Formula Renault are classes of

formula racing Formula racing (known as open-wheel racing in North America) is any of several forms of open-wheeled single-seater motorsport. The origin of the term lies in the nomenclature that was adopted by the FIA for all of its post-World War II single ...

popular in Europe and elsewhere. Regarded as an entry-level series to

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of t ...

, it was founded in 1971, and was a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before moving on to higher formulas. Formula Renault at Silverstone 2008

Renault now backs the French F4 Championship and Formula Regional European Championship. The

World Series by Renault The Renault Sport Series (formerly known as World Series by Renault) is a motor racing series. The series latterly consisted of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, and used to contain the Renault Sport Trophy and the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. Th ...

once included Formula Renault 3.5 before becoming

World Series Formula V8 3.5 The World Series Formula V8 3.5, formerly the World Series by Nissan from 1998 to 2004, the Formula Renault 3.5 Series from 2005 to 2015 and the Formula V8 3.5 in 2016 and 2017, was a motor racing series promoted by RPM Racing (1998–2004) and R ...

in 2016, then folding in 2017.

Formula Renault 3.5L

The most senior "Formula Renault" was the Formula Renault V6 Eurocup started by

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

to run as part of Eurosport's Super Racing Weekends ( ETCC and FIA GT Championship). Only two seasons were run between

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

before Renault left Super Racing Weekends and merged the series with the similar World Series by Nissan to create the Formula Renault 3.5 Series as part of the

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

. In 2016 the series became the

, which folded in 2017. Formula V6 Asia started in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

in Asia and ran at Asian Festival of Speed Weekends (

Touring Car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. Th ...

Formula BMW Formula BMW was a junior racing formula for single seater cars. It was positioned at the bottom of the motorsport career ladder alongside the longer established Formula Ford category. Like Formula Ford, it was intended to function as the young ...

and

Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Porsche Carrera Cup (sometimes abbreviated PCC) is a number of one-make racing by Porsche premier series competed with, initially Porsche 911 Carrera Cup, then later Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. The cars are specifically built by Porsche for one ...

). The old Eurocup and current Asian formulas use

Tatuus Tatuus is an Italian chassis manufacturer for a series of formula racing series, being first founded in 1980. The company is known for its association with Renault Sport for its production of the Formula Renault chassis. History The Tatuus c ...

chassis, while the World Series uses

Dallara Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari ( Parma), Italy he create ...

cars.

Michelin Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and larg ...

is the tyre supplier.

The cars

* Engine:

Type V4Y RS, 60° V6, 3498 cc, 425-500 hp - since 2012 Zytek ZRS03 V8, 3396 cc, 530 hp * Chassis:

(Eurocup and Asia) or

T02/T05/T08/T12 (World Series) Carbon-fibre Monocoque, carbon and fibreglass bodywork * Width: 1850 mm (72.8") maximum * Wheelbase: 3000–3125 mm * Track: 1579 mm (front) and 1536 mm (rear) * Weight: 616 kg * Fuel: 110 litres * Suspension front and rear with torsion bar, push-rod, twin struts * Telemetry, and

steering wheel A steering wheel (also called a driving wheel (UK), a hand wheel, or simply wheel) is a type of steering control in vehicles. Steering wheels are used in most modern land vehicles, including all mass-production automobiles, buses, light an ...

* Sequential gearbox, six gears * Wheels: Single piece magnesium with central nut, 10 x 13 (front) and 13 x 13 (rear) * Tyres:

dry and rain, 24 x 57 x 13 (front) and 31 x 60 x 13 (rear)

Championships

A Pan Am Formula Renault V6 series was planned to take place in 2005 but it never occurred.

Formula Renault 2.0

Formula Renault 2.0 descended from Formula France created in 1968. Its predecessors used 1.3L (1968–1971), 1.6L (1972–1981), 1.6L turbo (1982–1988) and later 1,721 cc (1989–1994), then 2l 8V (1995–1999) engines in single-seater chassis. The series evolved in 2000 into a 2L 16V series using one-make cars from Italian manufacturer

. The series was introduced into the UK in 1989 and even after the 1721 cc cars had been replaced at the top level a club-level series for them continued in parallel with the more ambitious 2.0 series. This is seen as one of the key steps in a driver's career before Formula Three. The most notable recent graduate of the formula is

Kimi Räikkönen Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "The Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One Wor ...

, who moved straight into

Formula One 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, ...

after winning the British Formula Renault championship.

