[2] The Benetton Group entered Formula One as a sponsor company for constructor Tyrrell in 1983,[3] then Alfa Romeo in 1984 and 1985 and finally Toleman in 1985.

[5] Teo Fabi was retained as a driver and Piercarlo Ghinzani was replaced by Gerhard Berger, who joined from Arrows.

[7] The B186 demonstrated its pace throughout the season, with Berger securing the team's first podium finish at Imola and a front-row start in Belgium.

Fabi claimed two consecutive pole positions in Austria and Italy, before Berger achieved the Witney-based team's first victory in Mexico, almost half a minute ahead of his nearest competitor.

[9] Berger left the team for Ferrari at the end of 1986 and was replaced at Benetton by his former Arrows teammate Thierry Boutsen.

With the Haas Lola team folding at the end of 1986, Benetton was able to take over its factory supply of turbocharged Ford engines.

The B188 became the team's first naturally-aspirated car as Ford wished to concentrate development in light of the upcoming ban on turbocharged engines.

Despite achieving some impressive results, including 4th place in his first race, he was dropped by the team after failing to qualify for the Canadian Grand Prix as it became clear he had still not fully recovered.

[20] Pirro was dropped in favour of three-time world champion Nelson Piquet, who had left the struggling Lotus team.

Benetton sought a young driver for the team's future, and believed neither Moreno nor the ageing Piquet could fill this role.

After Michael Schumacher had impressed in his debut for Jordan at the Belgian Grand Prix, he was hired by Benetton for the following race in place of Moreno.

Benetton's new car was once again delayed, with the team using an upgraded B191 for the first three races of the season in which Schumacher achieved two podium finishes.

The B193 was similar in competitiveness to its predecessor, taking a single victory in the hands of Schumacher at the Portuguese Grand Prix and finishing 3rd in the championship for the fourth time in the team's history.

The B194 was dominant in the hands of Schumacher, winning six of the first seven races including the tragedy-marred 1994 San Marino Grand Prix and taking Benetton's first pole positions since 1986.

Schumacher finished 2nd at the British Grand Prix, but was deemed to have overtaken Damon Hill on the formation lap and then ignored black flags.

Another disqualification came for Schumacher after he finished 1st at the Belgian Grand Prix; his car was measured as having an illegal amount of wear on its skid block.

In an attempt to win the constructors' championship, Benetton replaced Verstappen with the more experienced Johnny Herbert for the final two races of the season, marking his return to the team.

Herbert was retained alongside Schumacher, whilst test driver Verstappen was loaned to the struggling Simtek team.

The car was outclassed by the Williams FW17 in the early season, with the team's poor performance culminating in Schumacher crashing out from pole position at Imola.

[32] He went on to dominate the remainder of the season, taking nine wins from seventeen races in total and claiming his second world title.

[33] Benetton began racing under Italian nationality for the 1996 season, but remained based in the United Kingdom.

Despite being contracted to race for Benetton, Schumacher left early to join Ferrari, citing the team's actions in 1994 as his reason for opting out.

Williams returned to dominance in 1996 and Schumacher's departure allowed Ferrari to compete for race wins, leaving Benetton struggling.

By 1997, technical director Ross Brawn and chief designer Rory Byrne, as well as numerous other staff, had left Benetton to join Schumacher at Ferrari.

Berger was forced to miss three races due to illness and the death of his father; his replacement was rookie test driver Alexander Wurz.

Test driver Wurz was promoted to a full-time seat, partnering Giancarlo Fisichella who left Jordan.

Chief executive Flavio Briatore was removed and replaced by former World Rally Champion and Prodrive boss David Richards.

All three of these podiums were scored by Fisichella; Wurz struggled with the car and only claimed a single points finish with 5th place in Italy.

Continued chassis development allowed Benetton to leave Formula One on something of a high, and the cars' performance lifted.

The Benetton family wanted this change of nationality to have their Formula One team flying the flag of their own country.