40 years ago this week, the Italian fashion label signed a deal that launched one of the most successful, influential and colorful sponsorship programs in Formula 1 history.
Benetton’s foray into F1 with Tyrrell was successful from the start, but the brand wanted to do more than just put its stickers on an F1 car. Within three years he had his own team and was winning constructors’ championships, and eventually achieved championship-winning success with one of F1’s greatest drivers of all time.
The idea that a ‘T-shirt manufacturer only’ brand could succeed in F1 was met with skepticism by some. But Benetton soon dismissed the skeptics and inspired other brands to do the same – most notably the soft drink maker, which has emerged as the defending champion in the 2023 season.
1983: Tyrrell
When Michelle Alboreto won the 1982 season finale in Las Vegas, Plucky Tyrrell had denim logos on their cars. However, Luciano Benetton refused to share his car space with them, so Tyrrell broke the deal with their rival and painted their cars green for 1983.
In the seventh race with Benetton as sponsor, Alboreto delivered another victory in Detroit. However, it ensured the last victory for the former champion, and for the next season their Italian sponsor has their eyes on a manufacturer closer to home.
1984: Alfa Romeo
The Euroracing-led Alfa Romeo F1 team successfully let Benetton replace outgoing sponsor Marlboro. But from sixth in 1983, they slipped two places the following year, although they took one podium at Monza in the home race for the team and the title sponsor.
1985: Alfa Romeo and Toleman
If 1984 was bad, 1985 was terrible. Ricardo Patrice and Eddie Cheever stayed on to drive, but the new 185T chassis proved so disappointing, the latter dropped back to the previous year’s 184T by one stage.
It wasn’t enough for the team to avoid a scoreless campaign. While Benetton chose to move elsewhere, Alfa Romeo dropped out of the sport and did not return until 2018 when it began sponsoring Sauber.
Instead, he dropped Benetton behind Tolman. A podium finish and win with Ayrton Senna in 1984 was a clear potential in the team. Although the year In 1985, Theo Fabi took pole position at the Nürburgring, despite having missed the start of the season due to a tire failure.
With Tolman, Benetton didn’t just sponsor a team, they got to take over and race the way they chose.
1986: Benetton formula
Does a t-shirt manufacturer know what to do with a race team? A shrewd move by Luciano Benetton shortly after Toleman took over indicated that they did. Their previous relationship with Alfa Romeo indicated a clear path for engine supply, but Benetton also struck a deal with BMW for their powerful turbos.
B186s decked out in Benetton United livery raced on the most competitive F1 fast tracks. Gerhard Berger made an early podium at Imola. Fabi took back-to-back pole positions at Osterreichring and Monza.
Then in the final round at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico, Berger steered the Pirelli tires to perfection to give Benetton their first win of the season.
In 1987
When BMW made the unexpected decision to cancel its F1 program in 1986, Benetton responded quickly and secured an exclusive deal for Ford engines. Before the team unveiled a new look based around a green paint scheme, the cars were presented in various shades with attractive highlights.
Having lost Berger to Ferrari, Thierry Bouzen joined them for a second winless season, although they finished fifth in the Constructors’ Championship.
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In 1988
At the end of F1’s ‘turbo era’, Ford made a switch to regular power in preparation for the following season. Designer Rory Byrne, who has been with the team since the Toleman era, produced an effective and reliable design for the B188, which earned Button and his new team-mate Alessandro Nannini seven podiums and a third-highest finish in the championship.
In 1989
Williams hired Button, so Benetton paired Nanni with Formula 3000 star Johnny Herbert, who had been badly injured at Brands Hatch the year before. Herbert bravely placed fourth in his debut, but suffered from an injury and crashed midway through the season. In his place in 1987 came Emmanuel Pirro, who lost the opportunity to sign the third Benetton as a customer when the project violated FIA rules.
The most significant personnel changes occurred at the top of the organization, however. Searching for better results after two seasons, Luciano Benetton has made a surprise appointment at the helm of the F1 team, with former North American business chief Flavio Briatore saying he knows nothing about motor racing.
The team returned to winning ways at the end of the year, albeit under controversial circumstances. Nanni finished second on the way to Ayrton Senna at Suzuka, but the McLaren driver’s incompetence cost the Benetton driver his first win and the team’s second.
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In 1990
Briatore made two major hires for 1990. John Barnard arrived from Ferrari to take over car design and three-time world champion Nelson Piquet was hired from Lotus.
Nanni had a good run with Piquet at the start of the year, but his F1 career ended in October when he lost his arm in a helicopter crash. Roberto Moreno was appointed as his replacement. Benetton took advantage of the controversy in Japan to win again, with Piquet taking his first win for three years, which he repeated at the season finale in Adelaide.
In 1991
Those wins were the last time Bennett’s cars were seen primarily in their own colors as they competed with other sponsors to keep up with their team’s growing billings. Initially, the Camel brand was owned by the RJ Reynolds tobacco company associated with Lotus Pickett.
Barnard’s B191 reached its third race of the year and won the fifth round in Canada, although Piquet’s final win was the team’s only win of the year, and the designer left the team after three days after a dispute with the team. Management. Meanwhile, Tom Walkinshaw bought into the team.
At Monza Piquet suddenly had a new teammate. Bernie Ecclestone urged his friend Brittor to sign him up after Michael Schumacher impressed him on his debut at Jordan Spa. Schumacher was controversially awarded away from Jordan and Moreno fired from Benetton to make way for him. But the hire proved immediate: Schumacher scored a points-scoring top-six finish in his first three starts with his new team.
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In 1992
Although the team has lost Barnard, several other notables have departed and returned in the previous 12 months, including Barnard, Pat Symonds and Willem Toth. Gordon Kimball meanwhile continued to work on Benetton’s latest car. The new B192 took the earlier nose concept even further, with other teams starting to follow the trend.
