But it was nothing more than an experimental test car at this stage, and Jabouille, who was also the team's driver, worked hard to develop it.

The engine block was made in cast iron to withstand the pressures of turbocharging, whilst the chassis itself was kept as uncomplicated as possible to aid development.

The RS01 was chronically unreliable, earning the nickname 'the yellow teapot' from rival teams (as it tended to blow up fairly regularly, usually in a cloud of white smoke),[2] but Jabouille and the team pressed on throughout the rest of 1977 and 1978 until scoring the car's first points, a fourth place at the 1978 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen.

The car had been developed so much it barely resembled the chunky machine that it had been when it first appeared, and the team's performance picked up throughout the season.

The RS01 started the 1979 season for the team, with Jabouille scoring the first pole position for a turbo car at the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami, a circuit located at high altitude where the thinner air saw the turbos operating at their maximum while the naturally aspirated cars such as the flat 12 Ferrari and Alfa Romeos, and the V8 Cosworth DFV, actually lost approximately 20% of their power compared to at sea level.