Apparently Benetton have been the victim of malicious hackers. So says Renault's technical director Jean-Jacques His. The obvious riposte to that is: how could they tell? For Benetton, just six years ago the home of back-to-back champion Michael Schumacher, are in an appalling state. Renault ... Read review
Advantages: Not long till the end of the season... Disadvantages: Dreadful engine, drivers seem increasingly uninterested
Apparently Benetton have been the victim of malicious hackers. So says Renault's technical director Jean-Jacques His. The obvious riposte to that is: how could they tell? For Benetton, just six years ago the home of back-to-back champion Michael Schumacher, are in an appalling state. Renault has a great deal of work to do, and the timing of this announcement - the actual incident, one should note, took place a year ago - can only raise suspicions ... ...problem, I believe, is that Benetton have been deluding themselves for some years now. They are not a championship-winning team, and never have been. Their triumphs in 1994 and '95 were largely down to one man: Michael Schumacher. I know that, you know that, but it seems that no one at Benetton can see it.
This isn't, of course, to say that they are inherently a bad team. After all, they did well in their early years, especially 1986, ... more
Apparently Benetton have been the victim of malicious hackers. So says Renault's technical director Jean-Jacques His. The obvious riposte to that is: how could they tell? For Benetton, just six years ago the home of back-to-back champion Michael Schumacher, are in an appalling state. Renault has a great deal of work to do, and the timing of this announcement - the actual incident, one should note, took place a year ago - can only raise suspicions that they are desperate to deflect attention from their own shortcomings.
The problem, I believe, is that Benetton have been deluding themselves for some years now. They are not a championship-winning team, and never have been. Their triumphs in 1994 and '95 were largely down to one man: Michael Schumacher. I know that, you know that, but it seems that no one at Benetton can see it.
This isn't, of course, to say that they are inherently a bad team. After all, they did well in their early years, especially 1986, when Gerhard Berger scored their debut win in Mexico. That year was also notable for the identity of Berger's team-mate, tiny Teo Fabi - surely this was the "little and large" of Formula 1! It's just that they have tended to rely too much on individual drivers, and have lacked the team ethic that has pulled the likes of McLaren and Williams through the dark days.
Staying on the subject of drivers, the team have displayed a noticeable record of inconsistency in their signings. Hmmm... why does the name "Flavio Briatore" come to the forefront of my mind at this point...? Sometimes they went for solidity and experience (Piquet, Brundle [much underrated in my book - look how close he ran Schuey in '93], Berger [in '97]), sometimes for promising newcomers (Nannini, Berger [in '86]), and sometimes they just appeared to pick a name out of the air (Moreno, Pirro). This hardly inspired confidence in their ability to last the course, and indeed, though Schumacher managed to hold things together (mainly because the team more or less ignored everyone else), once he left everything fell apart again.
Right, let's not dwell any longer on Benetton's past. Let's instead see what they have to offer in 2001:
Drivers: Giancarlo Fisichella is a good, solid driver, if not quite the hotshoe some were hoping he would turn out to be, but his driving shows signs of demoralisation this year. He could be an excellent number two - but where's the number one? Jenson Button is discovering that F1 isn't always quite as easy as he might have thought. He needs to cut down on the Irvine-like playboy lifestyle and buckle down to some hard graft. I must admit that I'm not sure he can do it, though I hope he proves me wrong: if not, then his future in Formula One is rather less glittering than some have suggested.
Engine: bluntly, the super-wonder, all-singing, all-dancing engine we were promised would revolutionise F1 has been a joke. On a good day. The grand total of one sixth place is not exactly the sort of form that brings the sponsors running. *Sends* them running, possibly. Jean-Jacques His claims that the hacking meant that Benetton had to "change direction" on the engine - presumably he meant taking out all the bits that worked. Renault have a record of being laughed at early on and then delivering - the turbo being a case in point - but surely they cannot have expected anything half as bad as this.
Chassis: well, it's all right, I suppose. That's all I can think of to say, to be honest. It's hard to tell when the cars fail to finish so often. The car really doesn't seem very durable - mind you, with an engine as down on power as the current one, it doesn't need to be.
Tactics: in, out, in, out, shake it all about. The team seem to have tried everything - two stops, three stops, more fuel, less fuel, more downforce, less downforce... you name it. The result's the same, though - positions down among the dregs of the grid. Given the level of resources Benetton have relative to Minardi or Prost, it's nothing short of a disgrace.
So, what needs to be done? Well, I think it's probably too late for this season, but 2002 needs to bring in a quality that seems to have been neglected for far too long at Benetton - *teamwork*. Giancarlo Fisichella needs to get out of his comfortable groove on the edge of the midfield. Jenson Button needs to grow up a bit. Renault need to stop making excuses for failure. And, most of all, co-operation needs to take the place of internal conflict. If the Renault team (as it will become next year) wants to avoid becoming a laughing stock, there is no other option.
Advantages: Being taken over by Renault. Disadvantages: May have reliabilty problems this year.
