Facts, figures and milestones for Renault

Facts, figures and milestones for the Renault F1 Team during the 2006 season. The team won the Constructors' Championship for the second time in a row, just like the Renault F1 Team driver, Fernando Alonso, snatched his second World Championship title.

2: The number of 1-2 finishes in Renault’s Formula 1 history. The first came in the 1982 French Grand Prix on 25/07/82 when René Arnoux beat Alain Prost. The second was on 19/03/06 when Giancarlo Fisichella led home Fernando Alonso in the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix.

2 x 2: The Renault F1 Team scored the “double double” in 2006, and is now part of a very select club. Winning two consecutive double championships with the same driver has only been achieved by three other pairings in F1 history: Jack Brabham and Cooper; Ayrton Senna and McLaren; Michael Schumacher and Ferrari. Renault and Alonso are now among the greats.

3: Renault F1 Team scored 3 100% Renault front-rows during the 2006 season (Spain, Canada, China). In total, Renault cars have locked out the front row on 21 occasions since 1977.

4: The Renault F1 Team failed to finish only 4 times in 2006, from 36 starts, which represents a finishing percentage of 89%. In 2005, the team failed to finish 8 times, equivalent to 79%. The 10 percentage point rise in reliability was crucial to the team’s championship challenge.

8: Since 1977, the Renault Sport factory at Viry-Châtillon has won 8 constructors’ world titles. In those three decades, only Ferrari has done better, with a total of 10 titles. Renault sits ahead of famous names such as Honda (6), Cosworth (3) and Mercedes (1).

11: A Renault F1 R26 started from the front row on 11 occasions in 2006 – compared to 16 front row starts for championship rivals Ferrari. Since 1977, Renault cars have started from the front row a total of 87 times.

15: That’s the number of wins Fernando Alonso has scored in his four seasons with the Renault F1 Team. By coincidence, the Spaniard has also scored 15 pole positions. Coupled with a total of 37 podium finishes, that makes him the most successful Renault driver in F1 history.

19: The team scored 19 podium finishes in 18 Grands Prix in 2006. In 2005, Renault scored 18 podiums in 19 races… Another example of how the team raised its game for 2006.

20: The Renault F1 Team used a total of twenty engines during race weekends in 2006 (10 for each driver). Among these 20 engines, four were A spec units, 7 were B-spec, 4 were C-spec, 4 D-spec and a single E-spec engine for Giancarlo Fisichella in Brazil. Both drivers changed one engine prior to completing its lifecycle (FIS after Bahrain, ALO after Italy).

50: Fernando Alonso’s wet-weather pole position in China was the 50th pole for a Renault car in Formula 1.

97: As a percentage, that’s the number of race laps Fernando Alonso completed in 2006 compared to the maximum total. In real terms, that means he completed 1108 of 1137 laps possible – an incredible statistic. And once again, it exceeds the figure from 2005, when he completed 1074 of a possible 1180 laps – equivalent to 91%.

100: 2006 was a year of important centenaries. First of all in Barcelona, where Fernando Alonso’s win at his home race marked the 100th win for the Renault-Elf partnership. Then in Canada, where Fernando took Michelin’s 100th F1 victory – just one day before the 100th anniversary of the first ever Renault-Michelin Grand Prix victory, on 26 June 1906 in Le Mans.

150: When Fernando Alonso swept to pole position in Spain, he took the 150th pole position for a Renault engine in Formula 1. The series began at the 1979 South African Grand Prix, when Jean-Pierre Jabouille put the Renault Turbo P1 at Kyalami.

200: The 2006 British Grand Prix marked Renault’s 200th Grand Prix start as a chassis manufacturer. Fernando Alonso sealed the double century with a win, and it carried added significance because the French manufacturer’s first start came… at Silvrstone in 1977. Michelin also started its 200th GP in 2006, at Melbourne – and Fernando won that race too!

299: Fernando Alonso’s 37th and final podium as a Renault driver, in Brazil, was number 299 for a Renault engine in F1… Here’s hoping the triple century comes in Melbourne 2007!

520: Renault cars led 520 laps during the 2006 season – exactly the same number as Ferrari! Closest challenger was McLaren, who led 60 laps, with Honda the only other team in double figures on 25. In comparison, Renault led 452 laps in 2005, while second-placed McLaren led 592!

47,167: That’s the total testing kilometres the Renault F1 Team completed during the 2006 calendar year, from January to the final race in Brazil. In 2007, the voluntary maximum limit will be 30,000 km – a reduction of over 50%...