There were more significant changes behind the scenes in October when the team moved into their new base at Enstone – still the successor’s Alpine home. Benetton was finally assembling a team capable of taking the fight to the likes of Williams, who dominated the season’s revolutionary FW14B.
12 months after Schumacher arrived in F1, he scored a breakthrough victory at Wet Spa. He was clearly the future of the team, with Martin Brundle having a consistent year but was moved back after just one season. The team finished second in the Constructors’ Championship by just eight points over McLaren.
In 1993
Benetton’s rivalry with McLaren intensified as both had Ford Cosworth engines, although McLaren was one step behind in development when it launched. Ricciardo Patres came from Williams to take Brundle’s open position but could not live with Schumacher’s blistering pace. He retired at the end of the year as an experienced F1 driver at the time.
Schumacher won once and the team finished third behind McLaren. But a big change in the rules was going to play into their hands. Meanwhile, RJ Reynolds called time on his involvement in F1, allowing another cigarette manufacturer – Japan Tobacco – to take over as the title sponsor of the Mild Seven brand, which led to another color scheme change.
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In 1994
In the year Going into 1994, the FIA banned a number of technologies that Williams had implemented in their winning cars in 1992 and 1993. Benetton had already lined up the new B194 and Ross Brawn’s strategists were quick to learn of the new rules allowing refueling in competition. Schumacher claimed another victory in Tiida after running away from Senna to win the season opener in Brazil. Senna, who had been eliminated earlier, became an interested spectator, wondering if Benetton had removed all the banned technology from their cars.
The championship at Imola and the world of F1 were changed forever when Senna crashed to his death while leading the chase with Schumacher. A shaken Schumacher was now the title favourite, and after seven races he had six wins and a second place despite being stuck in fifth gear.
But controversies in the second half of the year limited Schumacher’s points and brought Damon Hill into the title race. They went into the final separated by a single point, and Schumacher wrapped up the championship in controversial circumstances after colliding with his rival.
Benetton won eight races, all courtesy of Schumacher, and took a driver to the championship for the first time. However, they lost the constructors’ crown, as the second car was cycled between JJ Lehto, Jos Verstappen and the returning Herbert during the campaign.
In 1995
Benetton’s successful relationship with Ford ended when the team took the opportunity to use the same Renault V10s as the constructors’ championship, Williams. Schumacher went on to claim nine more wins and Herbert was close to picking up two more when his team-mate clashed with Hill, achieving his team’s goal of adding to the title.
Had Schumacher stayed with the team in 1996, he would have been a strong contender for a third consecutive drivers’ title. But Ferrari’s pull proved too strong. Herbert learned earlier in the year that he wasn’t expecting to see much information from his teammate, which meant the champions had a new line-up for 1996.
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In 1996
Not only did Benetton fail to retain their championship in 1996, neither new driver Jean Alessi nor the returning Berger failed to win a single race. Meanwhile, several senior team members were tempted to follow Schumacher to Ferrari: Braun decided to stay and was soon joined by Bern.
In 1997
Berger In mid-1997, Benetton provided the final pace. The driver who scored his first F1 victory also took his last at Hockenheimring. He missed several races due to illness and was surprised by Alexander Wurth to win a full-time drive for the following year.
Another threat to Benetton’s performance emerged, however: Renault called time on its multiple championship-winning engine program, leaving Benetton without a manufacturer’s engine supply. Briatorm is gone, leaving at the end of the season, replaced by pro-drive David Richards.
In 1998
In the year For 1998, drastic new aerodynamic regulations were introduced, forcing teams to build narrower cars. Benetton seems to have anticipated the changes well and made the new B198 work early. But McLaren blew away the competition with the MP4-13, having switched to Bridgestone tires at the time. Wurth was joined on the team by Britarem Giancarlo Fisichella.
Benetton continued to use Renault engines as a customer and named the Mechchrome units ‘Playlife’, a new extension for the sportswear brand. But they were increasingly replaced by manufacturer-backed Mercedes and Ferrari engines, and became less competitive in the following years. Fifth place in the Championship is their lowest finish in over a decade. Former Renault owners Williams reached an agreement with former Benetton supplier BMW in 2000 to target a return to F1.
There was another change at the top of the team, as Richards left within a year and Rocco Benetton was installed in his place.
In 1999
Looking to regain lost performance, designers Pat Simmonds and Nick Wirth came up with an innovation for the B199 known as “Front Torque Transfer” intended to improve the car’s cornering. However, any advantage gained due to the increased weight on the front part of the car was not enough, and it was soon removed.
The team went on to score just 16 points all year. Wirth left at the end of the year, and rumors emerged that Benetton was looking for a way out of F1.
2000
Two years after leaving F1, Renault decided it wanted to return. Five days after the start of the 2000 season, the manufacturer confirmed that it would take over Benetton. But the rebranding won’t take effect for two more years, during which time the Benetton name will remain.
Fisichella finished second at the next race in Brazil, giving Benetton an early lead in the 2000 championship. Finishing the year in 4th place at BAR, it proved to be crucial and Fiscella’s podium made the difference for Benetton.
2001
For Benetton’s final year, Renault developed a 110-degree V10 engine. It didn’t bring the breakthrough they wanted, and the team lacked speed and reliability for many seasons. It was only at the end of the year that he finally started to come good, and Fisichella delivered Benetton’s final podium at Spa. His new teammate Jenson Button finished 17th in the championship.
They line up for Benetton’s final race at Suzuka, where the team has won 3 of their 27 wins, including 10 in the top 10. Finish in F1 for Benetton.
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