Renault

Renault R25

The Renault R25 was the Formula One car entered by Renault in the 2005 Formula One season. The chassis was designed by Bob Bell, James Allison, Tim Densham and Dino Toso with Pat Symonds overseeing the design and production of the car as executive director of Engineering and Bernard Dudot leading the engine design. The car won both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships in 2005, the first titles for any car racing with a French licence since the Matra MS80's triumph in the 1969 season. It also became the first Renault-powered Formula One car to win both championship titles since the Williams FW19 in 1997 and also the first Enstone-based Formula One car to win the world constructors' championship since the Benetton B195 in 1995.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Predecessor: Renault R24 · Successor: Renault R26

All Renault R25 data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →

History

During the season, the car turned out to be slower than the McLaren MP4-20 at numerous points, with the win tally being 8–10. Reliability and consistency prevailed in the end, with Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella taking the car to the last win and titles for a V10 powered Formula One car, marking the end of an era. This car also claimed Michelin's first of only two titles since its return in Formula One, winning the title again with Renault (the R26 2006-spec car) in the 2006 season, the last for the French tyre maker. The R25 was the first Constructors' Championship winning car since 1991 not to have been designed by either Adrian Newey or Rory Byrne. Over 19 races, it scored 191 points, 8 wins, 15 podiums and was fully out of the points just twice in 18 starts (not counting the United States Grand Prix where both Renault drivers, in common with all their fellow Michelin tyre runners, withdrew prior to starting). The R25 was also the last Renault Formula One car to use a 6-speed gearbox before the switch to a mandatory 7-speed gearbox in the following season.

Mass damper

The tuned mass damper was introduced as part of the suspension system by Renault on its car the R25, at the 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix. The system reportedly reduced lap times by 0.3 seconds: a phenomenal gain for a relatively simple device. The stewards of the meeting deemed it legal, but the FIA appealed against that decision. Two weeks later, the FIA International Court of Appeal deemed the mass damper illegal. It was deemed to be illegal because the mass was not rigidly attached to the chassis; the influence the damper had on the pitch attitude of the car in turn affected the gap under the car and the ground effects of the car. As such, the damper was considered to be a movable aerodynamic device and hence an illegal influence on the performance of the aerodynamics.

Sponsorship and livery

Renault used the 'Mild Seven' logos, except at the Canadian, French, British, Turkish, Italian and Belgian Grands Prix. At these races, the team replaced the logos with Phoenix, flowers, tribals and flame graphics as well with the random text "Team Spirit".

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1991289CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_R25CC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1370967879 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fisichella_(Renault)_qualifying_at_USGP_2005.jpgCC BY-SA 2.0 · Photo: see file page · retrieved 2026-10-01
Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.