The Benetton B200 was the car with which the
Benetton Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
team competed in the
2000 Formula One season
The 2000 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 54th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It commenced on 12 March and ended on 22 October after seventeen races. Michael Schumacher became Ferrari's first World Drivers' Champion in 21 ...
. It was driven by
Giancarlo Fisichella and
Alexander Wurz
Alexander Georg Wurz (born 15 February 1974) is an Austrian former professional racing driver, driver training expert and businessman. He competed in Formula One from until , and is also a two-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours.
He is current ...
, both in their third season with the team.
Hidetoshi Mitsusada
is a former racing driver from Japan.
Career
Mitsusada began competing in Japanese Formula Three in 1991 with Now Motor Sports and secured a podium in his first season with the team. By 1993, he continued to race with the team and won his firs ...
was appointed the teams test driver, before being dropped in May.
Design and development
The B200 was launched in January 2000 in the
Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (, English: "National Art Museum of Catalonia"), abbreviated as MNAC, is a museum of Catalan visual art located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Situated on Montjuïc hill at the end of Avinguda de la Reina M ...
alongside being broadcast on their new website that launched in the same month.
Tim Densham was appointed Chief Designer for the B200, replacing the outgoing
Nick Wirth
Nicholas John Peter Wirth (born 26 March 1966) is an automotive engineer and the founder and owner of Wirth Research.
He is also the former owner of the Simtek Formula One team, a former aerodynamicist at March and former technical director at ...
. Densham had previously worked on the aborted
Honda RA099
The Honda RA099 was a prototype Formula One racecar, commissioned by Honda, designed by ex-Ferrari and Tyrrell designer Harvey Postlethwaite and built by Dallara in 1999. Its purpose was similar to the one surrounding the Toyota TF101 of 2001, in ...
project. The B200 sought to return to basics, after the complex B199 from the season before often suffered poor reliability. The B200 featured a new engine, the
Playlife
Playlife was a fashion company based in Treviso, Italy. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Benetton Group.
History
In July 1997, Benetton Group acquired a 57% stake in Benetton Sportsystem from Edizione Holdings for 318bn lire. At this tim ...
FB02 manufactured by
Supertec
Supertec was a brand of Formula One engines supplied by Dutch company Super Performance Competition Engineering BV, managed by Flavio Briatore and Bruno Michel. Supertec engines were updated 1997 Renault RS9 units, built by Mecachrome.
In May 199 ...
, which was tailor made for the B200.
Prior to the season, the team took part in both the January testing at Barcelona and February testing at Jerez and Barcelona. In February, the team unveiled their new Human Performance Centre linked with driver development for the 2000 season.
The B200 was primarily sponsored by the
Mild Seven
, previously called , is a Japanese brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Japan Tobacco.
History
Mevius was launched in 1977 under the name Mild Seven. It was intended to be a mild version of the Seven Stars brand. It was l ...
tobacco brand, and continued to be painted in a sky blue colour. Alongside this, the team retained sponsorship from the likes of
D2, whilst adding new partners
Marconi and MTCI.
Renault
Following the first Grand Prix of the season, it was announced
Renault
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...
would purchase the Benetton team from the Benetton Family. The $120million deal, saw Renault join as a key sponsor for the B200, and successor
B201 before Renault took full ownership of the team in 2002.
Racing performance
The B200 got off to a successful start, scoring two points with Fisichella in the first race of the season. Ahead of the
Brazilian Grand Prix,
Rocco Benetton's successor
Flavio Briatore returned to the team having been appointed by Renault at Team Principal. He oversaw the team secure a podium finish, again with Fisichella, as he finished in third place at Interlagos. Days later he would be promoted to second place after
David Coulthard
David Marshall Coulthard (; born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver from Scotland, later turned presenter, commentator and journalist. Nicknamed 'DC', he competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between and , taking 13 Grand Prix vi ...
was disqualified.
After the initial success, the following three Grand Prix were barren for the team with no points scored. Prior to the European Grand Prix, the team dropped test driver Mitsusada following underperformance in
F3000
Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines.
Formula 3000 championships
...
. They quickly recruited
Antonio Pizzonia who began testing and development duties in the B200. For their backroom team, it was also announced
Mike Gascoyne would join from
Jordan Grand Prix
Jordan Grand Prix was a Formula One constructor that competed from 1991 to 2005. The team was named after Irish businessman and founder Eddie Jordan. The team was based at Silverstone, UK but raced with an Irish licence.
In early 2005, the t ...
for 2001.
At the European Grand Prix, Fisichella finished 5th adding two more points to the B200's total. He would go on to secure back to back podiums in
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
and later
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, thanks to a one stop pit strategy. However, the good fortune was short lived as he retired from four of the next five Grand Prix.
In comparison to Fisichella, Wurz had a poor season. It took until the
Italian Grand Prix
The Italian Grand Prix ( it, Gran Premio d'Italia) is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been he ...
to score his first points of the season, finishing 5th. During the season it was speculated that Pizzonia would replace him, and by August
Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver. He won the 2009 Formula One World Championship when he drove for the Brawn GP team. After his F1 career, he became champion of the 2018 season of the Super G ...
was signed for the team ahead of 2001.
Wurz's efforts at Monza would be the final points scored for the B200 in the 2000 season. The team finished fourth in the Constructors' Championship, tied with
British American Racing on 20 points, but placed ahead due to Fisichella's three podium finishes.
Following the conclusion of the season, future double Formula One World Champion
Fernando Alonso tested the Benetton B200. Future race winner
Mark Webber was appointed 2001 test driver and also completed laps in the B200, at
Estoril Circuit
The Circuito do Estoril or Autódromo do Estoril (Estoril Circuit), officially known as Autódromo Fernanda Pires da Silva, is a motorsport race track on the Portuguese Riviera, outside of Lisbon, owned by state-run holding management company Pa ...
.
Complete Formula One results
(
key) (results in bold indicate pole position)
* Denotes
Supertec
Supertec was a brand of Formula One engines supplied by Dutch company Super Performance Competition Engineering BV, managed by Flavio Briatore and Bruno Michel. Supertec engines were updated 1997 Renault RS9 units, built by Mecachrome.
In May 199 ...
-built engines, badged as
Playlife
Playlife was a fashion company based in Treviso, Italy. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Benetton Group.
History
In July 1997, Benetton Group acquired a 57% stake in Benetton Sportsystem from Edizione Holdings for 318bn lire. At this tim ...
References
B200
2000 Formula One season cars
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