The Benetton B186 is a Formula One racing car, built and raced by the Benetton team for the 1986 Formula One World Championship . It was the first car to be constructed and raced by Benetton, which had bought the Toleman team at the end of 1985 after several years of sponsoring it and other teams, including Alfa Romeo and Tyrrell .
108-476: The B186 was a competitive car: in the hands of drivers Gerhard Berger and Teo Fabi , it set two pole positions , three fastest laps , and was victorious at the 1986 Mexican Grand Prix . The B186, along with the Brabham BT52 , BT55 , Arrows A9 and other BMW-engined cars from 1983 to 1986 are some of the most powerful Grand Prix cars ever built. The B186 in particular, being the most competitive of
216-531: A Playboy magazine he had taken). Senna's fame meant he rarely had his passport checked, but on a later trip to Argentina , Berger's prank resulted in officials holding the Brazilian for 24 hours. As a response to this gag, Senna superglued all of Berger's credit cards together. Berger's pranks continued at his new team for 1993, Scuderia Ferrari . Specifically, at the Fiorano Circuit a day before
324-480: A dark-skinned boy whose hair was shaped into devil horns. In 2000, Benetton was included in the reference publication Guinness World Records for the "Most Controversial Campaign". In November 2011, Benetton created the UNHATE Foundation, launching a worldwide communication campaign described as an invitation to leaders and citizens of the world to combat the "culture of hatred". Benetton claimed
432-430: A battle with Patrese. Berger therefore won his last race for McLaren and McLaren's last race with Honda engines. A lucrative offer from Ferrari proved too tempting for Berger who announced before the 1992 Belgian Grand Prix that he would be returning to the struggling Italian outfit. Berger was persuaded by Ayrton Senna (who told him that Honda would leave Formula One at the end of the 1992 season, leaving McLaren without
540-593: A bloodied, unwashed newborn baby with umbilical cord still attached. The newborn ad prompted roughly 650 complaints to the British Advertising Standards Authority , which noted in its 1991 annual report that the Benetton baby ad "attracted more complaints than we have ever previously known." A third ad included a black stallion copulating with a white mare, while a fourth advert showed a light-skinned girl with blond hair hugging
648-459: A change in advertising focus towards raising awareness for various issues worldwide. In 1984, Toscani photographed the first multiracial ad for the brand. In 1989, Toscani refocused Benetton's advertising strategy under the "United Colors of Benetton" campaign. The campaign's graphic, billboard-sized ads depicted a variety of shocking subjects, including the deathbed scene of a man ( AIDS activist David Kirby ) dying from AIDS. Another ad featured
756-460: A cliff. Berger, at that time not wearing the seatbelt, was thrown clear of the BMW through the rear window. By chance, the first car on the crash scene was occupied by two surgeons who specialised in back injuries. The doctors realised the extent of his injuries (a broken neck and some damaged bones in his back) and made sure he was not moved until special equipment arrived. Following emergency surgery, and
864-754: A close second to Nigel Mansell at the Hungaroring before he was forced to retire. At Estoril for the Portuguese Grand Prix Berger dominated the race from pole position before spinning in the latter stages to finish second after pressure from Alain Prost . The Austrian then looked to be heading for a second consecutive victory at the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit for the Mexican Grand Prix as he once again dominated
972-582: A different design that complimented the livery of the Benetton BMW. In 1987 his helmet was dark grey-blue, featuring the Austrian flag on either side. For the 1995 Portuguese Grand Prix Berger sported a helmet featuring flags of multiple nations. The top was painted to resemble the Austrian flag and "NO WAR IN THE WORLD" at the rear. The special design was a result of a winning entrant for a one-off competition. In 1996 Berger modified his original design with
1080-535: A driver. Berger, a multiple race winner in European Formula Three , moved up to Formula One in 1984 driving for the ATS team. Berger was fortunate to be alive after a serious road accident shortly after entering Formula One. A week after the 1984 season ended, he was driving home in his BMW 323i through the hills above Salzburg when his car was rammed from behind, resulting in it cartwheeling off
1188-457: A fast train ride to a dinner in Japan. The Austrian was forced to attend the dinner wearing a tuxedo with running shoes. A further incident followed in which Berger replaced Senna's passport photo with what Ron Dennis described as "an equivalent-sized piece of male genitalia" (although other media accounts refer to a black pair of breasts, while Berger contends he snipped a woman spreading her legs in
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#17327939687571296-424: A kind of ground effect at some tracks. The car was like a bomb at circuits like Spa , Austria and Monza . And the power was unbelievable - even if the turbo delay was terrible. You'd open the throttle at the entry to the corner only to get the power at the exit. And if you missed it by five or 10 metres, there was nothing you could do - you just spun it. The lag was about one or two seconds. At Zeltweg , down
1404-679: A museum in Leleque which presented the Mapuche as migrants from Chile , which was interpreted as an attempt to diminish the Mapuche's traditional claims. The Curiñanco-Nahuelquir family was evicted from their land in 2002 following Benetton's claim to it, but the land was restored in 2007. The company published a position statement regarding the Mapuche in Patagonia in 2012. Protests and occupations began again in 2015. Activist Santiago Maldonado
