Atlas F1 - The 2001 Teams

Benetton

The B201 Car Specifications

Primary sponsors

  • Japan Tobacco LTD. - Mild Seven
  • Marconi Plc.
  • Korean Airlines

    Chassis
    Carbon fibre composite monocoque manufactured by Benetton Formula 1. Engine installed as a fully stressed member attached to the rearmost monocoque bulkhead.

    Front suspension
    Carbon fibre top and bottom wishbones, operating a titanium rocker via a push-rod system. Torsion bar and damper units mounted in the front of the monocoque. Lightweight uprights and Benetton Formula 1 Racing Team designed axles.

    Rear suspension
    Carbon fibre top and steel lower wishbones, operating torsion bars. Damper units mounted on the side of the aluminium gearbox.

    Transmission
    Benetton Formula 1 semi-automatic six-speed gearbox. Triple plate clutch.

    Fuel system
    ATL rubber fuel cell, mounted in monocoque behind cockpit.

    Oil system
    Oil tank mounted at rear of monocoque.

    Cooling system
    Separate water and oil cooling radiators in each sidepod.

    Electrical
    Chassis electronics and software, including gearbox control developed by Benetton Formula 1 with interfaces to the Magneti Marelli engine management system.

    Braking system
    Carbon fibre discs and pads.

    Tyres: Michelin


    Engine Specification - Renault Sport RS21

  • totally new design
  • substantial weight reduction
  • compact dimensions
  • significantly lower centre of gravity


    Team Principals

    Flavio BriatoreManaging Director - Flavio Briatore
    Date of birth: 12 September 1950
    Place of birth: Verzuolo (CN), Italy
    Nationality: Italian
    Marital Status: Single

    Flavio Briatore first came into contact with the Benetton family in 1974, while working in the Milan Stock Exchange. In 1977, he established the Benetton clothing company in the U.S.A.. Eleven years later, he made his first ever visit to a grand prix in Adelaide, as a guest of Benetton, for the final race of the season. Something must have attracted him to the idea of Formula One racing, as for the the next nine years (1989-1997) he was in charge of running the team. Criticised for his lack of motor sport experience, he proved the paddock wrong by leading the team to victory in the Drivers' World Championship in 1994 and both Drivers' and Constructors' titles the following year. Those who claimed he only did it because Michael Schumacher was driving missed the point that Briatore had the foresight to sign him up at the start of his career.

    When Renault pulled out of the sport, it sought to commercialise its engines in Formula 1. Briatore was the man to do it, setting up Supertec Sport. Apart from supplying existing Renault clients, Williams and Benetton, he also signed up British American Racing for its debut 1999 season and Arrows in 2000. Then in March this year, Flavio returned to Benetton Formula to take charge of the team, after its sale to Renault. "I decided to return to tackle this new and very exciting task, working with Renault, a company which knows exactly what it takes to win in Formula 1," said Briatore on his return.


    Pat SymondsExecutive Director of Engineering, - Pat Symonds
    Date of birth: 11 June 1953
    Place of birth: Bedford, Bedfordshire
    Nationality: British
    Lives in Witney, Oxfordshire

    Pat has an HND in Mechanical Engineering and Masters Degree in Automotive Engineering. He Joined Ford as an undergraduate apprentice. Between 1976 and 1977 he Chief Designer at Hawke. In 1978-80 he was Chief Designer at Royale. In 1981 Pat Joined Toleman (forerunner to Benetton Formula Ltd.) to work on R & D and run a Formula 2 project. By 1982 he was in charge of Engineering on F1 programme and running of wind tunnel programme.

    Between the years 1982-86 Pat was the Race Engineer for various drivers, including Michael Schumacher in the 1994 and 1995 championship winning seasons. in 1991 he Spent one year as Director of Engineering on Reynard F1 project before returning to Benetton Formula Ltd, where he held the position of Technical Director from 1996 until late 2000 when he joined his current position as Executive Director of Engineering.


    Technical Director - Mike Gascoyne
    Date of birth: 2 April 1963
    Place of birth: Norwich, England

    A chance look through an engineering magazine gave Mike Gascoyne his break into Formula One. "I was working at Westlands Systems to earn some money whilst writing my thesis for my PhD," explains Gascoyne, "I was reading Flight Magazine one lunch time when I saw an ad for an aerodynamicist at McLaren. I applied more for the hell of it than anything else and was offered the job. Needless to say, my thesis was never finished. If I ever tire of F1, I suppose I could always go back!"

    Gascoyne is not short of qualifications to class him at the top of his field. A Cambridge graduate from one of the university's most academic colleges, Churchill, he has progressed quickly in the world of Formula One. Aged 36 he joined Jordan Grand Prix in July 1998 as Chief Designer and was promoted to Technical Director in January 1999. The success of the Jordan Mugen-Honda 199, the first car to be designed under Gascoyne's leadership, won him the 1999 Autocar award for achievement to motor sport.

    Gascoyne's rapid development, he readily admits, was helped greatly by Harvey Postlethwaite, with whom Gascoyne worked for seven years. "Yes, you could call him my mentor," says Gascoyne. "It was Harvey who allowed me to learn about the overall design of a Formula One car. I trained as an aerodynamicist but always wanted to look at the bigger picture. Harvey showed me the broad overview of Formula One engineering, and working under him for five years at Tyrrell gave me invaluable experience. His passing was a great loss to motor sport engineering."

