Renault RE30

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Formula One racing car

title: "Renault RE30" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["renault-formula-one-cars", "1981-formula-one-season-cars", "1983-formula-one-season-cars"] description: "Formula One racing car" topic_path: "general/renault-formula-one-cars" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_RE30" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Formula One racing car ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox racing car"]

Field	Value
Car_name	Renault RE30
Renault RE30B
Renault RE30C
Image	[[File:René Arnoux 1981 Nederland.jpg
Caption	René Arnoux with the RE30 at the 1981 Dutch Grand Prix
Category	Formula One
Constructor	Renault
Designer	Bernard Dudot (Technical Director, lead engine designer)
Michel Têtu (Chief Designer (chassis))
Marcel Hubert (Head of Aerodynamics)
Predecessor	RE20
Successor	RE40
Team	Equipe Renault Elf
Drivers	15. FRA Alain Prost

FRA René Arnoux | | Chassis | Aluminium honeycomb monocoque with carbon fibre stress points | | Front suspension | upper rocker arms, lower wishbones | | Rear suspension | upper rocker arms, lower wishbones | | Wheelbase | 2730 mm | | Track | Front: 1740 mm Rear: 1630 mm | | Engine name | Renault Gordini EF1, | | Configuration | 90° V6, | | Capacity | 1492 cc, | | Turbo/NA | turbo | | Engine position | mid-engine, longitudinally mounted | | Type | manual | | Gears | 5 speed | | Fuel | Elf | | Tyres | Michelin | | Weight | 605 kg | | Debut | 1981 Monaco Grand Prix | | First_win | 1981 French Grand Prix | | Last_win | 1982 Italian Grand Prix | | Last_event | 1983 United States West Grand Prix | | Cons_champ | 0 | | Drivers_champ | 0 | ::

The Renault RE30 was a Formula One car designed by Bernard Dudot and Michel Têtu for use by the Renault team in the 1981 Formula One season. An updated version, the RE30B, was used in the season, and a further update, the RE30C, at the start of the season.

History

1981

The RE30 was an entirely different design from its predecessor, the RE20. It incorporated carbon fibre – a material which was becoming increasingly commonplace in F1 at the time – into parts of its construction, and featured distinctive aerodynamic kick-ups ahead of the rear wheels. The initial version featured a full span front wing. The turbocharged engine was developed further, producing around 540 bhp, with twin KKK turbochargers. The car had advanced ground effect technology, with concessions given to the new rules for 1981 which banned sliding skirts. The car was quick - probably the quickest car in the field - but it came too late in the season to overcome the RE20B's unreliability in the first part of the season. It was the only car that could pass the very powerful, but downforce-lacking, Ferrari 126C in a straight line.

After the team used the RE20 for the first five races of the 1981 World Championship, the RE30 made its debut at the Monaco Grand Prix. At the team's home race in France, René Arnoux put the car on pole position, before team-mate Alain Prost took his first Grand Prix victory. The car then took pole in each of the next five races (Arnoux three times and Prost twice), with Prost winning again in Holland and finishing second in Germany, and Arnoux finishing second in Austria. Prost then took a third win in Italy, before rounding off the year with another second place at Caesars Palace. Prost thus finished fifth in the Drivers' Championship with Arnoux ninth, while the team took third in the Constructors' Championship.

1982

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Rene_Arnoux_1982_British_GP.jpg" caption="[[René Arnoux]] driving the RE30B at the [[1982 British Grand Prix"] ::

For 1982, the car was updated and modified with a redesigned nose section that featured separate left and right front wings and a new rear wing, becoming RE30 in "B" specification. Advances in ground effect meant that the cars frequently ran without the front wings attached. The engine was further developed to give around 590 bhp. Prost made a strong start to the season and won in Brazil and South Africa, to underline his intention to win the championship that season. However, those would be his only victories of the year, as Ferrari, Williams and McLaren overtook Renault in the technology race. The RE30B was a formidable qualifying car, with Prost or Arnoux on pole for the majority of the races, but reliability was suspect for both drivers, mostly due to problems with the new and rather experimental electronic fuel injection which failed repeatedly during the races. Corporate politics at Renault effectively forced the team to use the system throughout the season. It was a shame, because the RE30B was probably the most competitive car that season, having the best compromise on outright performance - with a good chassis and aerodynamics - and a powerful enough engine. The car was quick around all kinds of different circuits - even around even tight, slow circuits like Monaco, Detroit, Zolder and Long Beach - where the other cars with turbo-charged engines (Ferrari, Brabham-BMW, and less competitively Toleman-Hart) lacked in performance, due to the heavier weight and poor engine pickup, thanks to massive turbo lag, so the cars with the less powerful naturally aspirated engines were able to capitalize by being able to get more power more quickly out of slow corners. Arnoux took two wins during the latter half of the year, but only finished four races during the whole season. Prost was in sight of victory at Monaco, Austria and Dijon but had problems during the final laps of all three races. He eventually salvaged fourth in the championship, whilst Renault finished third in the constructors' championship.

1983

The RE30 was further updated to "C" specification for the start of the 1983 season, before the new RE40 became available. Prost and new team-mate Eddie Cheever both drove the RE30C at the season opener in Brazil, with Cheever then driving the car again at Long Beach. The RE30C complied with the "flat bottom" rules enacted that year, with a much larger rear wing and revised front wings.

With seven wins and sixteen pole positions, the RE30 was Renault's most successful car until Fernando Alonso's world championships of and .

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) ::data[format=table]

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Points	WCC
Equipe Renault Elf	RE30	Renault-Gordini EF1 V6 (t/c)				USW		BRA		ARG		SMR		BEL		MON		ESP		FRA		GBR
FRA Alain Prost											Ret	Ret	1	Ret	2	Ret	1	1	Ret	2
FRA René Arnoux											Ret	9	4	9	13	2	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret
Equipe Renault Elf	RE30B	Renault-Gordini EF1 V6 (t/c)					RSA		BRA		USW		SMR		BEL		MON		DET		CAN		NED
FRA Alain Prost	1	1	Ret	Ret	Ret	7	NC	Ret	Ret	6	2	Ret	8	2	Ret	4
FRA René Arnoux	3	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	1	2	Ret	16	1	Ret
Equipe Renault Elf	RE30C	Renault-Gordini EF1 V6 (t/c)					BRA		USW		FRA		SMR		MON		BEL		DET		CAN		GBR
FRA Alain Prost	7
USA Eddie Cheever	Ret	13
::

6 points scored using the Renault RE20

** All 79 points scored using the Renault RE40

Sources

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::