1512-847: A network of about 5,000 stores worldwide. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Benetton family 's holding company Edizione. In 1965, the Benettons opened their first store in Belluno , in the Veneto northern region of Italy and three years after in Paris . The company's core business consists of clothing brands United Colors of Benetton and Sisley. Benetton was an iconic brand in the 1980s and 1990s, but has since struggled to regain this position. In 2000, it ranked 75th in Interbrand's ranking of
1620-541: A result of stops or other mechanical issues. It was generally agreed that the victory was a fitting culmination to Benetton's first season as an F1 constructor, Berger's emerging talent in what was the first of 10 career wins, and a vindication of the potential of the B186. The race would also prove to be the last win for the BMW M12 engine. Benetton comfortably outperformed fellow-BMW users Brabham and Arrows during 1986, and
1728-473: A revised underbody), new suspension packages, and revised setup concepts. The chassis was also strengthened further to cope with the stress caused by the power of the BMW engine. The development package was completed by the arrival of a new rear wing design for the Austrian Grand Prix , where the improved performance of the B186 and the high-speed Österreichring circuit made it the fastest car in
1836-425: A smooth airflow into the airbox. Consequently, Berger was significantly slower down the straights than teammate Jean Alesi. The Benetton B197 had a lacklustre opening to the 1997 season at Melbourne but the team and Berger bounced back at the 1997 Brazilian Grand Prix , with Berger finishing second having overtaken Mika Häkkinen and Michael Schumacher . Berger then scored Benetton's final Grand Prix victory at
1944-621: A stay in hospital in Innsbruck , he made a full recovery. A full season for Arrows followed in 1985 , though both Berger and teammate Thierry Boutsen were hampered by the Arrows A8 which was not the best chassis on the grid and did not allow either to exploit the immense power of the BMW M12 engine. Although he had some good drives (including running 6th in France), Berger would finish
2052-538: A study by Yale University, which analyzes the exit of foreign companies from the Russian market, Benetton group received the worst grade "F", which indicates that the company has not taken any steps to exit the Russian market and operates there with "business as usual". Meanwhile, the Changing Markets Foundation found evidence that the Benetton group uses Russian oil for its polyester products and
2160-666: A very fast driver in Formula One that year, recording the fastest speed trap of the season, clocking an incredible 351.22 km/h (218.23 mph) at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. This remains the fastest straight line speed attained by a turbocharged car in the first turbo era. Berger was also successful in Group A touring cars during this time, racing for the German Schnitzer BMW team, driving
2268-530: A works engine for the 1993 season) and also by his countryman Niki Lauda to return to the Italian team in 1993 as Lauda felt Berger brought valuable experience with him from his partnership with Senna. The active ride suspension made the car unpredictable to drive and the Ferrari F93A failed to record a single victory and spent the majority of the season competing for the lower points. Berger's best result
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#17327939687572376-400: The 1985 championship , for three laps at Imola before the start of the 2004 San Marino Grand Prix . In February 2006, he acquired 50% of Scuderia Toro Rosso in a deal which saw Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz purchase half of Berger Logistik, a road haulage company founded by Berger's father Johann in 1961. His Toro Rosso team won their first Grand Prix with Sebastian Vettel taking
2484-490: The 1987 race . Benetton finally won its first Grand Prix in Mexico , the penultimate race of the season. Despite Berger not having the outright fastest package, the durability and choice of compound of his Pirelli tyres meant that he did not need to make a pitstop for fresh ones, in comparison to rivals Nelson Piquet ( Williams - Honda ), Alain Prost ( McLaren - TAG ) and Nigel Mansell (Williams-Honda), who all lost time as
2592-528: The 1991 Japanese Grand Prix by Senna; as well as victories in Canada and Australia in 1992. During his three years at McLaren, Berger also obtained four pole positions and out-qualified Senna 8 times. His debut at McLaren ruffled feathers, as he outqualified Senna for the 1990 United States Grand Prix obtaining pole position. Initially, Berger complained of a lack of space in the McLaren MP4/5 B for
2700-435: The 1994 Portuguese Grand Prix where he retired from while leading. Berger was also in the lead at the final round at the 1994 Australian Grand Prix when he made a mistake, letting his former teammate Nigel Mansell pass and win for Williams. A final season with the team in 1995 saw Berger score a number of podiums and was in a race winning position at the 1995 San Marino Grand Prix having qualified second before stalling in
2808-666: The BMW 635 Csi in the European Touring Car Championship . He won the 1985 Spa 24 Hours partnering Italian touring car ace Roberto Ravaglia and fellow Formula One driver, Marc Surer of Switzerland. Until the mid-1980s when teams began stopping their drivers competing in other categories of racing (primarily due to the risk involved), it was not uncommon for a Grand Prix driver to race in sports and touring cars. However, by 1985 Formula One drivers were not permitted race in any other category within 24 hours of
2916-491: The Benetton B186 . Berger was also on course for an easy victory at his home race, the 1986 Austrian Grand Prix before being forced into the pits from a comfortable lead with a flat battery. Berger out-qualified teammate Teo Fabi 12–4 in 1986 though Fabi, who as a Rookie had qualified on the pole for the 1983 Indianapolis 500 , took pole at the faster Österreichring and Monza circuits. Berger established himself as
