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 Fernando Alonso driving the R24 at the2004 Canadian Grand Prix | |||||||||
| Category | Formula One | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Renault | ||||||||
| Designers | Pat Symonds(Executive Engineer) Mike Gascoyne(Technical Director) Bob Bell(Deputy Technical Director) Mark Smith(Chief Designer) Tad Czapski(Head of R&D) Dino Toso(Head of Aerodynamics) Bernard Dudot(Engine Technical Director) Léon Taillieu(Project Manager - Engine) | ||||||||
| Predecessor | R23 | ||||||||
| Successor | R25 | ||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||
| Chassis | Moulded carbon fibre and aluminium honeycomb composite monocoque | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Carbon-fibre top and bottom wishbones operate an inboard titanium rocker via a pushrod system | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Titanium top and carbon-fibre bottom wishbones operating vertically-mountedtorsion bars and horizontally-mounted damper units mounted on the top of the gearbox casing | ||||||||
| Engine | Renault RS24, mid-engined 3.0 litreV10 (72°) | ||||||||
| Transmission | Titanium longitudinal, semi-automatic sequential paddle-shift, 6-speed + 1 reverse | ||||||||
| Power | 880-900 hp @ 19,000 rpm[1][2] | ||||||||
| Fuel | Elf | ||||||||
| Tyres | Michelin | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | Mild Seven Renault F1 Team | ||||||||
| Notable drivers | 7. Jarno Trulli7.  Jacques Villeneuve8.  Fernando Alonso | ||||||||
| Debut | 2004 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||
| First win | 2004 Monaco Grand Prix | ||||||||
| Last win | 2004 Monaco Grand Prix | ||||||||
| Last event | 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
TheRenault R24 is aFormula One car that competed in the 18 Grands Prix of the2004 Formula One World Championship.
The chassis was designed byMike Gascoyne,Bob Bell,[3]Tim Densham andDino Toso withPat Symonds overseeing the design and production of the car as executive director of Engineering andBernard Dudot leading the engine design.
Renault brought a new, updatedR24B model to San Marino Grand Prix, featuring new cylinder heads, inlet system and related changes to the bottom part of the engine.[4][5]
The car showed speed and reliability during the season, managing to outpace both theWilliams andMcLaren, as well as proving to be a consistent challenger to the equally fastBAR Hondas ofJenson Button andTakuma Sato. However, it was bested by theFerrari F2004 ofMichael Schumacher andRubens Barrichello, with which the Ferrari duo won 15 of the 18 races in 2004. Going into the season, Renault announced that their driver line-up wasJarno Trulli andFernando Alonso.
The team became real contenders for second place in the Constructors' Championship when Trulli and Alonso placed third and fourth respectively during theSpanish Grand Prix.[6] Trulli won theMonaco Grand Prix. However, his relationship with Renault (particularly with team principal and Trulli's ex-manager Flavio Briatore) deteriorated after he was consistently off the pace in the latter half of the year, and made claims[7] of favouritism in the team towards Alonso (though the two teammates themselves remained friendly).
TheFrench Grand Prix is considered the final straw for Renault, where Trulli was overtaken byRubens Barrichello in the final stages of the last lap, costing Renault a double podium finish at their home Grand Prix.[8] Trulli was later fired after failing to score points in 5 successive races. After that, he announced that he was joiningToyota F1 for the following year and left Renault early, driving the Toyota in the last two races of the 2004 season.
Hoping to secure second place in the Constructors' Championship, Renault replaced Trulli with1997 World ChampionJacques Villeneuve for the final three races. However, Villeneuve — away from F1 racing for almost an entire season — struggled to adjust quickly to racing at the premier level and did not impress, resulting in the team finishing third behind Villeneuve's former team -BAR with 105 points.
The livery was completely different from the previous two seasons with removal of the dark blue accent on the engine cover whereas the rear wing was previously white. The season saw Renault receive new sponsorship fromTelefónica andi-Mode whileHanjin was retained for a second year.
Renault used the 'Mild Seven' logos, except at theCanadian,French andBritish Grands Prix, where they were replaced with their number and driver names.
The R24 was "loaned" toThe Stig for an episode ofTop Gear. Renault claimed it would go around theTop Gear test track in less than one minute; the R24 got around in 59.0 seconds, being the fastest any car had gone around the track, whether it was on the show or not.[9] It was later revealed by Renault that the R24 was driven not by the regular Stig, but rather their test driverHeikki Kovalainen, disguised as the Stig. The record would still remain unbeaten for 21 years until theMcMurtry Spéirling broke the record by 3.1 seconds,getting a 55.9 second lap on the board.
(key) (results inbold indicate pole position)
| Year | Team | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Renault F1 | RenaultV10 | M | AUS | MAL | BHR | SMR | ESP | MON | EUR | CAN | USA | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | CHN | JPN | BRA | 105 | 3rd | |
| Jarno Trulli | 7 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | Ret | 4 | 4 | Ret | 11 | Ret | 9 | 10 | |||||||||
| Fernando Alonso | 3 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | Ret | 5 | Ret | Ret | 2 | 10 | 3 | 3 | Ret | Ret | 4 | 5 | 4 | ||||||
| Jacques Villeneuve | 11 | 10 | 10 |
