The chassis was designed by a team led by James Allison and including Naoki Tokunaga, Tim Densham, Nick Chester, Martin Tolliday, Mike Elliott, and Dirk de Beer, with Rob White overseeing engine design. Test drivers Ho-Pin Tung, Jérôme d'Ambrosio, and Jan Charouz supported development throughout the year. At the Belgian Grand Prix, Renault introduced an F-duct system on the R30, a device that had been planned since Silverstone but was delayed due to efficiency concerns.
The improvement over the R29 was apparent from the opening races. Robert Kubica delivered a string of strong finishes early in the season, and Renault established themselves as the main challenger to Mercedes for fourth place in the Constructors' Championship. The team ultimately settled for fifth, but a double points finish by Kubica and Petrov at the final race of the year in Abu Dhabi ended the season on a positive note after years of struggle.
Following the loss of ING Group's title sponsorship — which had collapsed in the wake of the 2008 Crashgate scandal — the R30 returned to Renault's historic yellow and black livery, a color scheme associated with the team through much of its early Formula One history including the turbocharged years of the early 1980s. The profiles of the aerodynamic surfaces were finished in red, carrying the branding of oil company Total.
The team did not secure a title sponsor for 2010, and early pre-season testing showed a notably bare car. Dutch watchmaker TW Steel provided visible branding on the nose and above the radiator openings. During the season, Hewlett-Packard signed a two-year collaboration deal with the team, placing its logo on the engine cover fin. The Genii Capital investment fund's entry into the team's share capital added the fund's logo to the front suspension arms. Vitaly Petrov's presence in the car brought Lada branding to the front section sides, while DIAC, a Renault group vehicle credit company, appeared on the sidepod flanks.
Additional sponsors including Banka SNORAS (which replaced DIAC mid-season), EFG International, TrinaSolar, and MOVIT also appeared on the car across the year.
The R30 chassis enjoyed a productive second life after its competitive season. Pirelli used the chassis from 2012 to 2013 as a tyre development test car, replacing the Toyota TF109. Test drivers Jaime Alguersuari and Lucas di Grassi used it at several European circuits including Jerez, Spa, Monza, and Barcelona. Kimi Räikkönen drove an R30 in Lotus E20 livery during a private test in Valencia in January 2012, simulating the characteristics of the upcoming season's car. The R30 was also demonstrated at the 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed in Lotus Renault R31 colors.
In approximately November 2010, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin drove an R30 on a circuit in the city of Saint Petersburg.
The R30 restored Renault's credibility as a competitive Formula One constructor after the dismal 2009 campaign and the organizational disruption caused by Crashgate. Kubica's performances in particular drew widespread praise and positioned him as a championship contender heading into 2011 before his career-ending rally accident early that year.