It was driven by Italian Jarno Trulli, who was in his second season with the team, and Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who replaced Jenson Button after the Briton left for British American Racing.

This eventually proved too unreliable and heavy, so Renault returned to a 72 degree vee angle with the following year's R24.

[5] Both Trulli and Alonso completed laps of the circuit in the car at Paul Ricard to begin the new season for the team.

However, the chaotic Grand Prix saw him secure this following a major accident with debris from an earlier crash caused by Mark Webber in the Jaguar.

[14] Whilst Trulli's form in the R23 began to falter, Alonso continued to impress scoring points on a regular basis and a career best second place at his home race, the 2003 Spanish Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso won the race, becoming the youngest driver since Bruce McLaren to do 44 years prior.