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.
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 the BMW engined cars that season could produce 1,350+ hp in qualifying trim, and about 900hp 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.
Concept
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 the Toleman TG186, was simply renamed as the Benetton B186.[2] Also, despite the team being Italian owned, they remained based at its Witney headquarters in England.[3] 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.[4] The focus of BMW for 1986 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.[5]
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 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 1,400bhp (1,044kW; 1,419PS)turbocharged BMW engine was about 600bhp (447kW; 608PS) more powerful than the turbocharged Hart 415T engine in qualifying and about 200bhp (149kW; 203PS) more in race trim and thus put more stress on the chassis.[3] Indeed, in terms of maximum horsepower, the BMW engines provided to Benetton, Brabham and Arrows were the most powerful in the series.[5] One of the main challenges faced by Byrne and the Benetton design team was to produce a comfortable cockpit for the team's two vastly different drivers: the short (approximately 1.68 metres (5.5ft)) Teo Fabi and the 1.83 metres (6.0ft) tall Gerhard Berger.[3]
Construction
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.[4] Byrne only started designing the B186 when the engine-supply deal was made with BMW in the last week of October.[5] Nevertheless, three B186s were built in time for this race, and a further four chassis were completed during the course of the season.[6] 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.[4] All seven chassis raced in 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.[6]
The livery of the B186 reflected its ownership: in addition to the Benetton green and team sponsors (principally Sisley and Riello) which covered the front and sidepods of the car, the engine cover was adorned with multi-coloured streaks on a white background.[5] 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).
Development
The sheer top-end power of the BMW engines (around 1,400bhp (1,044kW; 1,419PS) in qualifying trim, with around 900bhp (671kW; 912PS) for racing)[7] ensured that 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 352km/h (219mph) (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 was actually some 20km/h (12mph) slower through the speed trap).[8] 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.[4] The cars were also unreliable due to a shortage of spare parts and the strain placed on the chassis by the enormous power of the BMW engine,[3] 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 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.[4]
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 a revised underbody), new suspension packages, and revised setup concepts.[4] The chassis was also strengthened further to cope with the stress caused by the power of the BMW engine.[3] 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 the field with Fabi (pole) and Berger occupying the front row of the grid.[5] The car's competitiveness improved throughout the season, particularly during the second half, as a result of this development.[4] 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 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.
Racing history
"Rory worked with the front wing endplates so we had 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 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."
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 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.[10] The B186 was a very aerodynamically efficient car and enabled it to be most competitive in terms of raw pace at 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 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 the only other cars able to keep up with the Benettons at the Österreichring.[5] 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 the 2nd Qualifying session at Monza, Berger's B186 was speed trapped at a season's fastest 351.22km/h (218.24mph) while Fabi was second having been clocked at 349.85km/h (217.39mph). 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 suspendedWilliams-Honda of Nelson Piquet who recorded 352.135km/h (218.807mph) in qualifying at Monza for 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 a result of stops or other mechanical issues.[11] 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.[4] 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 was usually the quickest team using Pirelli tyres, although the more reliable Ligier team scored more points with their turbocharged RenaultV6 engines.[4] 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.[5] The B186 was replaced by the Ford turbo powered B187 for the 1987 season.
Complete Formula One results
(key) (Results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap.)
1986 Benetton B186 BMW Formula 1 car (chassis 5) being tested at Mallala Motorsport Park in South Australia in 2016Engine cover of Benetton B186 BMW Formula 1 car
The current known locations of the B186 chassis are as follows:
The German automobile manufacturer/brand BMW has been involved in Formula One in a number of capacities since the inauguration of the World Drivers' Championship in 1950. The company entered occasional races in the 1950s and 1960s, before building the BMW M12/13 inline-four turbocharged engine in the 1980s. This engine was the result of a deal between BMW and Brabham, which resulted in the team's chassis being powered by BMW engines from 1982 until 1987, a period in which Nelson Piquet won the 1983 championship driving a Brabham BT52-BMW. BMW also supplied the M12/13 on a customer basis to the ATS, Arrows, Benetton and Ligier teams during this period, with various degrees of success. In 1988, Brabham temporarily withdrew from the sport and BMW withdrew its official backing from the engines, which were still used by the Arrows team under the Megatron badge. Turbocharged engines were banned by the revised Formula One Technical Regulations for 1989, rendering the M12/13 obsolete.
Gerhard Berger 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.
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 2000 and 2001 seasons. In 2002, the team became Renault. The Benetton Formula team was chaired by Alessandro Benetton from 1988 to 1998.
The 1984 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on 3 June 1984. It was race 6 of 16 in the 1984 FIA Formula One World Championship. It was the only race of the 1984 championship that was run in wet weather.
