  Michael, was, after all, the epitome of a fit & trim race car driver in his prime, and is known as someone who will never give up.  Schuey also has been known as a very calculating person, and he surely would not place himself in an embarrassing situation.

But, boy, everyone was in for a surprise.  No one, not even his biggest critic, would have expected Schumacher to struggle like he did for most of the year.  After a decent start, and then a couple of strong races mid season in Spain, Monaco, and Turkey, Schuey regressed as he struggled to come to terms with the new Bridgestone tires that seem to be lacking in front end grip, something his driving style does not prefer.  Though as the season closed, in the last couple of races, Schumacher’s relative pace was much improved, still it was unusual to see the multiple World Champion struggle.  In his younger days, Michael was known as someone who could quickly adjust to any car in any situation, but 2010 proved that those days have long gone.  Even his most die-hard fan would have to admit it was an unsatisfactory season for the 91-time Grand Prix winner.

Most would now blame age as the primary reason for Schumacher’s disappointing 2010.  However, some people may point out that 5-time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio won his 5^th and last title at the age of 46, in 1957.  But the field wasn’t as competitive back then, as Fangio was competing with even older men.  A lot of his contemporaries were also in their 40s, some even in their 50s!  In his first year at Alfa Romeo in 1950, Fangio was actually the youngest of the teams’ 3 works drivers, at 39 years old.  World Champion Giuseppe Farina was 4 years older (43), while third driver Luigi Fagioli was 52!  Other later Fangio teammates like pre-war star Hermann Lang, Karl Kling, and Louis Chiron were also older than the Argentinean.  Only a few noteworthy drivers were someone you can consider as young like today’s top drivers – Englishmen Mike Hawthorn, Peter Collins, and Stirling Moss, were all in their 20s back then.  And it’s not just their age.  Some of Fangio’s opponents had physique more akin to a sumo wrestler than a race car driver (of today).  His friend and countryman Jose Froilan Gonzalez, known as the Pampas Bull, was so fat, was once quoted as saying, in the late 1960s, “In my day, the drivers were fat, and the tires were skinny”.  1952-53 World Champion Alberto Ascari had a pudgy physique he was known as “chubby” in Italian.  And it’s not just they are fat.  American Masten Gregory, with those thick-framed glasses he used even while driving at the races, looked more like a cast of the 1980s hit movie Revenge of the Nerds than the 1960s film Grand Prix.  In contrast, Schumacher will not be only competing against youngsters like Vettel, Hamilton, Rosberg,  Kubica (if he weren’t injured), Alguersuari, Buemi, etc (all under 26), but also against relatively young veterans like Alonso, Felipe Massa, and Jenson Button, all still under 32 with at least 9 years F1 experience.  And Mark Webber, the next oldest grand prix driver after Schumacher, Barrichello, and Trulli, at 34, is known for his extreme fitness regimen, much like Michael was in his prime.

After a rather disappointing comeback season in 2010, Schumacher has modest hopes for this season.  Other than age, there is the wear and tear that has accumulated as Schuey has been racing since the early 1970s, at the age of 4.  Michael has always been known as someone who will never give up and never back down from a challenge, but everything comes to an end.  Other greats in different sports like boxer Muhammad Ali, and basketball star Michael Jordan, all seem to have the same problem of not knowing when to give up.  But more often than not it was a case of the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.  Ali was a pathetic sight in his last 2 fights, against Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick.  While Jordan was still good enough to make the all-star team in his 2 years as a Washington Wizard, he was clearly a shadow of his former self, and (then) young guns like Kobe Bryant ran rings around the hoop legend.

When Pirelli replaced Bridgestone as Formula One’s tire supplier for 2011, the hopes of Schumacher and his fans were raised up a bit as Michael has expressed a “cautious optimism” (his own words) on the Italian tire’s front end grip.  Initial tests in Spain showed considerable progress, as Schuey topped the time sheets at one of the testing dates recently.  Though more often than not testing times are not really a gauge of the car and driver’s true race pace, it was an encouraging sign for the German great.  If Michael wins a race this season he will be the oldest Grand Prix winner in 41 years – Jack Brabham was 44 when he scored his final victory in 1970, just a year after Schumacher was born.  If, against all odds, Schumacher wins the WDC, he will be the oldest champ since Fangio.  That would be some amazing accomplishment, something even his most ardent critic would surely salute.  Throughout his career, Michael has proven to be someone who would prove his doubters wrong, and he would surely do everything he can to do it one more time.  In a few months time we will know the answer to all of this.  When it happens, count it as a big boost for the 40-something crowd.

