Mecachrome
Mecachrome is a French technology company and engine parts supplier. The company has been based in Montreal , Canada , since 2004 , with the main production facility still in France in Aubigny-sur-Nère ( Cher département ). Mecachrome became known in international motorsport primarily through its collaboration with the automobile manufacturer Renault .
formula 1
When Renault temporarily withdrew from Formula 1 after winning five Formula 1 World Championships at the end of the 1997 season, Mecachrome took over the successful Renault engines and prepared them for two customer teams for the following year. In 1998 they were used by Williams and Benetton . At Williams, the engines kept the Mecachrome designation, while Benetton named them after its sponsor Playlife . The engines had only undergone superficial development for the new season; their performance fell behind that of the Mercedes and Ferrari engines. Unlike in the previous year, none of the teams using the French engines could achieve a victory. The Mecachrome engines were widely seen as a major reason Williams and Benetton's lack of competitiveness. Williams finished the 1998 season behind McLaren and Ferrari in third in the constructors' championship, while Benetton was fifth.
In 1999, Supertec , a company founded by Flavio Briatore , took over the further development and sales of the former Renault engines. They were used by Williams, Benetton, BAR and Arrows until the 2000 season . Again, they did not achieve any victories.
More racing series
From 2005 Mecachrome took over the construction and maintenance of the engines of the GP2 series developed by Renault . In addition, the basis of this engine was also used in Le Mans prototypes . The French teams of Noël del Bello and Paul Belmondo competed in the Le Mans 24-hour race and in the Le Mans Series in 2005 and 2006 with a version of the GP2 counterpart reduced to 3.4 liters. While the contract to build GP2 engines was extended in 2008, the withdrawal of both teams in sports car racing resulted in no further buyers.
statistics
| season | Teams | Driver (points) | Grand Prix | Points | Victories | Second | Third | Poles | nice Round | World Cup placement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Williams |
 Jacques Villeneuve (21)
|
16 | 38 | - | - | 3 | - | - | 3. |
 Heinz-Harald Frentzen (17)
|
||||||||||
| Benetton |
 Giancarlo Fisichella (16)
|
16 | 33 | - | 2 | - | 1 | 1 | 5. | |
 Alexander Wurz (17)
|
||||||||||
| total | 16 | 71 | - | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | ||
literature
- Pierre Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1 . 2nd edition, St. Sulpice, 2000, ISBN 2-940125-45-7 (French)
Web links
- Mecachrome website (French / English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1 . P. 579.