Renault in Formula One under a British licence in , having raced as a French outfit since Renault took over in 2002. This left the sport without any team racing under a French licence for the first time since the season. Group Lotus had yet to purchase a stake in the team, but had an option to do so by the end of . Along with the launch of their new car, Lotus Renault GP announced that they had hired Jean Alesi as an ambassador for the team and test driver for the T125 single-seater project. On 6 February 2011, Robert Kubica was severely
Formula One car significantly higher speeds than other racing cars because of the intense levels of grip and downforce. Cornering speed is so high that Formula One drivers have strength training routines just for the neck muscles. Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya claimed to be able to perform 300 repetitions of with his neck. The combination of light weight (642 kg in race trim for 2013), power (900 bhp with the 3.0 L V10, with the 2007 regulation 2.4 L V8, 950+ bhp with 2016 1.6 L V6 turbo), aerodynamics, and ultra-high-performance tyres is what gives the F1 car its high performance