Just one year ago, Renault's F1 future looked bleak. Twelve months later, however, the situation could not be more different, with a team pushing to become a race winner again. Jonathan Noble talked to the team's new boss Gerard Lopez about how the team's fortunes have been turned around

Turn back the clocks a year. As Renault personnel began packing their bags for the trip to the Singapore Grand Prix, you could have forgiven them for feeling a bit of dread about the journey ahead.

The team was engulfed in the controversy surrounding its fixing of the 2008 night race, and it was bracing itself for an FIA hearing where, even if it escaped punishment, its parent company could choose to pull the plug on the whole operation. These were the darkest of days the Enstone operation had witnessed.

To continue reading this feature...

You must have an AUTOSPORT subscription. Prices start from just $1.43 per week and give you full unrestriced access to all PLUS features. View package options? Magazine subscriber?

Online subscription

from just

$1.43

per week

• Unrestricted access to all PLUS features
• View website in ad-free environment
• Full F1 stats since 1950 in FORIX

View all package options