3024-621: The Brazilian Grand Prix , Berger tangled with Senna at the first corner as the Brazilian found himself trapped between Riccardo Patrese 's Williams- Renault to the left and Berger's Ferrari to the right, with the three drivers dicing for the lead. Berger was lucky to escape alive from a crash during the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola 's Tamburello corner, where he went straight on into the wall at almost 180 mph (290 km/h). The car spun multiple times along
3132-524: The Monaco and Detroit Grands Prix. Nevertheless, Berger, in particular, had emerged as a consistent frontrunner by mid-season, although he was criticised in some quarters for driving with his turbo boost set too high for the car's fuel consumption in the early stages of a race in order to complete "glory runs" near the front, only to drop back later on. The B186 was a very aerodynamically efficient car and enabled it to be most competitive in terms of raw pace at
3240-619: The Toleman TG186 , was simply renamed as the Benetton B186. Also, despite the team being Italian owned, they remained based at its Witney headquarters in England . However, Benetton had the resources to pay for a supply of engines produced by a large car manufacturer, BMW , which replaced the privateer Hart 415T units which had powered Toleman's F1 chassis since the team's début in the series in 1981 . The focus of BMW for 1986
3348-472: The 1.5 litre turbo engine (Ferrari, unlike the Japanese, had not built a new engine for the season to cope with the lower fuel limit of 150 litres and the lower 2.5 Bar turbo limit, instead fronting with an updated version of their 1987 engine). At the very wet British Grand Prix for instance, Berger led the opening laps from Senna having already attained pole position, consequently building a large cushion over
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3456-545: The 1988 Formula One calendar and in the eight races where they were both classified as finishers, finished behind Alboreto only once in France , spelling the end for the Italian after five seasons with the Maranello outfit. For 1989, Berger was joined at Ferrari by Nigel Mansell. The Ferrari 640 with its V12 engine was fast but fragile, thanks in part to its revolutionary semi-automatic gearbox designed by John Barnard. At
3564-430: The 1990 season, which had been designed in 1988/89 for the shorter Senna and Prost. At the 1990 Canadian Grand Prix Berger finished first, around 45 seconds ahead of the eventual winner Senna, but was penalized by one minute for creeping at the start before the green lights. Berger also started from pole position at the 1990 Mexican Grand Prix . In 1990 Berger failed to win a race for his new team, while teammate Senna won
3672-423: The 1990 season. With the arrival of Michael Schumacher at Ferrari in 1996, Berger moved back to Benetton , although the team lost the competitiveness of the previous years. He could have remained at Maranello, but felt that the new Ferrari V10 engine would take too much time to develop. Berger spent his final two years in the sport at the team he drove for in 1986 while also sporting a revised helmet design, with
3780-472: The 2nd Qualifying session at Monza, Berger's B186 was speed trapped at a season's fastest 351.22 km/h (218.24 mph) while Fabi was second having been clocked at 349.85 km/h (217.39 mph). Berger's speed trap would be the second fastest recorded of the original turbo era in Formula One (1977-1988), beaten only by the actively suspended Williams - Honda of Nelson Piquet who recorded 352.135 km/h (218.807 mph) in qualifying at Monza for
3888-615: The Austrian flag being rotated horizontally. 1996 proved to be a disappointing season for the Austrian, the handling characteristics of the Benetton B196 not being to his taste. Berger nearly won the German Grand Prix for the second time in his career before his Renault V10 engine blew up, handing victory to Damon Hill in the Williams. Berger's main problem for the early part of 1996 was his driving position that prevented
3996-412: The Austrian flag rotated horizontally. ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Berger was driving his team's "second entry", and as the team had only entered one car for
4104-480: The B186 chassis are as follows: Gerhard Berger Gerhard Berger ( German pronunciation: [ˈɡeːɐ̯.haʁt ˈbɛʁ.ɡɐ] ; born 27 August 1959) is an Austrian former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from 1984 to 1997 . Berger won 10 Formula One Grands Prix across 14 seasons. Berger competed in Formula One for 14 seasons, twice finishing third overall in
4212-415: The B186 in comparison to the previous year's Toleman TG185 . However, the chassis was refined and tidied up in several areas, such as the sidepods, to produce more aerodynamic downforce . The B186 was also designed to be structurally stronger than its predecessor, as the 1,400 bhp (1,044 kW; 1,419 PS) turbocharged BMW engine was about 600 bhp (447 kW; 608 PS) more powerful than
4320-463: The B186s were always competitive, as evidenced by the fact that the cars were usually amongst the fastest through the speed traps. Indeed, Berger set the highest top speed of the season at Monza with 352 km/h (219 mph) (Fabi was second quickest on the straight, and also took the pole while Berger started third, the pair split by defending World Champion Alain Prost in his McLaren - TAG which
4428-659: The BMW engined cars that season could produce 1,350+ hp in qualifying trim, and about 900 hp in race trim. This was the one and only Benetton F1 car powered by BMW engines and the only Benetton F1 car supplied with Pirelli tyres until the B190B in 1991. Despite the buyout of the small Toleman team by the financial power of the Benetton Group , its organisation and structure remained largely unchanged. Peter Collins stayed on as team manager, whilst Rory Byrne continued as chief engineer. The planned 1986 chassis, labelled
