The end of Renault as an engine manufacturer in Formula 1 will be nothing like the beginning. How could it be when the French firm arrived in the Silverstone paddock halfway through the 1977 season like Del Boy and Rodney turning up at a wake dressed as Batman and Robin?
There were jokes about the Renault (nicknamed the Yellow Teapot because of its unfortunate habit of emitting clouds of steam) but, beneath the ribaldry, there was an unmistakable nervousness among British teams fearing the beginning of the end to their decade of uncomplicated running with the Ford-Cosworth DFV.
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