Renault

Renault S.A. is a French vehicle manufacturer producing small to upper-midsize cars, vans, buses and trucks.

Motorsport

:Main article: Renault F1

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:Main article: Renault Sport

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Motorsport has long been recognised as an effective marketing tool for automobile manufacturers. In the late seventies and early eighties, Renault began to involve itself more heavily in motorsport, setting up a dedicated motorsport division called Renault Sport, and winning the Le Mans 24 Hours (once again in collaboration with Alpine) while achieving success in both rallying (with the Renault 5 Turbo) and Formula One. Initially, Renault's entry into Formula One in 1977 was ridiculed when the team's first design included such curiosities as a turbocharger. However, the team were to win their first race on home soil in Dijon a mere two years later and by the early eighties, every front-running Formula One team used turbochargers.

Related Topics:
Renault Sport - Renault 5 Turbo - Formula One - Turbocharger - Dijon

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Renault also took over the Benetton F1 team in 2002, and quickly became very competitive, Fernando Alonso winning Renault's first race in its second incarnation at the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix and becoming a genuine championship contender in 2005. Questions have been raised regarding Renault's commitment to its Formula One team, particularly with the appointment of Carlos Ghosn as CEO. However at the 2005 French Grand Prix Ghosn set out his policy regarding the company's involvement in motorsport:

Related Topics:
2002 - Fernando Alonso - 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix - 2005 - 2005 French Grand Prix

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:"We are not in Formula One out of habit or tradition. We're here to show our talent and that we can do it properly... Formula One is a cost if you don't get the results. Formula One is an investment if you do have them and know how to exploit them.

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In short he will continue Renault's investment in F1 as long as the team is successful and can use the resulting publicity for wider commercial gain. Conversly if the team is unsuccessful in future it can be expected that Ghosn will withdraw resources from the sport.

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