The cars

1995–1999

The Formula Renault 95 used multiple chassis, production 2.0-litre 8V 165 hp engines and Hewland five-speed manual gearboxes. Manufacturers were able to build cars around spec components such as the engine, bellhousing, gearbox, brakes, wheels and ECU. Chassis were steel space frame with fibreglass bodies. Manufacturers included Mygale, Martini, Swift, Tatuus, and Ermolli. The car was last used in 1999.

2000–2009

The Formula Renault 2000 had a Tatuus-made chassis running 2.0 L Renault Clio engines attached to a Sadev gearbox. The engine originally had a maximum output of 185 hp, and was upgraded to 210 hp in 2006. They are capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 mph (160 km/h) in 4.85 seconds and braking from 125 mph (200 km/h) to a stop in 4.60 seconds. The Tatuus Formula Renault car is the most successful single seater ever, with 10 years of service and nearly 1000 sold. The car has produced many current

stars, with 11 of the 25 drivers in the

2009 Formula One season The 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 63rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 60th Formula One World Championship which was contested over 17 events commencing with the on 29 March and ending with the i ...

using the car in the infancy of their careers. For the 2010 season, a new car developed by

Barazi-Epsilon Barazi-Epsilon is a racing team owned by engineer Michel Lecomte and entrepreneur turned amateur racer Juan Barazi. The team's base is in Le Mans. The team was founded in 2000 as Epsilon Sport from the remains of the Graff Racing's Formula Three ...

, will be used in most major championships, with the old car still being used in minor championships such as Formula Renault BARC in the UK.

= Dimensions and weight

= :''Wheel Base'': 2,645 mm :''Front Track'': 1,434 mm :''Rear Track'': 1,318 mm :''Minimum Weight'': 490 kg without driver / 565 kg with driver

= Chassis

= The chassis is a carbon fiber cell designed and developed by

and

Renault Sport Renault Sport () or Renaultsport, was the motorsport, performance and special vehicles division for Renault-badged cars. Renault Sport was officially established in 1976 as a merger between the Alpine and Gordini competition departments. It ...

. It also incorporates a FIA-approved roll hoop and lateral driver's head protection. This was introduced in 2000 and updated with new bodywork in 2004 and 2007. Both the chassis and engine are of an FIA-approved "impact break-away" design.

= Cockpit

= : XAP Multi-Changeable Dashboard Display : FIA-approved Safety Features : Roll Hoop and Lateral Driver's Head Protective Padding : Deformable, double-jointed steering column : Removable steering wheel : Six-point, 3-inch driver's shoulder and lap harnesses : FT3 fuel cell : Manually operated 5 kg fire extinguisher

= Engine

= The engine is a sealed, 16-valve, 4-cylinder ''Renault Sport type F4R FRS'' with Orbisoud race exhaust system and catalytic converter, built and developed by

. :''Capacity'': 1998 cc :''Max Output'': at 6,500 rpm :''Max Torque'': 22mkg (159lb.ft) at 5,500 rpm :''Lubrication'': Dry Sump, Elf Evolution LDX 5w/40 :''Spark Plugs'': NGK PFR6E10 :''ECU'': Sealed Magneti-Marelli MF4L ignition system

= Gearbox

= Formula Renault uses a Sadev 6-speed, sequential gearbox with mechanical control featuring three specified sets of ratios using a Limited Slip Differential and Twin-Plate. The clutch is hydraulic. It also uses Elf Transmission LS.

= Suspension

= :''Front'': Pushrod, controlled single damper with adjustable bump and rebound :''Rear'': Pushrod, controlled twin dampers with adjustable bump and rebound

= Brake

= The brakes are four-pot calipers, with ventilated discs and Ferodo(type DS4003) pads. They include cockpit-adjustable bias front-to-rear.

= Tyres

= :''Front'': 16/53 x :''Rear'': 23/57 x :''Manufacturer'':

control :Exceptions :''Asia'': Kumho (since 2002) :''Brazil'':

Pirelli Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is a multinational tyre manufacturer based in Milan, Italy. The company, which has been listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 1922, is the 6th-largest tyre manufacturer and is focused on the consumer production of tyres ...

(2002–2006) :''North America'':

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

(since 2004)

= Wheels

= :''Front'': 8 inches x :''Rear'': 10 inches x :''Manufacturer'': OZ

2010–today

Manufactured by

EB01 A Main changes to the previous models are: *Engine: 2.0L Renault F4R 832 - maximal output has been raised to *Gearbox is now 7-speed sequential

Championships

Two sorts of Formula Renault 2.0 championships exist. Regular championships and Winter Series, an off-season championship held usually between November and February with few races. In 2005, all series names were replaced from ''Formula Renault 2000'' to ''Formula Renault 2.0''. An Uruguyan 2.0L series is also held (José Pedro Passadores 2003 champion).

