Twenty years ago this month, Renault achieved a historic double. Alpine's parent company won its 100th Grand Prix in Formula 1 as an engine manufacturer and its 20th as a chassis constructor.

The victory, secured in the third race of the 2005 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, was a commanding performance by a then 23-year-old Fernando Alonso. Leading from pole position, he dominated the 57-lap Bahrain Grand Prix for the Enstone outfit, formally known as Renault.

It was only the second time the Sakhir venue had hosted an F1 race, and with the event held on the first weekend of April, conditions were scorching. At the time, it was considered one of the hottest races on record, with race day temperatures reaching 42 degrees Celsius. This was long before the Bahrain International Circuit had installed floodlights for nighttime racing.

The intense heat placed significant thermal stress on the cars, resulting in a race of attrition. Only 13 runners made it to the finish, with many competitors facing brake failures and overheating engines.

Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher initially put Alonso under pressure, but his challenge ended on lap 12 when a hydraulic issue forced him to retire. In response, the Enstone team reduced Alonso’s engine rev limit to ensure reliability. As the head of engineering later remarked, “You only need to win the race by a thousandth of a second. With a speed advantage, you don’t need to push quite so hard.”

It was a symbolic turning point. Schumacher’s mechanical retirement was his first in over three years, while Alonso’s victory further cemented his growing reputation. The young Spaniard’s driving style perfectly suited the R25, and Renault’s success in Bahrain marked its first-ever hat-trick of victories in Formula 1. It was the perfect foundation for what would become a brilliant World Championship double that year.

Following Alonso’s triumph in Malaysia two weeks earlier and team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella’s season-opening win in Melbourne, Renault left Bahrain comfortably leading the Constructors’ Championship with 36 points, compared to Toyota’s 25.

When Alonso crossed the line, 13.4 seconds ahead of Jarno Trulli’s Toyota, from the pit wall a jubilant Renault team principal Flavio Briatore was quick to congratulate him over the radio. “Fernando, fantastico - bravo, bravo, bravo!”

“I had no problems at all, not just in the race, but the whole weekend and this is something that is fantastic. It was like a dream,” said Alonso.

The victory was a significant milestone for Renault. Not only was it the 100th win for a Renault engine in Formula 1 - a legacy dating back to Jean-Pierre Jabouille’s triumph at Dijon in 1979 - but it was also the 20th victory for a Renault chassis.

“The way Fernando controlled the race was mighty impressive,” said Pat Symonds, Renault’s former Executive Director of Engineering. “His performance was even more remarkable when you consider he did not even use all the revs available in the opening laps. He seemed capable of increasing his pace without putting undue stress on the car.”

Alonso went on to score five more wins that season to secure his first world championship crown.