Au Revoir, Renault

Lost out in the shocking Robert Kubica rallye accident, and the squabble over the rights for the “Lotus” name between Eric Boiller’s group and that of Tony Fernandes is the end of the works Renault team’s participation in Formula One.  Though the team would still be called "Renault" by some quarters, in reality the Enstone, England-based squad has practically zero participation from the corporate headquarters in France, save for the 2.4 liter V10 engines.  This marks the latest of the on-going exodus of carmakers from Grand Prix racing, following Honda, BMW, and Toyota .  All 4 cost-cutting measures happened in a space of 2 years.

Renault’s low-key exit was made even more surprising by the fact that compared to the other 3 recent manufacturer pull-outs; the French team has had a successful stint in Grand Prix racing.  The team won 2 drivers and 2 constructors’ titles, the most recent of which was only 5 years ago.  The past 9 years, the Enstone-based squad had numerous podiums and won a total of 20 races (okay, only 19 were ‘legitimate’) and were the only really successful manufacturer team other than Ferrari.  Its second foray in the world of Formula One from 2002-2010 was certainly more successful than its initial stint from 1977-85 (curiously the same number of years), when it won 15 races but had zero titles.

Though less successful, that initial stint was nevertheless no less significant.  It was actually one of the most important historical landmarks in Grand Prix history.  It marked the first use of a turbocharged engine in Formula One (the Alfas of the early 1950s used a supercharger).  By the mid 1970s Renault was dominating Formula 2, and it was not contented, so it set its sights in the more visible world of Grand Prix Racing.  Using basically the same engine – the cylinder heads were of the same size, but stroke was reduced ¾ the size – the 1.5L powerplant was half the size of its competitors yet delivered at least the same amount of power, even compared to 12-cylinder behemoths like the flat-12 Ferraris and Alfa Romeos and the V12 Matras.  Certainly more grunt at high-altitude tracks like Kyalami in South Africa .  But while it wasn’t lacking in power, it was definitely short on reliability.  The 1.5L V6 encountered just about any other engine-related problem in its first couple of years.

In its debut at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1977, the RS01 (for Renault Sport 01) qualified 21^st and lasted only 17 laps before the turbocharger failed.  Not only it marked the first use of a turbo engine in Formula One, it also marked the return of a volume car manufacturer in Grand Prix racing since Mercedes-Benz pulled out in 1955.  Their next couple of races was basically the same, and it was not until the middle of the 1978 season that its driver Jean Pierre Jabouille finally finished a race.  At Watkins Glen in New York for the penultimate race of that year, Jabouille finally scored points for the team, bringing home the yellow machine in 4^th place, good enough for 3 points during those days.  Despite its continuing reliability problems, the team was increasingly become more competitive.

The following year, 1979, the team had a new car, the RS10.  It was even more competitive, and by mid-season the team was regularly fighting at the sharp end of the grid.  For that season the team also expanded to a 2-car entry, Jabouille being joined by countryman and fellow F2 champion Rene Arnoux.  At Dijon for the French Grand Prix, the team finally came good and won with Jabouille.  It would have been a 1-2 sweep for the team had it not for Gilles Villenueve snatching the runner-up spot from Arnoux at the final lap.

In 1980 the team was made a very strong start, with Arnoux claiming the races at Brazil and South Africa to stake an early claim at the World Championship.  But after that a series of yet more reliability issues hit the French squad, and Rene’s title bid faded by mid-season.  Jabouille won later that year in Austria , but broke his legs at the penultimate race in Canada , and the accident virtually ended JP’s career.  He joined Ligier the following season to join brother in law Jacques Laffite, but hung up his helmet after just a couple of races.

