Top 5 Worst Performing Renault F1 Team Drivers


Top 5 Worst Performing Renault F1 Team Drivers
An Article by Brian Cotnoir

I had never heard of a Renault vehicle until I started watching Formula 1, and still to this date I’ve never seen an actual Renault vehicle in person, but from what I’ve gathered, the Renault F1 team is the only presently operating French based team on the Formula 1 grid.  They’ve had periods of great success, and they’ve had periods where they struggle to finish races.  As of the typing of this article (they’re presently) ranked in the “Best of the Rest Category”; behind the big three teams of Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull.  They may have helped launch the careers of two of the most successful drivers—Alain Prost and Fernando Alonso—into super stardom, but they’ve also had their fair share of duds, and it is those duds we’ve come to talk about, so without further ado, here are the 5 worst performing Renault F1 Team drivers.

5.)  Derek Warwick, 2 Seasons, 28 Total Points Scored, Average Points finish of 11th.

Derek Warwick scored 4 podiums with the team in his first season in 1984, however when he wasn’t finishing on the podium he just wasn’t finishing the race.  His sophomore season with team saw him finish more races, but he only finished in the points 3 times.


4.)  Jean-Pierre Jabouillie, 3 Seasons, 21 Total Points Scored, 2 WINS! Average Points finish of 9th

This is the first time I’ve featured a Grand Prix winning drivers on my Worst Performing F1 Drivers list.  He was the first driver ever signed to driver for Renault F1 Team, and so he had to deal with those uncompetitive growing pains years.  He did however help score Renault F1 Team’s first ever victory at the 1979 French Grand Prix, making it the first time in F1 History that a French Driver won his home Grand Prix, for a French Team (with French Tires, Michelin, too).  His only other win with the team came at the 1980 Austrian Grand Prix.

First time we've had a Winner on our Worst F1 drivers list

3.)  Nelson Piquet Jr. 1.5 Seasons, 19 Total Points Scored, Average Point Finish of 16th

A lot of you were probably expecting Piquet Jr. to be number one on my list, but I always felt like he got a bad rap in F1.  His best finish was  2nd at the 2008 German Grand Prix, he was let go from the team halfway through the 2009 season and that’s when he admitted that his team ordered him crash his race car on purpose at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to help his teammate Fernando Alonso win, and then Crash-gate happened and well… you all know the rest.


2.) Kevin Magnussen, 1 Season, 7 Total Points Scored, Final Points Standing finish of 16th

Kevin Magnussen makes his 2nd appearance on my Worst Performing F1 drivers lists, but I swear we’re not picking on him.   I think he’s a decent driver at Haas, but his time at Renault was much worse than his time when he drove for McLaren, in fact the only reason why he’s not number one on this list was because of his teammate in 2016…

Sorry Kevin

1.)  Jolyon Palmer, 1.75 Seasons, 9 Total Points Scored, Average Points Finish of 18th

Jolyon Palmer’s father, Jonathan, was also a Formula 1 driver, whose career never really panned out, and unfortunately for Jolyon, neither did his career.  Palmer spent almost 2 seasons at Renault, and in his first season he managed to score only 1 point.  His second season with the team he improved to score 8 points, but he was still let go from the team with 4 races left in the 2017 season and replaced by Carlos Sainz Jr.  Palmer also had 2 DNS’s in his time at Renault F1.

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Top 10 Most Iconic Paint Schemes in NASCAR Cup History

Image
The Top 10 Most Iconic Paint Schemes in NASCAR Cup History An Article by Brian Cotnoir I’ve talked about the Best Paint Schemes in Cup History, I’ve talked about the Best Paint Schemes in Xfinity History, and now today I’d like to present you the 10 Most Iconic Paint Schemes in NASCAR Cup History. 10.) Citgo, Wood Brothers Racing The Wood Brothers are one of the oldest teams in NASCAR, and in the late 80’s early 90’s they left quite the impression on NASCAR fans with the Citgo Paint Scheme which was piloted by drivers Dale Jarret, Morgan Shepherd, and Michael Waltrip.   Citgo eventually left the wood brothers and sponsored Jeff Burton at Roush Racing, but it was a truly iconic sponsor with that famous number twenty-one 9.)    Skoal Bandit, Harry Gant Harry Gant earned the nickname “Mr. September” when he won 4 straight Winston Cup Races (and two Busch Series) races in September of 1991, and he did it all behind the wheel of the Iconic Skoal Bandit race car.
Read more

Top 10 Ugliest Paint Schemes in NASCAR History

Image
Top 10 Ugliest Paint Schemes in NASCAR History By: Brian Cotnoir I’ve talked about the Best Paint Schemes in NASCAR, and now I’m here to talk about the Ugliest.   Sometimes a paint scheme looks bad because of whose sponsoring the car, and other times it’s a real bad color combination, but whatever the reason these are some of the most hideous Paint Schemes to have ever graced a NASCAR track. 10.)   Dave Marcis, Prodigy paint scheme This one is so ugly, that it’s kind of cool.   For me the big issue is the combination of Purple & Green, and the Neon Orange numbers make it a little better, but this car is still looks like a disaster. 9.)     Joey Logano, AAA Insurance paint scheme Joey Logano has had a number of awesome paint schemes while driving for Roger Penske, however this red, white, and blue monstrosity is not one of them.    I think Logano and Penske should call AAA Insurance and see if they can use their policy to give this paint scheme a complete
Read more

Another 10 Awesome NASCAR Paint Scheme's that you (may have) forgot about

Image
Another 10 Awesome NASCAR Paint Scheme’s that you (may have) forgot about By: Brian Cotnoir 1.)   Kevin Lepage, Hype Energy I still have never had a can of Hype Energy, but I do I remember this paint scheme driven by Kevin Lepage in the Busch Series in the 1990s.   Lepage would score his 1 st career win in the Busch Series with this paint scheme at the 1996 finale at Homestead. 2.) Stanley Smith, Interstate Batteries Long before Interstate Batteries became a mainstay at Joe Gibbs Racing, they sponsored another driver, Stanley Smith.   I honestly wish Gibbs would have kept this scheme over the one he had with Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte, JJ Yeley and Kyle Busch 3.)   Bill Elliott, Burger King Despite having a long-time sponsorship with McDonald’s that lasted several seasons, Bill Elliott drove the #00 car for Michael Waltrip Racing with sponsorship from rival Burger King at the 2006 Brickyard 400.   This is one of the better Burger King designs I’ve seen in NASCAR.   4.
Read more