Renault F1 Team
Despite Renault's history as one of the most successful engine builders in Formula 1, it was not until 2005 that Renault managed to win the World Constructors' Championship as a team in its own right. It also won the drivers' title that year with Fernando Alonso, repeating the clean sweep the following year. Then team lost Alonso for 2007 and have been in decline ever since. The Spaniard returned in 2008 and won two races but the first of those two victories would only bring controversy to the team, with title sponsor ING departing in the wake of 'crashgate'. While other car manufacturers have withdrawn from Formula 1, the name Renault remains although a significant share in the team was sold to Luxembourg investment company Genii Capital.
New team principal Eric Boullier's first task is to restore team morale in the wake of two poor seasons, the loss of talismanic Fernando Alonso and the controversy surrounding the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. Central to the team's fortunes, however, may be the drive and ambition of new recruit, Robert Kubica. The team are playing down their 2010 ambitions, instead looking forward to 2011, however, with the departure of Toyota and BMW they will be looking for a much improved position in the Championship standings.
2009 Position: 8th, 26 Points
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Robert Kubica
Poland's first Formula 1 driver came to F1 on the back of impressive performances in the Macau Grand Prix, as Robert Kubica was drafted in to replace Jacques Villeneuve. In 2008 Robert captured his and the team's first victory in the Canadian Grand Prix, catapulting him to the top of the standings. However, a reluctance by the team to pursue a Championship challenge left him frustrated which only worsened with the team's uncompetitive 2009 car.
2009: 14th, 17 Points
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Vitaly Petrov
The first Russian to take part in the World Championships, Vitaly Petrov's CV is notably absent of a Karting career as is the norm. Instead he has had a fairly low-key climb through Formula Renault and Russian series. That all changed in his second season of GP2 in 2008 where he placed 7th overall, which he followed-up last year by finishing runner-up to Nico Hülkenberg. Armed with a healthy sponsorship package, Renault finally named Vitaly as their second driver for 2010.
2009: GP2 Runner-up
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Ho-Pin Tung
Jérôme D'Ambrosio
Jan Charouz
Renault's support of young drivers continues with no less than three reserve drivers named, although it's not clear how many of them are purely marketing tools. Chinese-Dutch Ho-Pin Tung and Belgian Jérôme D'Ambrosio will be GP2 team mates in 2010 with the Renault F1 Junior Team. Czech Jan Charouz formed part of the 2009 Le Man Series winning team but will return to open-wheel racing in 2010 in the Formula Renault 3.5 series.
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