fbpx

United poles of Benetton

27. Jun 2022 
by Ziv Knoll
5013 views

After entering F1 by sponsoring the Tyrrell team, Luciano Benetton bought end of 1984 the Toleman team and Spirit’s Pirelli contract that he transferred to his newly owned team.

The Benetton-sponsored Toleman TG185-Hart of 1985, designed by Rory Byrne, was never truly reliable, but Teo Fabi(picture above) one-lap speed lead to the marque’s only pole position, at the German Formula One Grand Prix at the new Nurburgring.

No luck for the Italian though: starting on pole, Fabi’s car struggled on the first lap with a slipping clutch and he was forced to retire on lap 29. The team failed to score any points and Fabi only finished twice a race during the 1985 season.

The Italian scored two more poles in Benetton colours. He gained a reputation for being most competitive on faster circuits and struggling on slower, technical courses.

Indeed in 1986, driving the Benetton B186-BMW and its 1400 bhp in qualifying (picture below), the little Italian scored pole at the two fastest circuits on the calendar, at Zeltweg and Monza (picture below), but failed to convert these in victories.

 

Source: LAT Images

Leave a comment