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4536-533: The Benetton family. The team saw its greatest success under Flavio Briatore , who managed the team from 1990 to 1997 . Michael Schumacher won his first Drivers' Championships with the team in 1994 and 1995 , and the team won their only Constructors' title in 1995. From 1996 , the team raced under an Italian licence, although it continued to be based, like Toleman, in Oxfordshire in England. The team
4644-546: The Brazilian retired. During the 1992 Portuguese Grand Prix , Berger was involved in an incident with the Williams of Patrese. Patrese did not realize that Berger was heading towards the pitlane touched the McLaren's rear wheel and went airborne, narrowly missing a bridge, before coming to a halt in front of the armco of the pitlane. Berger then went on to win the Australian Grand Prix for the second time after
4752-694: The Drivers' Championship for the second time. Towards the end of 1991, Berger found his form in the McLaren MP4/6 – a car he was able to fit in better than the MP4/5B, out-qualifying teammate Senna at the Portuguese , Spanish and the title deciding Japanese Grands Prix (claiming pole position in the latter two events). In 1992, Berger won the 1992 Canadian Grand Prix having overtaken Riccardo Patrese 's Williams and attacking teammate Senna before
4860-568: The Goodyears often played to the B186's advantage, exemplified by Berger's winning the 1986 Mexican Grand Prix due to not having to make a pit stop for a fresh set of tyres while most of the main contenders (with the exception of Prost's McLaren which finished second) made at least two stops for tyres due to the abrasive surface of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez . " Rory worked with the front wing endplates so we had
4968-632: The Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund. Protests included shutting down Benetton's flagship Oxford Street store in London. In April 2015, Benetton Group announced that it has doubled compensation for Rana Plaza victims recommended by independent assessors (PWC AND WRAP) and applied the principles of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety to global suppliers. Benetton's engagement for Bangladesh is available on their website. According to
5076-640: The Spa 24 Hours) for Australian racing legend and millionaire Bob Jane , Berger qualified 2nd on the grid but his race lasted just 3 laps before he was punted into the gravel trap at the end of the pit straight by the Holden Commodore V8 of local veteran John Harvey . For the 1987 season, Berger signed for Ferrari , partnering the Italian Michele Alboreto and replacing Stefan Johansson . After mechanical failures robbed him of
5184-404: The age of 37, again at Hockenheim , coming back after a 3 race layoff following a sinusitis surgery and the death of his father in a light aircraft accident. As well as the victory, Berger also claimed pole position and fastest lap during the 1997 German Grand Prix . He announced his decision to leave Benetton at the end of the season during the same weekend. He eventually retired at the end of
5292-465: The best global brands; however, by 2002, it had dropped out of the list. In 2012, Benetton Group was delisted from the stock exchange and is now a fully owned subsidiary of the Benetton family company Edizione holding. In 2017, the group posted a loss of €180 million. Prompted by the heavy losses, Luciano Benetton , who was then 83 years old, returned from retirement as Executive Chairman for
5400-401: The brand. Revival efforts also included appointing French designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac as artistic director and re-appointing photographer Oliviero Toscani . As of 2020, United Colors of Benetton has 1,500 employees and uses 25,000 workers through subcontractors . In March 2020, Massimo Renon was named CEO of the company. On May 25, 2024, Luciano Benetton announced that
5508-504: The campaign was created to serve as its corporate social responsibility strategy. The UNHATE poster series uses altered images of political and religious leaders, such as then- President of the United States Barack Obama and Hugo Chávez , then President of Venezuela , kissing each other. Following Vatican protests, Benetton removed an ad purportedly showing Pope Benedict XVI kissing Ahmed Mohamed el Tayeb ,
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#17327939687575616-542: The car's available 650 bhp (485 kW; 659 PS) during a race if he wanted to finish. Berger was leading the final race of the season at Adelaide ahead of Prost and Senna before he clashed with former Ferrari driver René Arnoux in the Ligier while trying to lap the Frenchman. Before the race Berger, apparently with the full support of the team, told the McLaren drivers who qualified 1–2 in front of him that he
5724-478: The challenge and as both were spurred on by team manager Ron Dennis , the practical joking escalated. Accounts tell of an incident at Monza where in a joint helicopter ride Senna had been showing off his new tailor-made briefcase. Having been made of carbon fibre composite, Senna argued that it was virtually indestructible. Berger opened the door of the helicopter and threw the briefcase out, to Senna's disbelief. Berger asserted innocently that he only sought to test
5832-401: The championship in 1988 and 1994 with Ferrari . With 210 starts, Berger is amongst the most experienced Formula One drivers of all time. His first and last victories were also the first and last victories for the Benetton team, with eleven years separating them. He was also a race winner with Ferrari and with McLaren . When at McLaren, Berger drove alongside Ayrton Senna , contributing to
5940-474: The chance to perform, Berger came on strongly in the latter half of 1987, winning the final two rounds of the season. The 1987 Ferrari F1/87 benefitted from the work of ex-McLaren designer John Barnard although the car was designed by Austrian Gustav Brunner. Ferrari were back competing for race honours for the first time since mid-1985 from the Hungarian Grand Prix onwards. Berger was running