For 1981 Arnoux would be joined by rising French star Alain Prost, who had a good debut season at McLaren the previous year.  Despite regularly featuring up front once again, the yellow cars were again plagued by reliability issues, and it was not until the French GP at Dijon when the team won a race.  It was to be Prost’s first ever victory in what would eventually be a then a record 51-win career.  Alain would go on to win at Holland and Italy to make a late charge for the WDC, but a poor race at Canada ended his championship hopes.  He eventually ended up in 5^th, just 7 points away from the eventual WDC winner (Nelson Piquet).  Arnoux has had a troublesome year, his confidence suffering a massive blow by a series of reliability issues.  His best showing was a 2^nd place finish to Laffite in Austria , though he led a couple of races before the usual Renault mechanical failure.  At the British Grand Prix he should have won but a late reliability issue ended his race.

For 1982 hopes were high at the French team.  They dominated the first race in Kyalami, Prost overcoming almost a lap down to win in a stunning display of the speed of the yellow cars.  Then the following race in Brazil , Alain was declared winner after Piquet and Rosberg, who finished 1-2 in the Ford/Cosworth non-turbo cars, were disqualified.  Yet despite a big early lead, Prost soon faded from the championship battle after a string of yet more mechanical failures.  With the Ferraris now having turbos as well, but with reliability on their side, Didier Pironi soon took over the championship lead and held an iron grip on it.  That was until his accident at Germany , during practice, when he hit Prosts’ rear wheel, as he did not see his countryman in the rain.  Pironi’s accident left the door open once again for Prost, but he would not win again for the rest of the year.  Arnoux had a slow start but during the French Grand Prix, he was leading and he was ordered to let Prost, who was running second, to win.  Rene refused citing it was also his home race and that he still had a mathematical chance at the championship.  But it created tension within the team, and after that Prost and Arnoux would not speak to each other for the rest of the season.  Arnoux soon signed with Ferrari to replace Pironi, and would later win again at Italy , his yellow machine heading the 2 red cars of Tambay and Andretti (who temporarily replaced Pironi for the final 2 races).  With Arnoux about to arrive at Maranello, the win was dubbed as a “Ferrari 1-2-3” by the Italian press.  The year ended with Prost 4^th and Arnoux 6^th in the driver’s championship, and Renault as 3^rd behind Ferrari and McLaren for the manufacturer’s title.  Despite having their best-ever championship positions in both categories, there was a feeling the Frenchmen could have done more, especially with the twin tragedies that struck the Ferrari team that year.

After a strong season, Renault’s only aim for 1983 was plain and simple: to win both drivers and manufacturers championships.  With Arnoux going to Ferrari, the second seat was given to Eddie Cheever, the American thus becoming the first non-French driver for the yellow cars.  Also for 1983, Renault started to supply customer engines to Lotus, with the type 93 of Elio de Angelis using the same engine as Prost and Cheever.  After being nondescript in the first 2 races, and mostly still using the old RE30 chassis, they came on strong at home ground, finishing 1-3 at Paul Ricard, with Nelson Piquet’s Brabham-BMW splitting the 2 yellow cars at the podium.  Prost then went on to win the Belgian, British, and Austrian GPs to take a commanding lead at the championship.  Then at the Dutch GP, Alain made a bonehead move and speared Piquet’s Brabham while the pair was battling for the lead, handing over the win to Arnoux’s Ferrari.  Piquet went on to win the next race, the Italian GP at Monza, and with Arnoux 2^nd and Tambay 4^th, the championship tightened up and with 2 races to go it was Prost 51, Arnoux 49, Piquet 46, Tambay 40.  Then the Ferraris faltered at the European GP at Brands Hatch, both failing to score, and with Piquet leading Prost home, Alain kept the lead, albeit slim at 57-55, with 1 race to go.  Despite still leading the championship, the pressure was on Prost as he had the whole of France ’s pride at stake, and that Piquet had already won the championship 2 years earlier.  And so it happened, Prost buckled under the immense pressure, and when he retired from the finale at Kyalami, Piquet cruised home to third place, clinching his 2^nd title.  Prost, meanwhile, was sacked shortly thereafter.  Even before the final race he was behaving like he had already won the championship, and the Renault top brass was not impressed.  He was to be replaced by Tambay for 1984, with the other seat to be taken by Englishman Derek Warwick .  Despite both cars failing to score again, Ferrari clinched the constructor’s title for the second consecutive year, with Renault runner-up this time, the teams highest-ever finish.

