Renault Sport Formula One Team invited guests from a galaxy, far, far away to join them in a joint celebration to mark 40 years since Renault first entered Formula 1 and the theatrical release of the original Star Wars film: Star Wars: A New Hope. Promotional activities of galactic magnitude resonated at the Monaco Grand prix. Their highest point was the appearance of George Lucas and R2-D2 in the pitlane a couple of hours before the start of the race.
Star Wars: A New Hope first launched in theatres on May 25th 1977. Renault’s iconic and ground-breaking turbo-charged RS01 Formula 1 car debuted at Silverstone on July 16th 1977.
Both brands had plenty of reasons to celebrate across the four decades, including seven world champions powered by a Renault engine and the Star Wars franchise scooping seven prestigious Academy Awards.
During those years there were a number of standout moments. In 2005 Renault stormed their way to a maiden Formula One world title. In 2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens became the highest grossing film of all time. Both brands continue to have a firm focus on future successes to come, such as with the upcoming launch of Star Wars: The Last Jedi this December.
Renault Sport had guests from a galaxy, far, far away in a joint celebration to mark 40 years since Renault first entered F1 and Star Wars: A New Hope
Family complete; and what an honour! @GeorgeLucasILM joins us to mark the occasion!#Renault40YearsF1 #StarWars40th pic.twitter.com/xRIWhbXrgU
— Renault Sport F1 (@RenaultSportF1) May 28, 2017
The Force grows strong in 2017 for Renault after launching its latest challenger to the Formula 1 Championship, the R.S.17 in February, driven by Nico Hülkenberg and Jolyon Palmer, who will be hoping to take the team’s performance to intergalactic heights.
“1977 was an exciting year for both Renault and Star Wars”, Renault Sport Racing’s Managing Director Cyril Abiteboul commented. “For Renault, we made our debut at Silverstone when the revolutionary turbo-charged R.S.01 took the track. This was just two months after the iconic first Star Wars movie was released, so the two brands are linked by this shared heritage. The Star Wars franchise is a global phenomenon with tremendous reach, whilst Renault has one of the most impressive records in Formula One history with 12 world champion titles and 170 wins. We are celebrating our joint 40th anniversaries together in true style and, you never know, we might deploy some Jedi skills on track at forthcoming Grands Prix.”
Welcome to the team @StarWarsUK! #Renault40YearsF1 #StarWars40th #EnterTheZone #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/wtiKkx8mj6
— Renault Sport F1 (@RenaultSportF1) May 28, 2017