6048-751: The club won 17 Italian titles and 2 European cups. Benetton Group has been also main sponsor of Sisley Volley (1987–2012). In 1991, Edizone Holding International , a Benetton subsidiary, bought Compañía de Tierras del Sud Argentino S. A. and became the largest private landowner in Argentina after taking over the land the company had inherited from the 19th century Conquest of the Desert . Benetton has faced criticism, particularly from Mapuche organizations, over its ownership and management of traditional Mapuche lands in Patagonia . In 1997, Benetton invested in
6156-479: The death of Enzo Ferrari . Berger was also the only non-McLaren to take pole in 1988 when he sat on pole for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone . It was also the only race where both Ferrari cars were on the front row, with Alboreto qualifying only 0.199 behind his teammate. The Ferrari F1/87/88C proved troublesome for both Berger and teammate Alboreto especially in terms of fuel consumption from
6264-605: The disaster site. Of the 29 brands identified as having sourced products from the Rana Plaza factories, only nine attended meetings held in November 2013 to agree a proposal on compensation to the victims. Several companies refused to sign including Walmart, Carrefour, Bonmarché, Mango, Auchan and Kik. The agreement was signed by Primark, Loblaw, Bonmarche and El Corte Ingles. A year after the collapse, Benetton faced international protests after failing to pay any compensation to
6372-471: The entire championship, the second entry was ineligible to score points Benetton Group#Products 45°42′29″N 12°13′05″E / 45.7081087°N 12.2179756°E / 45.7081087; 12.2179756 Benetton Group S.r.l. ( Italian pronunciation: [benetˈton] ) is a global fashion brand based in Ponzano Veneto , Italy, founded in 1965. Benetton Group has
6480-496: The field with Fabi (pole) and Berger occupying the front row of the grid. The car's competitiveness improved throughout the season, particularly during the second half, as a result of this development. It also became more reliable, although this aspect remained suspect throughout the year with a total of nineteen retirements from 32 starts. The competitiveness of the Pirelli tyres also improved, and their relative durability compared to
6588-435: The five high-speed "power circuits" on the calendar: Imola , Spa , Hockenheim , Monza and the Österreichring. In addition to being the fastest car on the straights, the car was also very good through high-speed corners; Berger and Fabi were both running very well at the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch and the Austrian Grand Prix at the Österreichring . The Austrian event saw the B186s to be significantly faster than
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#17327939687576696-460: The four days of talks and presentations which makes up the 88th annual International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO) congress. Benetton Group entered Formula One as a sponsor of Tyrrell in 1983 , then Alfa Romeo in 1984 ; this arrangement was extended to both Alfa and Toleman in 1985 . Benetton Formula Ltd. was formed at the end of 1985 when the Toleman and Spirit teams were sold to
6804-630: The front and sidepods of the car, the engine cover was adorned with multi-coloured streaks on a white background. This indicated the Benetton Group's "United Colors of Benetton" brand. The team also ran with tyres that had multi-coloured sidewalls at the Detroit Grand Prix ( see infobox picture ). The sheer top-end power of the BMW engines (around 1,400 bhp (1,044 kW; 1,419 PS) in qualifying trim, with around 900 bhp (671 kW; 912 PS) for racing) ensured that
6912-407: The front running teams were running Goodyears , as neither it nor fellow-Pirelli user Brabham had managed to complete many laps during pre-season testing; the Italian company mostly relying on data from the Ligier team. Once the supply of spare parts had been assured by mid-season, the B186s were modified to incorporate a whole array of new aerodynamic features (including front and rear wings and
7020-426: The group had a loss of 100 million and accused Massimo Renon and other executives of mismanagement. Following the departure of Massimo Renon, in 2024 Claudio Sforza was appointed CEO of Benetton Group while Christian Coco became President. Benetton is known for its sports sponsorships, and for its "United Colors" advertising campaign. In 1982, Benetton hired Oliviero Toscani as creative director , which led to
7128-473: The hands of either Fabi or Berger during the course of the year; chassis number 4 was written off by the former in a crash during practice for the Canadian Grand Prix and chassis number 7 was the only race-winning B186, at the Mexican Grand Prix . The livery of the B186 reflected its ownership: in addition to the Benetton green and team sponsors (principally Sisley and Riello ) which covered
7236-409: The hypothesis. Berger later recounted further events before the 1990 Australian Grand Prix . "After dinner, we started to throw people in the swimming pool, all dressed. As I was good at defending myself, I escaped from the bath, but many people got wet. Senna ran away to avoid us from getting him, however, later, I went to his room and he awkwardly threw a glass of water at me. For a Tyrolean , that
7344-569: The imam of Egypt 's Al Azhar mosque . Benetton won the Press Grand Prix at the 2012 Cannes Ad festival for its Unhate campaign. In November 2017, Benetton launched a campaign in collaboration with Devbhumi, a company owned by rural women from India 's remote Uttarakhand region. The initiative claimed to have empowered more than 6,000 rural women artisans in India. In 2019, Benetton Group announced it would be hosting one of
