Renault entered Formula One as a constructor in 1977 with the RS01, powered by a Renault-Gordini 1.5-litre turbocharged V6 — the first turbocharged engine in the modern world championship. The car was initially unreliable and widely mocked as the "yellow teapot" for its exhaust smoke. The breakthrough came at the 1979 French Grand Prix when the [[renault-in-formula-one|RS10]] became the first turbocharged car to win a Grand Prix, driven by Jean-Pierre Jabouille at Dijon.
Renault developed the turbo formula through the early 1980s. René Arnoux and [[alain-prost|Alain Prost]] drove RE20 and RE30 variants to victories and near-championship challenges, with Prost agonisingly close in 1983. Renault's own constructor effort ended in 1985, but the technology revolution it started forced every major manufacturer to follow — the 1.5-litre turbo era ran until the end of 1988.
When F1 banned turbos for 1989, Renault returned as an engine supplier with a naturally aspirated V10. The RS1 partnership with Williams grew into the most dominant technical alliance of 1990s F1:
1992: [[nigel-mansell|Nigel Mansell]] won the drivers' championship with the [[williams-fw14|Williams FW14B]] — 9 wins from 16 races.
1993: [[alain-prost|Alain Prost]] took the title in the [[williams-fw15c|FW15C]]; the Renault V10 was producing around 750 hp.
1994–1995: Renault also supplied [[benetton-formula|Benetton]], where Michael Schumacher won back-to-back titles; the [[benetton-b194|B194]] and [[benetton-b195|B195]] were the championship cars.
1996: [[damon-hill|Damon Hill]] won with the [[williams-fw18|Williams FW18]].
1997: [[jacques-villeneuve|Jacques Villeneuve]] claimed the title with the [[williams-fw19|FW19]] in Renault's final season as a V10 supplier before a brief withdrawal.
The Williams-Renault combination won four consecutive constructors' championships (1992–1995) and five in six years.
Renault supplied engines to Red Bull Racing via the RS27 V8 designation. Sebastian Vettel drove the Red Bull RB6 through RB9 to four consecutive drivers' and constructors' championships between 2010 and 2013 — the most dominant stretch of the V8 regulation era. Vettel's 2013 season delivered 13 wins from 19 races.
The 2014 regulations introduced 1.6-litre V6 turbo-hybrid power units. Renault's initial offering struggled relative to Mercedes, creating tension with Red Bull. The Renault works team — rebranded as [[renault-f1-team|Renault F1 Team]] from 2016, then [[alpine-f1|Alpine F1 Team]] from 2021 — achieved its best recent result with Fernando Alonso's Hungarian Grand Prix win in 2021. The engine supply and works programme has continued under the Alpine banner into the mid-2020s.
[[renault-in-formula-one|Renault in Formula One]] — full constructor history
[[williams-fw14|Williams FW14B]] — Mansell's dominant 1992 championship car
[[williams-fw15c|Williams FW15C]] — Prost's 1993 championship car
[[williams-fw18|Williams FW18]] — Hill's 1996 championship car
[[williams-fw19|Williams FW19]] — Villeneuve's 1997 championship car
[[nigel-mansell|Nigel Mansell]] — 1992 drivers' champion with Renault power
[[alain-prost|Alain Prost]] — 1993 champion with Williams-Renault
[[damon-hill|Damon Hill]] — 1996 champion with Williams-Renault
[[jacques-villeneuve|Jacques Villeneuve]] — 1997 champion with Williams-Renault
[[benetton-formula|Benetton Formula]] — Schumacher's Renault-powered 1994–95 titles
[[benetton-b195|Benetton B195]] — 1995 Schumacher championship car
[[renault-f1-team|Renault F1 Team]] — works constructor using own engines
[[alpine-f1|Alpine F1 Team]] — successor brand from 2021