Renault beats Ferrari with its 209th F1 pole

The Japanese Grand Prix was impatiently awaited by the men of Viruses-Châtillon. After equaling the pole record of Ferrari in South Korea, Renault Sport F1 sets a new record with 209 poles thanks to the Suzuka qualifying won this morning by Mark Webber. This is a great success for the Losange, involved in F1 since 1977, which has 514 Grands Prix on the clock and a result of 40% on the front row compared to 23% for Ferrari and 28% for Mercedes. Jean-Pierre Jabouille took the first pole for the French manufacturer at the wheel of the RS01 during the 1979 South African GP at Kyalami.

The 6l turbo V1,5 used between 1977 and 1986 won 50 poles, while the 10l V3,5 used between 1989 and 1995 won 44 qualifications. The 10l V3 seen from 1995 to 1997 and from 2002 to 2005 collected 53 more before the 8l V2,4 distinguished itself with 62 poles to its credit. Red Bull Racing helped Renault to overtake the Prancing Horse since Sebastian Vettel won 20% of the poles at the Losange and that the RB7 of the 2011 season won 18 poles in 19 races.

Rob White, Deputy Managing Director of Renault Sport F1, does not hide his pride after obtaining this new record. ?It would be tempting to say that this is just a figure, but it represents immense pride for all Renault staff. Since 1977, we have consistently managed to place the cars we power in pole position. This not only demonstrates the quality of expertise within our group, but also our ability to work closely with our teams to develop high-performance cars. Our philosophy has always consisted of giving the chassis teams the means to be able to design the best car, with the least compromise. We have kept this tradition intact from the introduction of our very first V6 to the last V8 which will race for the last time in a few weeks. Setting this record gives us additional motivation to maintain this level of performance in 2014 when we enter the new era of turbo V6s. »