The Benetton name hit the track as a car constructor in 1986 after the Italian knitwear manufacturer bought out the Toleman Grand Prix team. In that first season Gerhard Berger and Teo Fabi were chosen as drivers and it was the Austrian in particular that impressed in Rory Byrne's neat BMW-powered B186 design. The Benetton BMW has the accolade of probably being the most powerful F1 car in the history of the sport. Although no official figures were ever published it's rumoured that the car packed as much as 1300bhp in qualifying trim. Berger took the team's inaugural win in Mexico that year although he left the team to join Ferrari for the 1987 season.

For 1987 the team began an alliance with Ford that would culminate in a world championship. The team finished third in the constructors' championship in 1988 and won a race again in 1989 as Sandro Nannini took a lucky victory in the Japanese Grand Prix after Ayrton Senna was disqualified.

1992 saw Schumacher beginning to impress the F1 world with his ability. He took a slightly fortuitous first grand prix victory in that year's Belgium Grand Prix and Benetton again secured third place in the constructors' championship. '93 saw another solitary victory in the Portuguese Grand Prix for Schumacher although it was the following season that really put the team in the spotlight.

Schumacher won the first four races of the year and after Ayrton Senna's sad death in the San Marino Grand Prix, the German looked odds on for the world title. However, Damon Hill came back strongly in the second part of the year and pushed Schumacher hard. A duel which culminated in the controversial Adelaide showdown which Benetton and Schumacher won.

Ford were swapped for Renault for the year after and another world title followed, this time backed up by a constructors' championship for the team. However Schumacher left for Ferrari for the following year and the team had to settle for Ferrari's old driver squad of Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger.

Many points followed but Alesi and Berger failed to see eye-to-eye with team boss Flavio Briatore and the period was not a happy one for Benetton. Berger took the team's last victory at the 1997 German Grand Prix and sadly for the Enstone-based team, Benetton hasn't looked close to winning a grand prix since.

Giancarlo Fisichella and Alex Wurz joined the team for 1998 and both drivers remain there today trying to recapture Benetton's past glories