Launching The R202 was
Renault's official return to
Formula One as a chassis maker and full team for 2002. The R202 was launched in
Paris,
France on 27 January 2002. Benetton, the team they had purchased, were fully rebranded into the Renault family with the car featuring prominent yellow streaks against pale blue. The blue for returning lead sponsor,
Mild Seven, except at the
British and
French Grands Prix. In countries where advertising of tobacco products was not allowed, the Mild Seven text was replaced with "Blue World".
Chassis The chassis was designed by
Mike Gascoyne with support from Bob Bell, Tim Densham, John Iley and Pat Symonds. The R202 was an aerodynamic development of the 2001 car, building on the gains made from their extensive wind tunnel testing. The R202 featured Renault's
RS22 V10 engine, featuring a unique 111° degree cylinder bank angle featuring a lower centre of gravity than any other F1 engine at the time. The RS22 engine powering the R202 had an output of 825 hp at 17,500rpm. The R202 utilised Michelin tyres, an agreement reached prior to the French companies return to F1 in 2001.
Testing The R202 was formally tested ahead of the Australian Grand Prix at
Silverstone by race team drivers Trulli and Button. Chassis 1, 2 and 3 were all utilised ahead of the first race. Reserve driver, Fernando Alonso continued testing parts for the R202 at Silverstone into March.
Racing history The season started poorly for Renault in
Australia. Both Button and Trulli were eliminated due to collisions, and by Lap 9 had no runners in the field. Trulli retired from the next two Grand Prix, whilst Button finished in fourth place in both Grand Prix, scoring valuable points, and again in San Marino achieving fifth place. At the
Spanish round, both Button and Trulli retired from the race but were classified due to completing more than 90% of race distance. Button was heading for a career first podium finish. A further retirement in
Austria meant that Trulli had only crossed the finish line in one Grand Prix driving the R202. At
Monaco, Trulli's fortunes turned and the R202 scored a fourth-place finish, and at the next race in
Canada scoring a point for sixth place. However, he would retire from a further five Grand Prix driving the R202 including Renault's home race at
France where Button secured a point for finishing in sixth. Trulli and Button took the R202 to its only double points finish at the
2002 Italian Grand Prix in
Monza despite both having qualified outside the top ten. Despite the reliability challenges, the R202 took Renault to fourth place in the World Constructors Championship standings at the end of the season with 23 points. Button scoring 14, and Trulli 9 the pair finishing seventh and eighth in the drivers standings but scored no podiums for the first time since season when it was named
Toleman. The R202 would be Button's final season driving for Renault in his Formula One career. He departed for
British American Racing. ==Complete Formula One results==