This year marks 40 years of Renault‘s involvement in Formula 1 and to help celebrate the historic event the French manufacturer has revived an anecdote from the past and is creating an actual “Yellow Teapot“.
In 1975 Renault made the decision to enter into the Formula 1 world and in 1977 introduced their first car, the RS01.
The RS01 was groundbreaking and saw the introduction of a turbo compressed engine, something that had never been seen in the sport up until that point. This paved the way for other teams to apply the technology which has once again made a return to Formula 1 in recent years.
Silverstone was witness to the first Grand Prix for the Renault team as they made their debut at the 1977 British Grand Prix.
Renault RS01 – Credit: DPPI
As with all new technology, there is always a period of troubleshooting and the RS01 in its iconic yellow, black and white colours suffered engine trouble, producing a stream of white smoke as it passed by the pitlane.
This was when Ken Tyrell, boss of the eponymous team saw the smoking car pass from his garage and yelled out the nickname “Yellow Teapot” as a joke. This joke soon spread throughout the paddock and from this point, the RS01 was often referred to as The Yellow Teapot.
It took just two years for the Renault team to achieve its first victory at the Grand Prix de France in Dijon with the RS10 in the hands of engineer and driver Jean-Pierre Jabouille.
This teapot will equip the kitchens of the Atelier Renault restaurant on the Champs-Elysées starting in September.
There will be a limited run of just 40 teapots that will be available from Atelier Renault at the cost of €129.
