Renault at the Brazilian GP

After a disappointing first Brazilian Grand Prix in 1979, the duo of Jabouille and Arnoux returned in 1980 and took pole (Jabouille) and the race win (Arnoux). For the following year, the race moved to Rio de Janeiro but both Renaults retired in that race; however, Alain Prost redressed the balance in 1982 with a rare “triple crown” of pole, race win and fastest lap. Renault power continued to compete at the Jacarepagua until 1986, and while the works cars did not enjoy success, the customer teams did: Elio de Angelis finished P3 in both 1984 and 1985 (also taking pole in 84) while in 1986 Ayrton Senna snatched pole and second place in the race, followed home by Jacques Laffite’s Ligier-Renault for a double podium finish in the Renault turbo’s final season of competition.
The first Brazilian podium of the V10 era was won at Interlagos by Riccardo Patrese in 1991 (the race having returned to Sao Paulo in 1990). The following year, as the Williams-Renault team began its march to the title, team-mate Mansell and Patrese locked out the front row (beginning a series of 6 consecutive Interlagos poles for Renault power) and scored a 1-2 finish. The front row was all Renault again in 1993, with Alain Prost taking the 75th F1 pole position for a Renault engine (Hill went on to finish second in the race) while in 1994, Ayrton Senna secured pole position for what was to be his final race in his home country – but spun out of the lead under pressure from Schumacher’s Benetton. Renault-powered in 1995, the German took second in qualifying (behind Hill’s Williams-Renault) and the race win, but he was docked constructors points for fuel irregularities, as was second placed David Coulthard in the Williams-Renault. 1996 saw Damon Hill take pole and the race win on the way to the title, while in 1997, Villeneuve’s championship season saw him take pole and the win, with Gerhard Berger’s Benetton-Renault on the podium in P2.