Teams from the past: Benetton Formula

Private team

In Formula 1 both private and factory teams are present and Benetton Formula fell under that first category. The company is best known for its clothing chain all over the world and they decided to take their chances in motorsport with their own team. They kept that up for about fourteen years before the team was sold to Renault in 2000.

At that time, Renault drove with the famous name for another two years before changing it to Renault F1, the team that is still active in Formula 1 today. Renault was also involved in Formula 1 for a long time without a team, so in 1995 Benetton became world champion with a power source of the French car builder.

Successful

The Benetton Formula team has had quite a few great successes during the active period. For example, the team finished third in the championship six times. In 1994 the team managed to become champion with Michael Schumacher and to finish second with the constructors. A year later it was a hit, both Schumacher and Benetton became champions which will turn out to be their best result ever.

The year 1994 by the way has a Dutch touch, because that was the year Jos Verstappen drove for Benetton. He didn't drive the whole season then, but fell in for JJ Lehto who had an accident during testing prior to the season. Later in the season Lehto didn't seem to have fully recovered yet and then Verstappen stepped in again. Towards the end of the season the Dutchman had to give up his place to Johnny Herbert.

Verstappen drove in Formula 1 for many years afterwards, but he hasn't been more successful than his time at Benetton. In both Hungary and Belgium the Dutchman finished third, which of course gave him two podium finishes. By the way, after the few races for Benetton, Verstappen didn't stay with the team for long, because in 1995 he was lent to Simtek and in 1996 he switched to Footwork Arrows.

Declining results

After the successful years with Michael Schumacher it slowly but surely declined in the team's performance. Although they finished third in the constructors' championship in 1996 and 1997, the best position they achieved with the constructors was fourth, in 2000. In 1998 they were fifth, in 1999 they were sixth and in 2001 they did not get further than seventh place.

Nevertheless, Benetton has a nice history. When they entered Formula 1 in 1986 they immediately managed to finish sixth and in the following years they finished third or fourth with the manufacturers until 1994 when Schumacher pulled the cart, led by a well-known name in Formula 1: Flavio Briatore.

The team has also had many famous drivers in the cars, some of the best-known names are Gerhard Berger, Alessandro Nannini, Nelson Piquet, Martin Brundle, Ricardo Patrese, and Jean Alesi.

Many drivers have taken a podium at Benetton in their time and then mostly second or third positions. It was really Michael Schumacher who lifted the whole team to a higher level and managed to drive a lot of victories together. As already mentioned that was the highlight in Benetton's history, as it slowly deteriorated after his departure.

The year 2001 was the last season that Benetton officially competed in the premier league of motorsport, albeit under Renault's auspices. In that year the best position was once a third place for Giancarlo Fisichella. Furthermore they managed to finish fourth and fifth one more time, all other times they finished in a lower position.

To the top

Benetton - A perfect example of starting in a reasonable place, working towards the top and quietly disappearing with meager performance. Nevertheless, thanks to Schumacher's achievements, the team will remain prominent in the history books forever. Also because of the incident with Jos Verstappen, in which his car caught fire.

Renault continued as a 'new team' in 2002 and that also marked the moment when the former Benetton was back on the rise. That year they became fourth among the constructors. The following year again to become third in 2004. In 2005 and 2006 the team became world champion with Fernando Alonso behind the wheel.

Strikingly enough under the leadership of Flavio Briatore, who was again appointed by Renault, Michael Schumacher also became champion at Benetton. However, Benetton has been out of Formula 1 for years now, but Renault is still active as a team. Unfortunately without many big successes since the Alonso championships.