Behind the scenes at Renault Sport Racing, Enstone, Groupe Renault’s F1 factory
One for all, all for one. Alone in their vehicles, drivers are still part of a big family. During Grand Prix meetings and on every other day besides, the staff at Renault Sport Racing, in Viry-Châtillon and in Enstone, share a single passion: innovate and collaborate to excel. For Renault, Formula 1 is a race within a race. The aim is to be the champion in a competition and the leader in innovation and the technologies of the car of tomorrow.
Here is a rare chance to go behind the scenes of the Renault F1 adventure, at Enstone, Renault Sport Racing’s factory.
Enstone, the plant where Renault F1s are born
Renault Sport Racing operates on two sites. F1 engines are developed and designed in France at Viry-Châtillon. Design, assembly and tuning of the vehicles happen in England, at Enstone.
Our guide, Kayleigh Robson, a Renault colleague from the UK, introduces us to this Formula 1 plant.
From track to road
For Renault, Formula 1 is a research and test laboratory for production vehicles. Every innovation, every technical or technology advance contributes directly or indirectly to the car of the future. Examples are legion, such as yesterday’s turbo technology and today’s hybrid E-TECH engine.
On the hybrid E-TECH engines, three innovations have been inspired by Formula 1. The innovative multimode direct transmission (dog clutch gearbox) makes for smooth gear changes. Sport mode ensures that all of the IC and electrical power is available to provide maximum driving pleasure. Regenerative braking – in other words, recharging the battery as the vehicle slows down – can be configured by the driver.
From F1 to the car of tomorrow
The car of the future will be autonomous, connected and enhanced by myriad sensors. Analysis of information will be crucial to the design and continuous improvement of leading-edge on-board technologies. Renault benefits from the expertise of Renault Sport Racing in this field. The F1 Renault R.S.19 carries 200 sensors that gather 50 billion items of data per Grand Prix.
The aerodynamic, mechanical and thermal simulation associated with virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence speed up the design, development and assembly of the F1s. These technologies are gradually introduced on production vehicles.
In the race to progress, Renault Formula 1 is working for the production vehicles of today and tomorrow.