The 1985 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on the Adelaide Street Circuit in Adelaide on 3 November 1985. The sixteenth and final race of the 1985 Formula One World Championship, it was the 50th running of the Australian Grand Prix and the first to be held on the streets of Adelaide on a layout specifically designed for the debut of the World Championship in Australia. The race was held over 82 laps of the 3.780 km (2.362 mi) circuit for a total race distance of 310 kilometres. The race was won by Keke Rosberg driving a Williams-Honda; this was the final win for Rosberg, the last race for Alfa Romeo until 2019, and the last by a Finnish driver until Mika Häkkinen won the 1997 European Grand Prix.
The 1986 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Jacarepaguá in Rio de Janeiro on 23 March 1986. It was the opening race of the 1986 Formula One World Championship. It was the 15th Brazilian Grand Prix and the seventh to be held at Jacarepaguá. The race was held over 61 laps of the 5.03-kilometre (3.13 mi) circuit for a race distance of 306.9 kilometres (190.7 mi).
The 1986 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Österreichring on 17 August 1986. It was the twelfth race of the 1986 Formula One World Championship.
The 1986 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 7 September 1986. It was the thirteenth race of the 1986 Formula One World Championship.
The 1987 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 41st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1987 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1987 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contested concurrently over a sixteen-race series that commenced on 12 April and ended on 15 November.
The 1986 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 40th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1986 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1986 Formula One World Championship for Manufacturers, both of which commenced on 23 March and ended on 26 October after sixteen races. The Drivers' Championship was won by Alain Prost, Prost was the first driver to win back-to-back Drivers' Championships since Jack Brabham in 1959 and 1960. Together with Prost, Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna dominated throughout the season and formed what was dubbed as the "Gang of Four".
The 1985 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 39th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1985 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1985 Formula One World Championship for Manufacturers, both of which commenced on 7 April and ended on 3 November after sixteen races.
Teodorico Fabi is an Italian former racing driver. He competed in Formula One, IndyCar, and sports car racing. He claimed pole position in his rookie year at the 1983 Indianapolis 500. Teo is the older brother of former Formula One driver Corrado Fabi.
Motori Moderni was a Formula One engine manufacturer from 1985 through 1987. It was established in Novara by Italian engine designer Carlo Chiti.
Toleman Motorsport was a Formula One constructor based in the UK. It was active between 1981 and 1985 and participated in 70 Grands Prix.
The BMW M12/13 turbo was a 1,499.8 cc four-cylinder turbocharged Formula One engine, based on the standard BMW M10 engine introduced in 1961, and powered the F1 cars of Brabham, Arrows and Benetton. Nelson Piquet won the FIA Formula One Drivers' Championship in 1983 driving a Brabham powered by the BMW M12/13 turbo. It was the first Drivers' Championship to be won using a turbocharged engine. The engine also powered the BMW GTP and in the 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated form, the successful March Engineering Formula Two cars. BMW engineers estimated the engine produced around 1,400 hp at maximum boost, however the BMW engine dynamometer could not go beyond 1,280 bhp.
The McLaren MP4/3 was the car with which the McLaren team competed in the 1987 Formula One World Championship. The car was designed under the leadership of long-time McLaren engineer Steve Nichols, in collaboration with Neil Oatley, Gordon Kimball, Tim Wright and Bob Bell. It was also the last McLaren car to be powered by the TAG-Porsche turbo engine that had been introduced in 1983. The car was driven by double World Champion Alain Prost, in his fourth season with the team, and Stefan Johansson, who moved from Ferrari.
The Brabham BT55 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Murray and David North for the Brabham team owned by Bernie Ecclestone. It used a BMW four-cylinder turbocharged engine tilted over on its side to allow a clear supply of air to the rear wing. The car competed during the 1986 Formula One season. It was not successful and its introduction coincided with the end of Brabham's time as a competitive team.
The Benetton B190 is a Formula One racing car designed by Rory Byrne in collaboration with Benetton's Technical Director, John Barnard, a designer with experience at racing companies McLaren and Ferrari and arguably the most successful Formula One designer of the 1980s with his cars winning 31 races since 1981. Geoff Goddard, chief designer at Cosworth was responsible for designing the car's engine, which was of exclusive use for Benetton. The B190 was raced by Benetton in all but the first two races of the 1990 Formula One season.
The Toleman TG185 was a Formula One racing car designed by Rory Byrne for use by the Toleman team in the 1985 Formula One World Championship.
The Benetton B187 is a Formula One racing car designed by Rory Byrne and raced by the Benetton team in the 1987 Formula One World Championship. The B187 replaced the B186 used in the 1986 season.
↑ van de Burgt, Andrew, ed. (December 2007). "Photo Finish: The Story Behind the Picture - 1986: Austrian Grand Prix". Autosport. Vol.190, no.12. p.102.
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Teo Fabi 
Gerhard Berger 
