Renault to sponsor team in Formula E Championship
Already a technical partner with the series for electric single-seaters, Renault will also be title sponsor for the French e. dams team, one of ten listed to contest the inaugural championship.
A joint venture between the DAMS endurance racing team of Jean—Paul Driot and F1 legend, Alain Prost, e.dams-Renault will field two drivers; ex-F1 driver Nick Heidfeld and Prost's son, Nicolas.
In Formula 1, Prost senior drove for Renault from 1981 to 1983 and is currently a Renault brand ambassador. Heidfeld and Prost junior also race for Rebellion Racing in the World Endurance Championship.
Renault say their involvement with the French team will allow them to maximise coverage of their participation in the new championship. Renault branding will appear on the team cars, as well as on the drivers' race suits and helmets, with a pro-active communication program also planned for the championship's inaugural season.
"This partnership with e.dams-Renault will allow Renault Sport to have an even closer involvement with the Formula E Championship," said President of Renault Sport, Patrice Ratti.
"The series will be unique and takes motorsport into a new age. Renault is proud to be playing a part in the adventure which stands out as a new challenge. We know Alain and Jean-Paul very well and their experience and record make them high-quality partners. Our involvement with e.dams-Renault will play a core role in our participation and in our Formula E development work."
Alain Prost, co-owner of e.dams-Renault and ambassador for the Renault brand, adds:
"Jean-Paul Driot and I are delighted to be associated with Renault in this new adventure. The choice of Renault as a major partner was a perfectly natural step because of the exceptional record it has carved out in motorsport, as well as its unique expertise in the field of electric vehicles. Personally, I am thrilled by the idea of working with Renault on such an ambitious project again and by the prospect of writing a new chapter of our association.
"I am confident that our venture will be successful. We are actively preparing for the first races of the season. This week's test at Donington is the next step in that process and it will be followed by a busy summer in order to be ready and competitive for the first grand prix in Beijing, on September 13.
"It's an enormous challenge because this championship is completely new, both in terms of the technology it features and also the race formats. These are very exciting times."
All cars in the inaugural championship will be the same 'Spark-Renault' SRT_01E vehicles developed by Spark and Renault, but with chassis from Dallara, drivetrains built by McLaren and batteries by Williams.
What is currently a one-make control-formula for its debut season will gradually be open to involvement rom other manufacturers in coming years.
e.dams-Renault driver profiles
NICOLAS PROST
Nicolas Prost was born on August 18, 1981, in Saint-Chamond, France, and made his racing debut in the 2003 Formula Campus championship. He moved up to Formula Renault 2.0 and 3.5 before trying his hand in Spanish Formula 3 and the Euroseries 3000. Since 2009, he has shared his time between endurance racing (Le Mans Series, Le Mans 24 Hours) and the Trophée Andros ice-racing series. In 2013, he was named test driver for Lotus F1 Team.
_ 2013: FIA World Endurance Championship (1st, Petit Le Mans, ALMS)
_ 2013: Development driver for Lotus F1 Team
_ 2012: FIA World Endurance Championship (1st, Petit Le Mans / 1st in the Teams championship)
_ 2011: 1st, Trophée Andros / 3rd, Le Mans Series / 6th, Le Mans 24 Hours
_ 2010: 1st, Trophée Andros, P1 / 5th, Le Mans Series / FIA GT1 World Championship
_ 2009: 5th, A1 Grand Prix (Teams) / 5th, Le Mans Series / 12th, Le Mans 24 Hours
_ 2008: 1st, Euroseries 3000
_ 2007: 3rd, Spanish Formula 3 / 5th, Le Mans 24 Hours
_ 2006: 4th, Spanish Formula 3
_ 2005: 10th, French Formula Renault 2.0 Championship
SEBASTIEN BUEMI
Sébastien Olivier Buemi was born in Aigle, in Switzerland's Vaud region, on October 31, 1988. He made his Formula 1 debut in 2009 with Toro Rosso. The two points he collected in the 2009 Australian Grand Prix made him the fourth-youngest driver to score points in the Formula 1 World Championship.
- 2013/2014: FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Racing
- 2012: Formula 1 with Red Bull Racing (third driver)
- 2009/2011: Formula 1 with Toro Rosso
- 2008: 2nd, Asian GP2 Series, 6th, GP2 Series, Formula 1 test driver for Red Bull Racing.
- 2006/2007: 12th, then 2nd, Formula 3 Euro Series
- 2004/2005: BMW ADAC Championship
- 2002: 1st, Swiss Junior Championship
- 2001: 2nd, Swiss Junior Championship / 1st, Bridgestone Cup Junior
- 2000: 1st, Swiss Super Mini Championship, KIA Cup class Junior (four wins from four rounds)
- 1998/1999: 1st, Swiss Mini Championship
- 1997: Swiss Karting Championships (four races)
2014/2015 FIA FORMULA E CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDAR
- 13/09/2014: Beijing
- 18/10/2014: Putrajaya
- 13/12/2014: Punta del Este
- 10/01/2015: Buenos Aires
- 14/02/2015: Venue to be confirmed
- 14/03/2015: Miami
- 04/04/2015: Los Angeles
- 09/05/2015: Monaco
- 30/05/2015: Berlin
- 27/06/2015: London
