Each member of the Renault team has a unique experience of motorsport. In the first in a series of articles in which members of the team reminisce on some favourite moments, the French outfit's Head of Engine Operations, Denis Chevrier, looks back.

With an 18 year career behind him at Renault, Denis Chevrier is now the F1 team's Head of Engine Operations. A die-hard Renault man, he joined Renault Sport in 1985. "They introduced me at the same time as electronic fuel injection!" he jokes. What he found was a completely different world - and slowly began working his way through the ranks. The engineer was at the forefront when Renault came back to F1 in 1989 with the V10 - as world titles were won, Denis was there, as engineer to Nigel Mansell (1992), Alain Prost (1993), Damon Hill (1996) and Jacques Villeneuve (1997). Four championships in all.

Denis has many striking memories of his career so far. The most amusing comes from his first visit to Tyrrell, a Renault customer-team in 1985 and 1986. Denis was the support engineer for the British team. "I remember loading up an R18 estate car with all the tools and mechanical parts we needed for a mock-up, and driving to England from Viry. On my own." It was a different era… "In those days, the engine support group - for three teams - consisted of an engineer, an electronics technician and three mechanics," laughs Denis, who worked with Tyrrell at tests as well as the races. "It wasn't the kind of work you could learn about by reading a book," he continues. "You needed to organise yourself, prepare the tools, put together your own check-lists, go into action and be completely independent. It was an unforgettable experience."

The 1985 season was when Denis began in F1, and also saw the introduction of engine electronics to F1. "We knew even then that it was a significant step forward," Denis explains. "Of course, the things we could control with our 'black box' were limited, but we had already grasped what could be done in terms of engine control and data acquisition. This development opened up many areas of research - it was fantastic!"

Today, Denis is 100% focused on the 2005 challenge and rarely has time to think about the past, but he never forgets the road he has travelled. "On a personal level, I met some extraordinary people," he concludes. "And that is the most important thing. My job may be primarily technical and mechanical, but deep down, F1 is a story about passion and emotion."