For 1984 there was a major rule change – no more mid-race refueling, so cars had to start the race on full tanks, all 220 liters.  Renault introduced a novel idea of freezing the fuel, the idea being fluids at lower temperatures have higher density, thus they can pack a little more elf gasoline on the yellow cars’ fuel tanks.  In addition to Lotus, the other French team, Ligier, would also now be using Renault power.  This only happened because Ligier owner Guy Ligier is a friend of French PM Francois Mitterand, and this forced the state-owned carmaker (Renault) to supply engines to their team.  The first race at Rio proved that the cars were fast enough, as Warwick led for a while in the middle stages of the race.  But clearly they were not the fastest, as the McLaren-Porsches of Lauda and Prost zoomed past the Englishman easily at 2/3 distance.  A bigger problem was to be illustrated at what happened to the other Renault.  Tambay ran out of fuel with 2 laps to go, and it was clear that they, like all the rest, were no match to the McLaren-Porsches in terms of fuel efficiency.  This trend would continue the rest of the year, and the team would end up winless for the first time since 1978, their first full season in F1.  Their strongest performance, once again, came at their home race, where Tambay took pole position, led most of the race, but was overhauled by Lauda’s McLaren near the end of the race.  Patrick finished 2^nd, his only noteworthy result of the whole year.

With a relatively disastrous season, Renault made a major organizational change for 1985.  Gerard Toth, a man who has never seen an F1 race before, was put in charge of the Grand Prix team.  Gerard Larrousse, who had been in charge of the Grand Prix program since day 1, jumped ship to Ligier.  Tambay and Warwick were retained.  Tyrrell also was added to the growing list of customer teams, though the Tyrrell-Renault would appear only beginning at mid-season.  Despite the striking livery (less white, more black, same amount of yellow), the new RE60 was a pathetic sight on track.  It was even less competitive than the RE50 of the previous year, and now Patrick and Derek were struggling for just a few measly points.  So by mid-season, Renault’s top brass decided to terminate the Grand Prix program by the end of 1985.  Tambay and Warwick went on to score a combined 15 points.

Despite pulling out as a factory effort, Renault was still very much involved in Formula One.  The Lotuses, Ligiers, and Tyrrells were still using the French powerplant, and for 1986 they introduced this novel idea of using compressed air in place of valve springs.  This enabled the engine to run at higher revs.  It did improve the power and fuel efficiency of the French engine, but overall it was still inferior to the TAG/Porsche engine, and now also to the Honda, as the Japanese V6 would now take over from the German design as the engine to beat.  Still, Ayrton Senna was able to coax 2 wins for the Lotus-Renault team.  And although they failed to score a single victory, the Ligiers were often very competitive, especially during the first half of the season.  Both Arnoux and Laffite in their Ligier-Renaults led at Detroit, and after the big 3 teams of Williams, McLaren, and Lotus, Guy’s team was clearly the best of the rest – even ahead of traditional powers Ferrari and Brabham.  But it was to be the Renault turbo’s swansong.  At the end of the 1986 season, the French car company pulled the plug on its Grand Prix engine program.

For the next two years, 1987-88, Renault power was absent from the grid.  But not for long.  For 1989 the Williams team, after being dumped by Honda for refusing to accept a Japanese driver a year earlier, struck a deal to have exclusive use of the new Renault V10s.  The new French engine proved to be instantly competitive, though still a step back compared to the then dominant McLaren-Hondas.  On most occasions they could keep up with the powerful but unreliable Ferraris, and were usually more reliable.  Williams-Renault driver Riccardo Patrese would finish third in the championship that year despite missing out on a win, by virtue of consistent placing and a plethora or 2^nd-place finishes.  His teammate Thierry Boutsen would win 2 wet races at Canada and Australia , and the Belgian would finish 5^th in the WDC race.  Williams-Renault would pip Ferrari for 2^nd place in the WCC.