7452-473: The last week of October. Nevertheless, three B186s were built in time for this race, and a further four chassis were completed during the course of the season. As had become standard practice in the sport in the 1980s, the monocoque chassis were constructed from carbon fibre . The first part of the season was chiefly concerned with producing enough spare parts for the existing cars at the expense of chassis development and improvement. All seven chassis raced in
7560-629: The late Gilles Villeneuve won the Monaco and Spanish Grands Prix in 1981 . In 1988 , the McLaren team, with twice World Champion Alain Prost and the sensationally fast Ayrton Senna dominated the season, winning 15 of the 16 rounds. The Honda V6 turbo engine in the McLaren MP4/4 , and Lotus 's 100T had superior fuel efficiency to the Ferrari, which caused both Berger and Alboreto to often drive much slower than possible in races. Berger
7668-472: The launch of that season's new F1 car, Berger and his then new teammate, Jean Alesi , decided to take a nearby roadcar for a spin. Unbeknownst to them, that roadcar was team director Jean Todt 's new specially made Lancia Y10 . Because of the view that Alesi was driving conservatively, Berger decided to apply the handbrake causing the Lancia to flip upon their return to the pits, skidding upside down centimeters away from their yet-to-be unveiled new F1 car. Alesi
7776-551: The long straight to the Bosch Kurve, the car was throwing out 1400 bhp and just kept on pushing - you felt like you were sitting on a rocket." Gerhard Berger (speaking in 2007) on the B186. The B186 finished in the points in the first three races of the season, including a podium for Berger at the San Marino Grand Prix . However, the car's underlying speed was blunted by a run of retirements for both drivers, and uncompetitive showings at events run on tight tracks such as
7884-415: The lowest turbo boost setting they had (approximately 2.0 bar) and reduce their engine's revs in order to get the cars to the finish of a race. Until changes were made to the Ferrari's V6 engine late in the season, this meant that Berger and Alboreto were often vulnerable to attack from the leading atmospheric cars, with Berger estimating that he could often only use 550 bhp (410 kW; 558 PS) of
7992-400: The mulesing controversy is available on their website. On 24 April 2013, the eight-storey Rana Plaza commercial building collapsed outside Dhaka . It housed one of the factories in which Benetton clothing was made. At least 1,130 people died. Benetton first denied reports linking production of their clothing at the factory, but clothes and documents linked to Benetton were discovered at
8100-421: The offer for a number of reasons, not least because of the new regulations for grooved tyres which the Austrian did not find inspiring. During the years that Berger was at McLaren (1990–1992), he became most famous for his humorous side. Popular accounts tell of many ingenious practical jokes thought up by the Austrian to break through to his serious, focused and unyielding teammate Ayrton Senna . Senna accepted
8208-410: The only other cars able to keep up with the Benettons at the Österreichring. Fabi took a pole position there, and a further one at Monza where problems on the warm-up lap saw him forced to start from pit lane. However, further unreliability and less efficient fuel consumption than rival engines prevented a victory. Berger finished a lap down in 5th while Fabi retired on lap 44 with a tyre blowout. During
8316-506: The pits but the fastest lap was a mere consolation. A particularly audacious pass on Damon Hill in Canada was just one example of his strong racecraft. Berger produced another aggressive drive for third having received a 10-second stop-go penalty for a jump start and then climbing up through the field from 14th position at the 1995 German Grand Prix , making a number of overtakings on the way. At Monza both Ferrari drivers were in contention for
8424-467: The plan was shelved. Benetton's position on RFID technology is also available on their website. PETA launched a boycott campaign against Benetton for buying wool from farmers who practiced mulesing . Benetton has since agreed to buy nonmulesed wool and has further urged the wool industry to adopt the PETA and Australian Wool Growers Association agreement to end mulesing. Benetton's position statement on
8532-730: The race but mechanical problems forced him to retire when leading. Success at both Suzuka and Adelaide for the Japanese and the Australian Grands Prix , including pole positions in both events and the fastest lap in Adelaide , ensured Ferrari and Berger went into the winter season with boosted confidence and both team and driver were tipped as favourites for the 1988 Championship. As he had done to Fabi in 1986, Berger out-qualified teammate Alboreto 12–4 in 1987. Berger's wins also gave Ferrari its first back to back victories since
8640-615: The rest of the field before having to slow just to finish (at the halfway mark he was in 2nd place, 50 seconds in front of 3rd placed Nigel Mansell). Ultimately he finished in 9th position, having fallen from 5th after running out of fuel coming out of the Woodcote chicane on the last lap, with Alboreto already having run out of fuel 3 laps from the finish. In the space of 200 metres Berger was passed by Nelson Piquet (Lotus), Derek Warwick and Eddie Cheever (Arrows) and Riccardo Patrese (Williams). Both Ferrari drivers were often forced to use
8748-532: The season in 20th place having scored 3 points in the last two races of the year in South Africa and Australia . It was not until joining Benetton in 1986 that his F1 career took off. Finally in a car that allowed him to exploit both his talent and the exceptional power of the BMW turbo engine (1,400 bhp (1,044 kW; 1,419 PS) in qualifying in 1986), coupled with a clever Pirelli tyre strategy, Berger won his first Grand Prix in Mexico using
