Benetton B197
.jpg) A B197 issued |
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| Constructor: |
 Benetton
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| Designer: |
Pat Symonds (technical director) Nick Wirth (engineer) James Allison , Jean-Claude Migeot (aerodynamics) |
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| Predecessor: | Benetton B196 | ||||||||
| Successor: | Benetton B198 | ||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||
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| Chassis: | Honeycomb sandwich -Monocoque from CFK | ||||||||
| Engine: |
Renault F1 RS9A, 3,000 cm³, 71 ° -V10 naturally aspirated engine Renault F1 RS9B, 3,000 cm³, 71 ° -V10 naturally aspirated engine |
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| Front suspension: | Double wishbone axle with internal springs and three shock absorbers , operated via push rods | ||||||||
| Rear suspension: | Double wishbone axle with internal springs and two shock absorbers , operated via push rods | ||||||||
| Weight: | 600 kg (including driver) | ||||||||
| Tires: | Goodyear | ||||||||
| Petrol: | Agip | ||||||||
| statistics | |||||||||
| Driver: |
 Jean Alesi Gerhard Berger Alexander Wurz
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| First start: | 1997 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||
| Last start: | 1997 European Grand Prix | ||||||||
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| World Cup points: | 67 | ||||||||
| Podiums: | 8th | ||||||||
| Leadership laps: | 79 over 481,302 km | ||||||||
The Benetton B197 was the 15th Formula 1 - racing cars from Benetton . The B197 was used in the 1997 season and designed by Pat Symonds . The car was powered by a Renault F1 -RS9A / B-V10 engine with a displacement of 3 liters. The tires came from the American tire company Goodyear , the fuel from Agip .
Technology and development
The team worked on eliminating the chassis errors identified the year before and adapting the car to the two drivers. Since the Renault engine was new in 1997, all parts of the car had to be largely re-analyzed and manufactured, so the car was not considered a pure evolutionary stage. Wirth and Byrne worked on the car together, with Graham Heard coordinating the work. Among other things, Heard was responsible for the transmission, weak point analysis and mechanical design departments.
The engine was the most revised, the cylinder bank angle was increased from 67 ° to 71 °, the center of gravity sank by 14 millimeters, the height was reduced by 27 millimeters and the engine weighed 121 kilograms around eleven less than the previous year's model. Despite the extensive changes, the reliability of the engine was outstanding, not once did you have to give up during the year due to engine problems. The engine achieved around 551 kW (750 hp ) at a speed of 17,000 revolutions per minute. Williams also used this engine in the Williams FW19 . With the new engine, the aerodynamicists were able to revise the rear. To do this, tests were carried out in the wind tunnels of the Defense Research Agency in Farnborough and at Fondmetal in Casumaro , where Minardi also tested their M197s .
An independently developed sequential semi-automatic transmission with six gears was used as the transmission, a hydraulic differential and power steering were also developed.
Racing history
The structure of the technology department of the Benetton team was new: Ross Brawn , the previous technical director, had switched to Ferrari and the engineer Rory Byrne ended his career in formula racing after the winter tests. It was later revealed that he was still continuing at Ferrari alongside Ross Brawn. To replace them, Pat Symonds rose as technical director and Nick Wirth as designer. Symmonds had previously been on the Benetton team and was promoted, just like Wirth, who worked as a race engineer for Gerhard Berger after Simtek went bankrupt . About 90 percent of all parts required are manufactured in the Enstone factory , and about 240 employees work for the team. The car was unveiled on January 23, 1997 at the Planet Hollywood nightclub in London . The budget for the season was around $ 50 million (roughly $ 78 million today, adjusted for inflation).
The car was competitive, so Berger was able to set the fastest time of all drivers in the winter training with 1: 21.273 min. However, the main problem with the car was that it was difficult to bring the tires to the optimum operating temperature. This was particularly evident in qualifying, where you could only get two pole positions over the year. In the race, however, they were able to improve on average by two positions compared to qualifying and celebrate one last victory at the race in Germany .
Painting and sponsorship
The basic color was unchanged white-blue with light and dark blue and red accents. The main sponsor was Mild Seven , the logo of the cigarette brand was placed on the airbox, the nose, the front wing and on the side next to the driver; the blue tones also resulted from the sponsorship. The engine cover was provided with blue-red-yellow-green stripes and was used for self-promotion for United Colors of Benetton , the name of the fashion brand was also found on the rear wing and the cross struts. Because of the two Austrian drivers, the A1 Telekom Austria logo was on the headrest.
The logo of the South Korean national airline Korean Air was positioned on the side in front of the air inlets, the logo of the electronics company Akai on the air deflectors in front of them and the logo of FedEx on the side coolers themselves . Akai also established the red accents on the car.
driver
Last year's drivers Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger were retained as drivers . The Austrian Alexander Wurz was registered as a substitute driver, who also drove three races in the middle of the season as a substitute for the injured Berger.
Further use of the chassis
Two B197s have entered the BOSS GP racing series for the 2018 season, each driven by British Phil Stratford and Austrian Bernd Herndlhofer . This racing series includes two Toro Rosso STR1s , a Minardi PS04B , an Arrows A22 and a Super Aguri SA06 .
Results
| driver | No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14th | 15th | 16 | 17th | Points | rank |
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| Formula 1 World Championship 1997 |
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67 | 3. | |
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J. Alesi
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7th | DNF | 6th | 7th | 5 | DNF | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 6th | 11 | 8th | 2 | DNF | 2 | 5 | 13 | ||
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G. Berger
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8th | 4th | 2 | 6th | DNF | 9 | 10 | INJ | INJ | INJ | 1 | 8th | 6th | 7th | 10 | 4th | 8th | 4th | ||
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A. Wurz
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8th | DNF | DNF | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Legend | ||
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| colour | abbreviation | meaning |
| gold | - | victory |
| silver | - | 2nd place |
| bronze | - | 3rd place |
| green | - | Placement in the points |
| blue | - | Classified outside the point ranks |
| violet | DNF | Race not finished (did not finish) |
| NC | not classified | |
| red | DNQ | did not qualify |
| DNPQ | failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify) | |
| black | DSQ | disqualified |
| White | DNS | not at the start (did not start) |
| WD | withdrawn | |
| Light Blue | PO | only participated in the training (practiced only) |
| TD | Friday test driver | |
| without | DNP | did not participate in the training (did not practice) |
| INJ | injured or sick | |
| EX | excluded | |
| DNA | did not arrive | |
| C. | Race canceled | |
| no participation in the World Cup | ||
| other | P / bold | Pole position |
| SR / italic | Fastest race lap | |
| * | not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered |
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| () | Streak results | |
| underlined | Leader in the overall standings | |
Web links
Racing car from the 1997 Formula 1 World Championship