The following season, 1990, Patrese and Boutsen would win one race apiece in their Williams-Renaults, but the biggest news that year would be the impending return of Nigel Mansell for the 1991 season.  After a slow start in 1991, the Renault-powered Williams FW14, with its innovative active suspension, would supplant the McLaren-Honda as the car to beat.  Patrese and Mansell would go on a victory binge at mid-season and the duo would close in on Ayrton Senna’s previously seemingly insurmountable lead.  Ultimately Senna and McLaren-Honda would dig deep and would find enough firepower in their arsenal to hold off Mansell and Williams-Renault, but the writing was on the wall: The Williams-Renault is now the best car in Grand Prix racing.

And so they dominated 1992.  Mansell and Patrese opened the season with four 1-2 finishes, and proceeded to run roughshod over the rest of the grid.  It was no surprise they also finished 1-2 in the WDC race.  Williams-Renault clinched the WCC title with barely half the season done.  Incredibly, this was only the first WCC title for a team with a Renault engine, and Mansell became the first driver to win the WDC in a car with Renault power.  In addition to Williams, Ligier would also use Renault power that year, though apparently the French team was getting a lower-spec, older version.

The Williams-Renault juggernaut continued the following season, despite a completely new driver lineup that saw Mansell retire and be replaced by Prost, and with Patrese jumping ship to Benetton-Ford, test driver Damon Hill was promoted to the race seat and became Alain’s no.2.  The Prost-Hill combo would win 10 races that year in a car that could almost drive by itself, and the Professor would go on to clinch his 4^th world title that year.  Hill, in his first full season, would be classified third at the final WDC standings.

For 1994 Senna would step in as lead driver at Williams-Renault, replacing the retiring Prost.  Expectations were high with what was considered by most at that time to be the best driver (Senna) moving to what was clearly the best team (Williams-Renault).  But with new rules banning all driver aids, it gave other teams a chance as most of those were perfected by the Didcot-based team.  Indeed the Williams-Renault FW16, without all the gizmos found in the FW15, would prove to be difficult to drive, even at the masterful hands of Senna.  Ayrton was struggling to keep up with the Benetton-Ford of rising star Michael Schumacher, and at the 3^rd race Ayrton would be killed after the suspension component of his car would pierce his skull by passing through his visor.  With even more rule changes mid-season, plus unbelievable penalties to Schumacher to keep the championship close, Hill would went on to win 6 races that year, but would eventually fall short of the WDC title.  Williams-Renault, however, would keep the WCC crown, as Mansell would return for the final 3 races, winning the season finale at Adelaide .

In 1995, with their Ford engine obviously lacking in power compared to the Renault and the Ferrari, Benetton boss Flavio Briatore bought the Ligier team, and used the contract with Renault so that the Italian team could use the French engine.  With now the best engine (Renault) and clearly the best driver (Schumacher), Benetton and Schumacher were odds-on favorite to repeat as drivers champs.  But Williams, still with Renault power, would produce a better chassis through the genius of Adrian Newey, and the 1995 season would prove very interesting indeed.  It was round two of Schuey vs Newey, and for the second straight year, brilliance of man would beat brilliance of machine.  It mattered little to Renault, however, as the French engine would go on to win 16 of the 17 races that season.  The only blot on the copybook was at Canada , where Jean Alesi would inherit the win at the closing stages of the race after Schumacher’s Benetton-Renault encountered gearbox trouble.

With Schumacher moving to Ferrari for 1996, things got interesting.  The Italian car was clearly inferior compared to the Renault-powered teams, but will man prevail over machine once again?  One look at the F310, and clearly the answer was, not this time.  Schumacher pushed the dog-like F310 as well as he could, but could coax only 3 wins out of it, including one spectacular drive through the rain in Spain.  The other 13 wins that year were all gobbled up by Williams-Renault save for the Monaco GP.  It would be split between Hill and F1 rookie Jacques Villenueve, 8-4 in favor of the son of the 1962 World Champion.  Damon would go on to become the 1996 title holder, with Renault powering the constructor’s champ for the 5^th consecutive year.  Defending constructors champion Benetton, still with Renault power, would be blanked in the win column despite the best efforts of Ferrari refugees Berger and Alesi.