8856-462: The season, his final race seeing him finish a very close fourth in Jerez only seconds behind the victor Mika Häkkinen. In his final season as a Formula One driver, Berger and Alesi out-qualified each other 7 times each with the Austrian missing three races due to illness. Rumours of a Ferrari return for 1998 were false. Sauber offered Berger a drive for 1998 to partner Alesi, but the Austrian turned down
8964-699: The start of a Grand Prix. At the season ending 1985 Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide , Berger had to obtain permission from the FIA , FOCA , and from Arrows team to race in a Group A touring car race which was a support category for the weekend. He needed the permission as the Grand Prix was scheduled to start at 2 pm on Sunday, 3 November and the Group A race was to start at 3 pm on the Saturday. Driving an ex-Schnitzer BMW 635 CSi (that had finished 2nd behind his own at
9072-456: The strain placed on the chassis by the enormous power of the BMW engine, and less competitive on slower circuits where the power did not count for as much and the turbo lag of the 4 cylinder engine made it slower on low down acceleration than the V6 turbos of Honda , TAG, Ferrari and Renault . The team was also initially disadvantaged by its partnership with the tyre supplier Pirelli , when most of
9180-532: The team's 1990 and 1991 constructors' titles. Berger retired in 1997 with 10 wins, 12 pole positions, 21 fastest laps and 48 podiums in Formula One. Berger returned to Formula One in 2006 as the co-owner of Toro Rosso , before selling his 50% share back to Red Bull at the end of the 2008 season. Gerhard Berger was born in Wörgl , Austria. His father Johann worked in his own truck company with Gerhard later working for his father and before being promoted to
9288-523: The team's two vastly different drivers: the short (approximately 1.68 metres (5.5 ft)) Teo Fabi and the 1.83 metres (6.0 ft) tall Gerhard Berger . The deal between Benetton and Toleman was only agreed in October 1985, leaving precious little time before the first race of the 1986 season on March 23 in Brazil . Byrne only started designing the B186 when the engine-supply deal was made with BMW in
9396-424: The traditional gear stick transmission used in all other F1 cars in 1989. With the exception of the Australian Grand Prix where both Ferrari drivers had poor qualifying sessions, Berger featured in the top four in qualifying and races in all of the remaining Grands Prix but poor reliability and accidents meant that he only finished three races all year (by mid-season the problem with the semi-automatic transmission
9504-405: The turbocharged Hart 415T engine in qualifying and about 200 bhp (149 kW; 203 PS) more in race trim and thus put more stress on the chassis. Indeed, in terms of maximum horsepower, the BMW engines provided to Benetton, Brabham and Arrows were the most powerful in the series. One of the main challenges faced by Byrne and the Benetton design team was to produce a comfortable cockpit for
9612-480: The usual frontrunning teams such as Williams , McLaren and Lotus , and the team was set for a dominant 1-2 finish until Fabi over-revved his engine by lifting his rear wheels off the ground on a kerb, causing it to fail several laps later, and home town hero Berger's battery failed, causing him to lose five laps in the pits having a new one fitted. The McLaren and Williams cars- two of the other most aerodynamically efficient cars (although slightly down on power) - were
9720-529: The wall before catching fire. It took 16 seconds for a rescue crew to reach the Ferrari and put the fire out. Suffering remarkably few injuries, notably burns to his hands and some broken ribs, Berger was able to make it back to the cockpit at the Mexican Grand Prix after missing just the Monaco Grand Prix . Berger attributed this to Ferrari's unique semi-automatic paddle-shift gearbox, saying that his return would have been delayed if Ferrari still used
9828-428: The win, when an on-board camera on Jean Alesi 's Ferrari fell into the path of Berger and smashed the Austrian's front suspension after damaging Alesi's car. The departure of both Alesi and Berger from Ferrari to Benetton also spelt the end of the number 27 and 28 era for Ferrari that stretched back to 1981 with Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi only interrupted by the signing of 1989 world champion Alain Prost for
9936-647: The win. He sold his share back to Mateschitz in November 2008. In 2012 Berger was appointed President of the FIA Single Seat Commission. He left the role in December 2014. In March 2017, Berger became chairman of ITR, the promoter of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters . Berger's helmet originally was blue with yellow lines and azure and white details near the visor. In 1986, during his first spell at Benetton he used
10044-544: The year but was still enough to give him 7th in the championship after being 3rd in 1988. The improvement in form from Ferrari came too late though. At the British Grand Prix it was announced that Alain Prost would leave McLaren at the end of the season to join the Scuderia while Berger decided to sign for McLaren who, with their Honda V10 engines, was at the time the best and fastest team in Grand Prix racing. From 1990 to 1992 Berger joined Ayrton Senna at McLaren. His arrival
10152-415: Was actually some 20 km/h (12 mph) slower through the speed trap). However, the handling of the chassis did not match this in the first part of the season as the team struggled with the 'light switch' power delivery of the BMW engine. The handling was eventually sorted but the car was often not on the ultimate pace of the front runners. The cars were also unreliable due to a shortage of spare parts and
10260-501: Was bought by Renault for US$ 120 million in 2000 and was rebranded Renault F1 in 2002. In 1979, Benetton first sponsored their (then amateur) local rugby team, A.S. Rugby Treviso. Benetton Rugby has since become a major force in Italian rugby, with 11 league titles and supplying many players to the national team. Benetton Group was the main sponsor and majority owner of basketball club Pallacanestro Treviso (then known as Benetton Basket) during its golden era from 1982 to 2012, when
