The team was owned by and named after the Benetton family who run a worldwide chain of clothing stores.

Benetton Formula Limited., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from 1986 to 2001.

In 2000, the team was purchased by Renault, but competed as Benetton for the 2000 and 2001 seasons. In 2002, the team became Renault. The Benetton Formula team was chaired by Alessandro Benetton from 1988 to 1998.

The Benetton Group entered Formula One as a sponsor company for constructor Tyrrell in 1983, then Alfa Romeo in 1984 and 1985 and finally Toleman in 1985.

2001 was the final season featuring the Benetton name, as the team was fully re-branded as the Renault F1 Team for the 2002 season. The Renault F1 Team would go on to win the drivers' and constructors' championships in both 2005 and 2006 with Fernando Alonso.

Headquarters; Witney, and Enstone, England, UK

b188 1988

The Benetton B188 is a Formula One racing car designed by Rory Byrne and raced by Benetton team in the 1988 Formula One season and in the first half of the 1989 Formula One season. Dating back to when the team started as Toleman in 1981, the B188 was the first car produced by the team not to be powered by a turbocharged engine.

Benetton was effectively the Ford works team, as they had exclusive use of the 3.5L Ford DFR V8 engine for 1988 where others running Ford-Cosworth power had to make do with 1987's DFZ engine.

The DFR developed approximately 620 bhp, the most powerful 'atmo' engine of the season.

The B188 reportedly had the largest fuel tank on the grid at 215 litres.

The B188 was a consistent performer and was usually the class of the atmospheric cars, a class which also included the F1 Constructors' Champions of the previous two years Williams, and the up-and-coming March team (whose car was designed by a young Adrian Newey), both of whom were using the new 600 bhp Judd CV V8 engine.

The Ford V8 powered Benetton B188 competed in 24 races, scoring 52 points and 8 podium finishes. Nannini also scored the car's only fastest lap at the 1988 German Grand Prix at a wet Hockenheimring.

1988

thierry boutsen

b188  ford dfr,  3.493 cc  90° V8, na mid-engine 620 hp

circuit gilles villeneuve

b193 1993

The Benetton B193 is a Formula One racing car with which the Benetton team competed in the 1993 Formula One World Championship. Designed by Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne, the car was powered by the latest Cosworth HBA engine in an initially-exclusive deal with Ford, and ran on Goodyear tyres. It was driven by German Michael Schumacher and veteran Italian Riccardo Patrese.

The car was fitted with a Ford HBA7 / Ford HBA8, 3498 cc, 75° V8. It produced 700–730 hp.

Thanks to the more powerful engine, Michael Schumacher was able to consistently challenge the McLarens and on occasion challenged the seemingly unbeatable Williams FW15C.

A variant of this car, the B193C was used as a test mule for an innovative four-wheel steering system and was tested by Schumacher and Patrese at Estoril. Four-wheel steering had been introduced on some of Nissan and Toyota's production cars. Patrese both found the system to not add anything to the performance of the car and actually slowed the car through slower corners; however Schumacher preferred the system as estimated a gain 3 tenths of a second per lap.

Benetton eventually finished 3rd in the Constructors' Championship just behind McLaren but with a substantial gap to Williams. The B193B was replaced for the 1994 season by the Benetton B194.

 

1993

riccardo patrese

b193  ford hba7 / hba8, 3.498 cc 75° V8 700 hp

circuit de monaco

b195 1995

The Benetton B195 is a Formula One racing car designed by Rory Byrne and Ross Brawn for use by the Benetton team in the 1995 Formula One World Championship.

On 23 August 1994, Renault announced they would be a works engine supplier to the Benetton Formula team that included free engines and factory support. 

The B195 is similar to its predecessor, the B194, but a change of engine supplier from Ford to Renault resulted in a redesign of the engine installation, gearbox and rear suspension. The car was powered by the same factory Renault RS7 V10 engine used by Benetton's rivals, Williams, in their FW17. It produced 675–700 bhp.

Being less stable than the FW17, the B195 was seen by most paddock insiders as inferior to its rival. The B195 was said to be very twitchy to drive and Michael Schumacher was quite critical of the car, saying it was only fast when driven on the edge.

The car underwent two major design changes during the season.

Benetton team won its first (and only) Constructors' Championship that season, but most of their key technical staff defected to Ferrari when Schumacher signed for them for the 1996 season. Benetton B195 was the last Enstone-based Formula One car to win the world constructors' title until the Renault R25 in 2005.

1995

johnny herbert

b195  renault rs7, 3.000 cc 67° V10 700 hp

silverstone circuit

1986-2001