Minichamps 1:18th 2000 Benetton B200 Giancarlo Fisichella
More about Benetton F1 (excerpt from wikipedia.com)
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 run 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.
Contents
The
Benetton Group entered in Formula 1 as a sponsor company for Tyrrell in
1983, then Alfa Romeo in 1984 and 1985 and finally Toleman in 1985.
Benetton Formula Ltd. was formed at the end of 1985 when the Toleman and
the Spirit teams were sold to the Benetton family. The team began with
BMW engines and then later switched to Ford.
The team 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, who accounts for 19 of the
team's 27 career victories and their 2 drivers' championships. After
switching to Renault engines, they also 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.
On March 16 2000, the team was sold to Renault for
$120 million US. As part of their restructuring, Renault brought back
Flavio Briatore as team manager. During their final season in 2001 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. But as the Renault era approached, the cars'
performance lifted. Towards the end of the season, Giancarlo Fisichella
recorded a fine podium finish behind Michael Schumacher and David
Coulthard.