10368-472: Was forced to retire. In 1994, Berger recovered from the deaths of close friend Senna and countryman Roland Ratzenberger at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix , to score an emotional win at Hockenheim for the 1994 German Grand Prix in the Ferrari 412T , the first win for Ferrari since the 1990 Spanish Grand Prix . Berger also scored two pole positions in 1994, the first at Hockenheim and then at Estoril for
10476-616: Was found to be not enough power from the battery which was fixed with the help of team sponsor, electrical experts Magneti Marelli). His first points of the year didn't come until he finished in second place in Round 12 at the Italian Grand Prix . He won the next race in Portugal which was overshadowed by the accident involving Mansell and Senna, and then finished second at the next race in Spain . These races were in fact his only points scored for
10584-423: Was going to go all out and run as fast as he could without worrying about running out of fuel to give a good show for the fans. He did just that and after passing Senna for 2nd on lap 3, he set numerous fastest laps before finally catching and passing Prost on lap 14. From there he put some 5 seconds between himself and Prost before being taken out by Arnoux on lap 28. Berger out-qualified Alboreto in all 16 events for
10692-555: Was last seen being evicted by the Argentine National Gendarmerie from the disputed area in August 2017. His body was found two months later. Benetton aroused suspicion when they considered using RFID tracking chips on clothes to monitor inventory. A boycott site alleges the tracking chips "can be read from a distance and used to monitor the people wearing them." Issues of consumer privacy were raised, and
10800-447: Was met with great anticipation as he had proven great form for Benetton and Ferrari. A McLaren - Honda seemed to offer Berger a genuine chance at the world championship for the first time. However, although generally quicker than his predecessor Alain Prost in relation to Senna in qualifying (he often qualified 2nd behind Senna), he was rarely able to match the Brazilian's pace during races. He took three wins in these three seasons, gifted
10908-431: Was nothing, but it did mean that the game was now on. With a hose, we improvised an extension to the fire extinguisher and we put it under his room door at three in the morning. We invited some people to watch and when we pushed the lever, Senna flew out of the window like a rocket. It looked like a bomb had exploded inside the room. The confusion woke many people up, who started to scream at Senna for making so much noise. He
11016-545: Was sent to the hospital. Later when Todt enquired about his roadcar, Berger conceded the two had put some "slight curb marks on the roof". The strong connection between Senna and Berger has extended beyond the Brazilian's death in 1994. Berger later acted as an advisor to Bruno Senna , Ayrton's nephew, who made his Formula One debut with the HRT F1 Team in the 2010 World Championship, and subsequently switched to Williams . A hugely popular figure in Formula One, Berger
11124-464: Was terribly embarrassed." In an Australian hotel room Berger filled Senna's bed with frogs. Senna, understandably infuriated, confronted Berger, who replied, "Did you find the snake?" This incident prompted retaliation by Senna, who then proceeded to put a strong smelling French cheese in the air conditioning unit of Berger's room. On another occasion, Senna and Brazilian compatriot Maurício Gugelmin decided to fill Berger's shoes with shaving foam on
11232-516: Was the new "lay-down" version of its M12/13 engine, designed for the revolutionary Brabham BT55 chassis, whilst the standard "upright" version was supplied to Benetton and the Arrows team. Both the BMW M12/13 and Hart engines used the 4 in-line configuration using roughly the same turbo and exhaust set up, meaning that not too many adjustments needed to be made to the general design concept of
11340-467: Was the only driver to break the McLaren stranglehold in 1988, winning the Italian Grand Prix after Senna tangled with Jean-Louis Schlesser , who had temporarily replaced Nigel Mansell (who was sick with chicken pox ) in the Williams - Judd . Alboreto made it a Ferrari 1–2, finishing only half a second behind the Austrian. This was a particularly poignant victory for the team, as it came just weeks after
11448-576: Was third position at the 1993 Hungarian Grand Prix . Berger had a number of spectacular incidents during the season including a clash with Michael Andretti at the start of the 1993 Brazilian Grand Prix and a dramatic impact with the armco at the 1993 Portuguese Grand Prix having just exited the pits. The 1993 Monaco Grand Prix was perhaps where Berger displayed his fighting qualities best of all, obtaining second fastest lap before he attempted an opportunistic move on Damon Hill 's Williams at Loews hairpin while challenging for second position. The Austrian
11556-483: Was up until 2003 regularly seen in the pitlane in his new capacity as Competitions Director at BMW , overseeing their successful return to Formula One in 2000. Berger was the first to drive a F1 car on the new Shanghai Grand Prix circuit when he demonstrated a 2003 Ferrari F2003-GA . On 25 April 2004, 10 years after Ayrton Senna 's death, Berger drove the JPS Lotus Renault 97T , which Senna had used in
11664-575: Was usually the quickest team using Pirelli tyres, although the more reliable Ligier team scored more points with their turbocharged Renault V6 engines . This was a surprise to BMW and Pirelli, who had both expected the radical, low-line Brabham BT55 designed by Gordon Murray , to be their fastest customer. The B186 was replaced by the Ford turbo powered B187 for the 1987 season. ( key ) (Results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap.) The current known locations of
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