Renault's dream of a return to Formula One became reality on Thursday when the French car manufacturer announced it had bought out the Benetton team in a $120 million deal. Renault will reappear in the World Championship in 2002 while the Italian clothing manufacturer will continue as sponsors until then. The deal means Renault now own Benetton UK, owner of Benetton Formula Limited, and offers the French firm two years to develop its own car. Benetton group chairman Luciano Benetton said they had been driven out by the rising costs of Formula One.
"Competing is all about winning and if you have a budget that's less than the others you can't expect miracles", he said. Renault is no stranger to success. It supplied Benetton and Williams with engines between 1992 and 1997 and brought the two teams six Constructors' World Championships and five Drivers' Championships. Renault quit Formula One after the 1997 season, with Williams and Benetton continuing to use Renault engines under the Supertec banner - their own modification of the power unit.
But the company decided to enter the sport in its own right, under its own colours, with an in-house chassis and engine. Patrick Faure will be in charge of the project and he will oversee a two-unit project - the development of the engine in Viry-Chatillon, France, headed by Christian Contzen, and the chassis activity at Enstone, England, run by Flavio Briatore. Faure said, "We are perfectly aware of the size of the challenge that is facing us, but Renault likes a challenge".
Benetton made their Formula One debut in 1983 and finally landed the Drivers' crown with Schumacher behind the wheel in 1994 and 1995, when they added the Constructor's Championship. Overall, the team won 27 grand prix and gained 96 podium finishes and 16 pole positions.