    To escape the world of F1, Gascoyne enjoys DIY, making furniture and watching sport. Living on a farm with his wife and two children does allow him some retreat. But his competitive nature and passion for team work makes Formula One the perfect vehicle upon which he can combine engineering with his favourite sport.


    Chief Designer - Timothy Densham
    Date of birth: 31 March 1955
    Place of birth: Warwick, England
    Lives in Epsom, Surrey

    Timothy has a Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Lanchester Polytechnic. Between 1976-80 he held a Graduate Apprenticeship and later was a chassis designer (road car suspensions) at Rolls Royce Motors. He went into motor racing at 1980, when he began working for nine years for Team Lotus International, working for legendary Colin Chapman. After one year on design team, Timothy switched to race engineering, working with Elio de Angelis, Johnny Dumfries, Ayrton Senna and Satoru Nakajima. In 1988-89 he made Assistant Chief Engineer in charge of Research and Development.

    Between 1989 and 1992 Timothy worked for Motor Racing Developments (Brabham), first as a race engineer and then as Chief Engineer. In 1993-98 he was Race Engineer and Designer for Tyrrell Racing Organisation and in 1998-99 he Project Leader for aborted Honda Racing Development Formula 1 car. He joined Benetton Formula Ltd. as Chief Designer on September 1999.


    The Drivers

    Click on the thumbnail to view the image in full size

    Giancarlo Fisichella
    see bio
    Jenson Button
    see bio
    Mark Webber
    see bio


    Team Milestones

    1983: Benetton enters Grand Prix racing through a one-year sponsorship deal with the Tyrrell team.

    1984: Benetton announces a two-year sponsorship programme with Alfa-Romeo.

    1986: Benetton Formula Limited established as a team. Maiden victory claimed by Gerhard Berger in that year's Mexican Grand Prix. Team finishes sixth in Constructors' Championship with 19 points. (Berger 7th with 17 points; Teo Fabi 15th with 2 points).

    1987: Team finishes fifth in Constructors' Championship with 28 points. (Thierry Boutsen 8th with 16 points; Fabi 9th with 12 points).

    1988: Team secures third place in the Constructors' Championship with a total of 39 points. (Boutsen 4th, 27 points; Alessandro Nannini 9th, 12 points).

    1989: Team wins Japanese Grand Prix and finishes fourth in the Constructors' Championship with 39 points. (Nannini 6th, 32 points; Johnny Herbert 14th, 5 points; Emanuele Pirro 23rd, 2 points).

    1990: Team takes its first 1-2 at the Japanese Grand Prix with Nelson Piquet leading home Roberto Moreno. Piquet also wins Australian Grand Prix and Team finishes third in the Constructors' Championship with 71 points. (Piquet 3rd, 43 points; Nannini 8th, 21 points; Moreno 10th, 6 points).

    1991: Team wins Canadian Grand Prix and finishes fourth in the Constructors' Championship with 38.5 points. (Piquet 6th, 26.5 points; Moreno 10th, 8 points; Michael Schumacher 12th, 4 points).

    1992: Team opens its new technical centre at Enstone. Points scored in all the season's races and team wins Belgian Grand Prix to take third in the Constructors' Championship with 91 points. (Schumacher 3rd, 53 points; Martin Brundle 6th, 38 points).

    1993: Team finishes third in the Constructors' Championship with 72 points and wins the Portuguese Grand Prix. (Schumacher 4th, 52 points; Riccardo Patrese 5th, 20 points).

    1994: Team wins their first World Drivers' Championship. Pole positions in Monaco, Spain, Canada, Hungary, Europe (Jerez) and Japan. Victory in the Brazilian, Pacific, San Marino, Monaco, Canadian, French, Hungarian and European Grands Prix. Second place in the Constructors' Championship with 103 points. (Schumacher wins Drivers' Championship with 92 points; Jos Verstappen 10th, 10 points; JJ Lehto 25th, 1 point).

    1995: Team wins both the World Drivers' and Constructors' Championships with 137 points. Pole positions in San Marino, Spain, Canada and Japan. Victory in the Brazilian, Spanish, Monaco, French, British, German, Belgian, Italian, European, Pacific and Japanese Grands Prix. (Schumacher 1st, 102 points; Herbert 4th, 45 points).

    1996: Team finishes third in the Constructors' championship with 68 points and a total of 10 podium finishes, five in second place (Brazil, Spain, Britain, Germany, Italy) and five in third (Argentina, San Marino, Canada, France and Hungary). (Alesi 4th, 47 points, Berger 6th, 21 points).

    1997: Team finishes third in the Constructors' championship with 67 points, a total of seven podium finishes including pole position and victory for Gerhard Berger in the German Grand Prix. (Alesi 4th, 36 points, Berger 5th, 27 points, Wurz 14th, 4 points).

    1998: Team finishes fifth in the Constructors' championship with 33 points, two podium finishes - second place in Monaco and Canada - and pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix. (Wurz 7th, 17 points, Fisichella 9th, 16 points).

    1999: Team finishes sixth in the Constructors' championship with 16 points, one podium finish - second place in Canada. (Fisichella 9th, 13 points, Wurz 13th, 3 points.)

    2000: Team finishes fourth in the Constructors' championship with 20 points, one podium finish - second place in Brazil. (Fisichella 6th, 18 points, Wurz 15th, 2 points.)


    Related Links

    The official Benetton web site
    The Mild Seven Benetton official site
    The official Giancarlo Fisichella web site
    The official Jenson Button web site
    Benetton F1 Statistics on FORIX

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