 Fernando Alonso driving the R29 at theSpanish Grand Prix | |||||||||||
| Category | Formula One | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Renault | ||||||||||
| Designers | Pat Symonds(Executive Engineer) Bob Bell(Technical Director) James Allison(Deputy Technical Director) Tim Densham(Chief Designer) Martin Tolliday(Deputy Chief Designer) Tad Czapski(Technology Director) Robin Tuluie(Head of R&D) Dirk de Beer(Head of Aerodynamics) Rob White(Engine Technical Director) Naoki Tokunaga(KERS Project Leader) | ||||||||||
| Predecessor | Renault R28 | ||||||||||
| Successor | Renault R30 | ||||||||||
| Technical specifications[1][2] | |||||||||||
| Chassis | Mouldedcarbon fibre andaluminium honeycomb compositemonocoque, with engine incorporated as a fully stressed member. | ||||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Carbon fibredouble wishbone, operating inboardtorsion bar and damper units via a pushrod system. | ||||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | As front. | ||||||||||
| Length | 4,800 mm (190 in) | ||||||||||
| Width | 1,800 mm (71 in) | ||||||||||
| Height | 950 mm (37 in) | ||||||||||
| Axle track | Front: 1,450 mm (57 in) Rear: 1,400 mm (55 in) | ||||||||||
| Engine | RenaultRS27 2,400 cc (146.5 cu in) 90°V8 withKERS, limited to 18,000 RPM,naturally aspirated,mid-mounted. | ||||||||||
| Transmission | Seven-speed semi-automatic carbon-titanium gearbox with reverse gear. "Quickshift" system. | ||||||||||
| Power | >750 hp @ 18,000 rpm | ||||||||||
| Fuel | Total | ||||||||||
| Tyres | BridgestonePotenza | ||||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||||
| Notable entrants | INGRenault F1 Team (Rounds 1-13) Renault F1 Team (Rounds 14-17) | ||||||||||
| Notable drivers | 7. Fernando Alonso8.  Nelson Piquet Jr.8.  Romain Grosjean | ||||||||||
| Debut | 2009 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| Last event | 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
TheRenault R29 is aFormula One racing car designed by theRenault F1 Team, with which they contested the2009 Formula One World Championship. The chassis was designed byBob Bell,James Allison,Tim Densham andDirk de Beer withPat Symonds overseeing the design and production of the car as Executive Director of Engineering andRob White leading the engine design. The car was driven byFernando Alonso,Nelson Piquet Jr. andRomain Grosjean.
The R29 was launched on 19 January 2009 at theAlgarve circuit in Portugal.[3][4]
Initial testing was conducted at the Portimao circuit along with rivalsWilliams,McLaren,Toyota andToro Rosso from 19 January 2009 to 22 January 2009.Nelson Piquet Jr. was scheduled to drive for the first two days, followed byFernando Alonso on the final two.[5]
Coming off a resurgent second half of the previous year, the team expected to be fighting for both the drivers and constructors titles. Instead, the car proved to be disappointing.Fernando Alonso scored all of the team's 26 points. In the hands of either of Alonso's team mates, the car was often towards the back of the field withNelson Piquet Jr. andRomain Grosjean often failing to reach Q2.
Unlike many other 2009 cars that began the year uncompetitively, such as theMcLarenMP4-24, the R29 showed no sign of improvement throughout the season, and arguably became less competitive over the course of the year, despite Alonso's third place inSingapore Grand Prix, which was Renault's only podium finish of the season.
ING Group initially remained the team's primary sponsor, carrying over from 2008. However, in the wake of the"Crashgate", ING terminated their contract with immediate effect - the company had been due to end their sponsorship of the team after the season.[6] Their logo on the car was simply replaced by the wordRenault from the Singapore Grand Prix onwards. Despite this, the logo was still visible on the driver overalls and personnel uniform during the Singapore race, and from the next race inJapan, the team introduced a new uniform for the last three races of the season that removed both the logo and the orange accents from the design.
French oil companyElf Aquitaine was replaced as a team partner by Elf's parent company,Total, adding red accents to the car's livery[7] There is still an Elf logo on the engine cover.
(key) (results inbold indicate pole position; results initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | INGRenault F1 Team | RenaultRS27V8 | B | AUS | MAL | CHN | BHR | ESP | MON | TUR | GBR | GER | HUN | EUR | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | BRA | ABU | 26 | 8th | |
| Fernando Alonso | 5 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 7 | Ret | 6 | Ret | 5 | 3 | 10 | Ret | 14 | ||||||
| Nelson Piquet Jr. | Ret | 15 | 16 | 10 | 12 | Ret | 16 | 12 | 13 | 12 | |||||||||||||
| Romain Grosjean | 15 | Ret | 15 | Ret | 16 | 13 | 18 |