Only a few years ago Benetton was a really great Formula One racing team, but recently they have not been performing so good. When any team becomes the best there is only one way to go, and that is down, but unfortunately with Benetton that fall does seem to have been rather dramatic and sustained. In the 2000 Grand Prix season the team finished fourth in the constructors championship and although this may not sound too bad it was not where they ... ...the team exists in the Benetton colours as from 2002 it will be the Renault team. This will put a lot more money and resources into the team and I believe this will lead to greater success. Obviously Renault will want to start their period in charge with a few wins and so I believe that they will use this year to test their engine as much as possible in the current Benetton cars. This may result in reliability problems as the engines are pushed to ...
daseaford 01.06.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Benetton
Advantages: 1995 Constructor's Champions, excellent midfield battlers in late eighties, one of the famour "Big Four" for nearly a decade. Disadvantages: Shallow championship successes, rapid decline since 1995, Favlio Briatore
...final year in 2001 did Benetton peak and prove to be the team to beat in Formula One. However, even that statement is to an extent an illusion, and the reason for it also explains why their subsequent search to rediscover that form was misguided in its' approach. In writing this opinion I hope to unfold the history of Benetton and lay bare that fatal flaw that inhibited their capacity to win Championships. As I shall explain, it may make interesting ... ...Toleman secured sponsorship from the Benetton sports clothing company for the 1985 season who had previously sponsored Alfa Romeo and Tyrrell. For the following year a radical transformation took place - Toleman became Benetton, with a vibrant multicoloured livery, BMW Turbo engines, Pirelli tyres and two solid drivers in Teo Fabi and the then up-and-coming Gerhard Berger.
1986 was an impressive debut year for Benetton. The power of their BMW engines ...
SkyscraperFanClub 18.05.2001
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Advantages: Were once a good team Disadvantages: Poor slow cars
The once proud team of Bennetton have slipped so far down the grid, they are in danger of being lapped before they have started.
That is how bad things have got for Briatores outfit.
I remember the days when Michael Schumacher won most races with his team mate winning occasionally ( Johnny Herbert). The only serious competition came from Williams and Damon Hill.
Maclaren were too busy blowing their Peugeot and then Mercedes powerplants up and ... ...for Elephants.
Then, Formula 1 left the team behind.
Maclaren fixed its problems. Ferarri got Schumacher, a lighter, more reliable car and a few race wins. Williams realised change was needed and bit the bullet.
Meanwhile, Bennetton went on in the theory, "If it aint broke, dont fix it"
Trouble was, it was about to break.
The engine was very old by the time most people realised at Bennetton.
No more race wins were coming from an overdeveloped ...
buzzplane 15.05.2001
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in recent years,benetton slipped from being major title contendors to a mid table team.They are now slowly starting to rise again,competing for 3rd position in the constructors championship with williams and jordan. They still have some way to go until they catch the big boys,ferrari and mclaren,but then so do most teams.They have 2 good competitive drivers in wurz and fisichella and the realiability of the car is fine-they just need to improve the ...
steveymacca 09.09.2000
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Advantages: Youth,Money,will to suceeed Disadvantages: Lack of big players in the hot seats.
What happened to Benetton after Schumacher left??? Just goes to show that his driving made the difference. Sure, a lot of the key personnel went too but you should prepare for such events.
When they signed Berger and Alesi (Who is highly overated) I knew it was the death knell. They are 2 good but average drivers and did not shine apart from Bergers solo victory fluke. Giancarlo does his best but alex Wurz is a terrible driver. I think having Flavio ...
andycharger 03.08.2000
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Advantages: Reasonable experience. Disadvantages: Inconsistent. Not quick. Poor in qualifying.
It seems Alexander Wurz is unlikely to be with Benetton for next season. The team has been very disappointed with the lanky Austrian's performance -his qualifying times have been pretty abysmal,he seems to lack confidence and has not been doing justice to his team. The team are rumoured to have been seeking alternatives to Wurz. Names mentioned include Benetton test driver Antonio Pizzonia -but he has been deemed a year or so away from being ready for FI racing- and that of the brilliant young British driver Jenson Button,who has also been linked to Jaguar.
Things look a bit bleak for Wurz. With the exception perhaps of a possible move to the Sauber team- as current driver Mika Salo is said to be moving to Toyota as its development driver in preparation for entry into Formula I in 2002- Alexander could well find himself without a drive ...
ashford 13.08.2000
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Poor old Giancarlo. He has been with poorly running teams since he came to the sport. First it was Minardi who took his skills. They nurtured him as he consistantly came last in the races. Then his talent was realised and Eddie Jordan rescued him and put him in the Jordan alongside Ralf Schumacher. This was not a marriage made in heaven as Ralf was guilty of Pushing poor Giancarlo off on a couple of occasions. Not the best thing to do to your team mate. Then, as Jordan was improving, he moved to Benetton to replace Jean Alesi just as Benetton were going down the pan. Can he revive the fortunes of the team? Not with Alex Wurz in the Number 2 seat!!! ...
What an absolute wast of space this man is. He is too tall for Formula 1. He only just fits in the car!!!! Poor old Gerhard Berger must feel that his countryman is letting the side down by this incompetent simpleton. He is slow, he is inconsistent. You should not be separated from your team mate on the grid by up to 15 places. Benetton are not used to qulifying 18th and 19th on the grid when they have had the likes of Shcumacher racing for them. Teams will not put up with such a performance and he will definitely be seeking alternative employment next year. ...
andycharger 11.08.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Alexander Wurz