With Newey still on board, the Williams FW19-Renault team would still be clearly the best car of 1997, but the rest were catching up.  Schumacher was now in his 2^nd season at Maranello, and with Ross Brawn joining the Italian team, Williams-Renault was in for a tough fight.  Despite the inferior car Schumacher would went on to lead the championship by mid season, though brilliant driving in the rain and some clever pit wall strategies.  Even with Newey leaving for McLaren, Williams pushed the development of their car better than the rest and Villenueve overhauled Schumacher’s championship lead.  Michael would fight back to grab the lead by a point with a race to go, but Jacques would survive their collision at the season finale at Jerez so both WDC and WCC would be claimed by Williams.  After 1997 Renault would once again pull out as an engine supplier, though the basic engine would still continue to power Williams and Benetton, serviced by Briatore’s company, and rebadged as Meccachrome or Playlife.

Three years would pass by, and by 2001 Renault was once again back, powering the Benettons once more.  They had a radical wide-angle V10, but this created lots of mechanical problems, so the car was uncompetitive the first half of the season.  Slowly within the year they moved up the grid and Giancarlo Fisichella drove brilliantly at Spa, only losing 2^nd to David Coulthard’s McLaren at the closing stages.  Fisi would eventually finish 3^rd, their only noteworthy result all season.  But as agreed beforehand, Renault would buy out the Benetton team and its facilities by the end of that season.  So for 2002, Renault would be back once again as a works team, for the first time since 1985.

Fisichella would go to Jordan for 2002, in a direct 1-to-1 swap with countryman Jarno Trulli.  The team would once again be run by Flavio Briatore, mastermind of Benetton’s championship seasons with Michael Schumacher at the helm.  Jenson Button would remain, and he would prove more consistent compared to Trulli.  Still, the Englishman would be fired by the season’s end, with upcoming test driver Fernando Alonso being promoted to a race seat.

Alonso would immediately show why he was worthy of a Renault seat.  At Malaysia Fernando became the youngest pole sitter.  IT was Renault’s first pole as a works team since the 1984 French Grand Prix.  Alonso would go on to win later that year at Hungary , becoming the youngest ever Grand Prix winner.  He would eventually finish 7^th in the championship.  Trulli was as inconsistent as usual.  With Ferrari, McLaren, and Williams locked up in a tight battle for both driver’s and constructor’s championship for 2003, most people barely noticed Renault’s return to prominence.

With McLaren and Williams underachieving for 2004, it was Renault’s chance to move up the field.  And despite Ferrari’s dominance that year, winning 15 of the 18 races, the French team was able to register its 2^nd victory in its comeback, Trulli coming good and leading home the field at Monaco .  It was not a happy season for the Italian, however, as he had a falling out with Briatore right after mid season, and he would leave the team within the year.  He later would show up at Toyota .  Replacing Trulli at Renault would be former world champion Jacques Villenueve, but after several months away from an F1 car, he looked out of depth on his return to the cockpit.  Alonso, meanwhile, did not have a particularly good season, his best finish being 2^nd to Michael Schumacher at the team’s home race in France .

For 2005, there was a major rule change prohibiting mid-race tire change, and this tilted the balance in favor of the Michelin-shod teams.  Renault was one of them, and they did produce a neat car,  the R25.  Fisichella would return to the team for this season, and things looked up well for the Italian when he took honors at the season opener at Melbourne .  Alonso, despite starting near the back of the grid after a troublesome qualifying, would finish 3^rd.  After that, Fernando would stamp his authority on the team, winning 7 races on his way to his first WDC.  Fisi was generally overshadowed by the Spaniard but remained a good soldier.  Renault would also win the Constructors title that eluded them during their first stint in Formula One from 1977 to 1985.

Mid race tire changing was allowed back for 2006, and so did the competitiveness of  Bridgestone, Ferrari, and Michael Schumacher.  Alonso would have his hands full dealing with the 7-time World Champion, but with the Renault being better the first half of the year, Fernando was able to pile up a huge championship lead by mid-season.  Schumacher and Ferrari would furiously fight back, winning several races and taking the championship lead with 2 races to go.  Schumacher comfortably led the penultimate race in Japan , but with 15 laps left his engine blew, and Alonso inherited the win and took a nearly insurmountable 10 point lead with 1 race to go.  All he had to do was either finish in the points, and this Fernando did.  With Schumacher experiencing more mechanical problems during qualifying, Alonso had a rather easy time in clinching his 2^nd straight title.  This, despite a memorable Schumacher drive that saw him fight back from nearly a lap down early on due to a puncture, to finish 4^th, only a few seconds adrift of Alonso.  Renault also retained their constructor’s title, despite another so-so season from Fisichella.  The Roman did win at Malaysia early that season, but it was his only noteworthy result of the whole year.