Winners

A majority of Formula Renault champions have gone onto lead successful careers in motor racing, most notably Alain Prost who won the

World Championship four times in his career. Other drivers include

René Arnoux René Alexandre Arnoux (; born 4 July 1948) is a French former racing driver who competed in 12 Formula One seasons (1978 to 1989). He participated in 165 World Championship Grands Prix (149 starts) winning seven of them, achieving 22 podium fin ...

Didier Pironi Didier Joseph Louis Pironi (26 March 1952 – 23 August 1987) was a French racing driver. During his career, he competed in 72 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, driving for Tyrrell (1978–1979), Ligier (1980) and Ferrari (198 ...

Felipe Massa Felipe Massa (, born 25 April 1981) is a Brazilian racing driver. He competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between 2002 and 2017, where he scored 11 Grand Prix victories, 41 podiums and finished as championship runner-up in 2008 by one point ...

and Lewis Hamilton all of whom have gone onto win Grands Prix.

Formula Renault 2.0L timeline

Formula Renault 1.6L

This Formula Renault series was open to drivers between 14 and 21 years that have raced before in

karting Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on ...

series.

The cars

The cars use K4M 1598cc

engines.

Championships

Winners

*In Belgium 2007 championship,

Karline Stala Karline is a German feminine given name that is an alternate form of Karla. Notable people known by this name include the following: Given name * Karlīne Nīmane (born 1990) Latvian basketball player * Karlīne Štāla (born 1986) Latvian race ca ...

was the first ever woman to win a single seaters championship. She was invited to test the Formula Renault 3.5L at Circuit Paul Ricard in November 2007, like the best 2.0L and 3.5L drivers.

Formula Renault 1.6L timeline

Other formulas powered by Renault

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

organises several Formula Renault championships different from its official 2.0L series: * ''Fórmula Renault Plus'' (since 2007) with Renault Clio K4M engine (1598cc). * ''Fórmula Renault Interprovincial'' (since 2007) with 1.397 cc engine from Renault 12 T.S Break. * ''Fórmula 4 Nacional'' (in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

) with Renault K4M engine (1598cc) with lower power than the official 1.6L series. Teams can choose chassis manufacturer. Races are held during the

TC 2000 The TC2000 (''Turismo Competición 2000'', formerly ''Súper TC2000'') is a touring car racing series held in Argentina since 1979. Rules Prior to 2012, engines of up to were allowed, with only limited modifications from standard engines. ...

weekends. * ''Fórmula 4 Metropolitana'' (since 2008 season) with Renault K4M engine (1598cc) and replacing the Fórmula 4 Nacional series. Teams can choose chassis manufacturer. * ''Fórmula Super Renault'' with

, Reynard,

Ralt Ralt was a manufacturer of single-seater racing cars, founded by ex- Jack Brabham associate Ron Tauranac after he sold out his interest in Brabham to Bernie Ecclestone. Ron and his brother had built some specials in Australia in the 1950s unde ...

or TOM'S chassis and Renault 21, 18 or F3R 2.0L engine. In 2005, the championship wasn't held due to the low of participation.En el 2005 no habra Super Renault
''autonoticias.com.ar'' (28 December 2004) In 2008, the ''Formula 2000 Light'' was created. The series is held in Italy with

's Formula Renault or Formula Three chassis. The same year also saw the introduction of the '' LATAM Challenge Series'', run in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

. The ''Austria Formel Renault Cup'' has been held since

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

.Historie
''austriaf3cup.com'' This series is held and organised with the Austria Formula 3 Cup and use the 2.0L Renault formulas. The ''Formule Renault 2.0 North European Zone'' was also introduced in 2008. 2008 was the first, and ultimately last, season of the ''Formula Asia 2.0''. Its aim was to bring more racing to the Asian region, allowing more drivers to opportunity to race and make the step up to the next level. The series used

engines with constructor

and ran on

provided tyres.

Winners

For GP Series winners, see GP2 Series,

GP2 Asia Series The GP2 Asia Series was a form of open wheel motor racing as a result of a spin-off from the GP2 series. The series was officially announced during the weekend of the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix. GP2 series organiser Bruno Michel commented that "It i ...

and GP3 Series pages.

References

External links

*
Renault Sport