Benetton Formula
Benetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as
Benetton, was a
Formula One constructor that participated from
1986 to
2001. The team was owned by the
Benetton family who ran a worldwide chain of clothing stores of the same name. In 2000 the team was purchased by Renault, but competed as Benetton for the 2001 season. In 2002 the team became
Renault F1.
The Benetton team was founded as the
Toleman team, who performed well in
1984 with then-beginner
Ayrton Senna. At the end of
1985 the team was sold to the
Benetton family.
The racing team itself was managed by
Flavio Briatore from
1990 until
1997. Rocco Benetton, the youngest son of Luciano Benetton joined the team as aerodynamics engineer in 1998 and fired Briatore. He replaced him with Prodrive boss
David Richards, who lasted only for a year when he too was fired, due to a disagreement with the Benetton family about future strategy. Following Richards' departure, Rocco Benetton managed the team for three years until its sale to Renault. Rocco Benetton successfully managed to achieve an unheard of salesprice in F1 terms.
The Benetton team is best known for its success with
Michael Schumacher. He accounts for 19 of the team's 27 career victories and their 2 driver's championships. They won the constructor's championship in
1995 with Schumacher and
Johnny Herbert. After 1995, Schumacher moved to
Ferrari along with
Ross Brawn,
Nigel Stepney,
Rory Byrne and 11 other key figures from his two championship winning seasons with Benetton. From this point, the Benetton team was never what it once was.
Benetton began with BMW engines and then switched to Ford. After Schumacher's first title Benetton switched to the Renault V10.
The team was purchased by Renault on March 16
2000 for $120 million USD. Renault brought back Flavio Briatore as team manager. During the 2001 season the drivers
Jenson Button and
Giancarlo Fisichella were often on the back two rows of the grid. This was in part attributed to the new 110-degree wide angle engine.
The team was renamed
Renault F1 for 2002 and in 2005 would see its driver
Fernando Alonso win the World Championship, as well as taking home the Constructors Championship.
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Benetton family*
Benetton*
Benetton Rugby*
List of Italian companies*
Benetton Basket*
List of Formula One constructors*
United Colors of BenettonFormer drivers for Benetton include:
*
Michael Schumacher*
Ayrton Senna (when it was called Toleman)
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Riccardo Patrese*
Jyrki Järvilehto*
Giancarlo Fisichella*
Alexander Wurz*
Johnny Herbert*
Jenson Button*
Jos Verstappen *
Alessandro Nannini*
Thierry Boutsen*
Nelson Piquet*
Roberto Moreno*
Martin Brundle*
Jean Alesi*
Gerhard Berger