With Alonso moving to McLaren, Renault was left in dire straits for 2007.  Indeed they would experience their first winless season since 2002.  With Fernando gone, Giancarlo would move on as lead driver, to be joined by rookie Heikki Kovalainen of Finland .  Kovalainen had a rocky start to his F1 career but would go on to improve as he gained experience.  Still, it was a forgettable season for the defending WCC champions.

After a controversial year at McLaren in 2007, Alonso returned to Renault in 2008.  He would be paired with 1^st year driver Nelson Piquet Jr, son of the 3-time World Champion.  After a slow start the R28 became more competitive as the year went on, culminating in wins at Singapore and Japan at the second half of the season.  The Singapore win was rather controversial, as Piquet Jr intentionally rammed his car right after Alonso’s pit stop, and the team was able to take advantage of this so Alonso cruised home to victory.  By the year’s end they were practically a match to Ferrari and McLaren, and things looked good for 2009.

But it was not to be.  With KERS being introduced, Renault, like other KERS teams Ferrari, McLaren, and BMW all struggled out of the gate.  And while the other 3 turned from frontrunners to midfielders, Renault became back markers.  Despite the efforts of Alonso and the technical team, it was to going to be a long season.  And so it was, as the team did not even have a podium all-season long.  Worse, after Piquet was given the boot, Nelsinho and his namesake 3-time world champion father exposed the Singapore stunt the previous year, and then sued Renault.  Briatore, and Pat Symmonds were eventually banned from the F1 circuit as a result.  Because of the scandal, title sponsor ING pulled out immediately, and other sponsors soon  followed.  With Alonso transferring to Ferrari for 2010, Renault was in dire straits.

But the French regrouped.  With BMW pulling out, they were able to get the services of up-and-coming driver Robert Kubica.  But with the scandal the French reduced their participation and some of the team was bought out by Gerard Lopez’ group Genii Capital.  And the team hired Russian Rookie Vitaly Petrov for the 2^nd seat, and with him came badly needed sponsorship money from Russian companies like carmaker Lada.  Their fortunes improved, and despite being shut out at the win column for the second consecutive year, there were lot of promising result.  Kubica had some podiums including a brilliant drive to 3^rd place at Monaco .

Still, it was not enough to convince the French to continue.  They sold their remaining share in the racing team to another carmaker, the legendary Lotus name from Great Britain .  This caused confusion as there was already an exiting Lotus F1 team, Malaysian-owned and with blessing to use the Lotus F1 name, owned previously by David Hunt, brother of 1976 World Champion James.  Even now the dispute/confusion still hasn’t been resolved.  Most likely the Enstone-based team would still be known as Renault, despite now being registered as a British team.  Its latest F1 car was christened the R31, showing continuity from the previous season’s R30, yet its livery was black-and-gold, reminiscent of the last Lotus-Renault in 1986.

Despite still being called a Renault, this virtually ends the French team’s participation in Formula One as a constructor, at least for the moment.  On the engine front they’re still very much involved, powering the defending champions Red Bull Racing, as well as the other Lotus-Renault team.  Still, this marks the end of Renault’s 2^nd stint in Formula One as a manufacturer.  Sad indeed as they are the second-most successful grandee (manufacturer) team of all-time, eclipsed only by Ferrari.  The French GP has been missing from the F1 calendar the past couple of years, and a return is not in the books, at least in the near future.  With no French drivers on the grid and no one noteworthy in the lower-formula pipeline, things are looking grim for the once-proud nation where motor racing was born.  France hosted the first-ever Grand Prix in 1906, and it’s sad to see first its drivers, then its Grand Prix, and now its racing team gone from the pinnacle of Motor racing.