Team Enstone

Team Enstone
Formula One World Championship career
Constructors'
Championships		3 (1995 United Kingdom Benetton, 2005 France Renault, 2006 France Renault)
Drivers'
Championships		4 (1994 United Kingdom Benetton, 1995 United Kingdom Benetton, 2005 France Renault, 2006 France Renault)

"Team Enstone" is the colloquial name for a Formula One team based in Britain which has competed under five different identities and three different nationalities and been owned by various companies during its history; its name comes from the village of Enstone in Oxfordshire, where it has been based since late-1991, having previously operated out of Witney.[1][2][3] The team's factory is called the Whiteways Technical Centre,[4] and is one of several Formula One team bases located in relatively close proximity to the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire.[5] As of the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix,[6] forty-five drivers have competed for the five different constructors in the lineage in 777 Grands Prix, winning fifty of them.[1][7] The outfit has been noted for its frequent changes of identity.[1][8] The organisation won the Formula One World Constructors' Championship as Benetton Formula in 1995 and as Renault F1 Team in 2005 and 2006.[9] Although the organisation has changed names several times, it has legally remained the same company since the 1980s.[10][11]

Team Enstone factory in 2015

The original constructor in the lineage was Toleman, which competed in other categories of motor racing during the 1970s, initially operating out of a workshop in Kidlington and moving into the Witney factory ahead of the 1980 European Formula Two Championship,[12] before entering Formula One starting from the 1981 Formula One World Championship.[13] Toleman was sponsored by the Benetton Group fashion brand before being purchased by the company ahead of the 1986 Formula One World Championship; the organisation was rebranded into a new constructor called Benetton Formula.[14] Although officially a different constructor, Benetton was still effectively the same team as Toleman.[15] The purchase took place in the first half of 1985, leading the team's staff to consider that season to be the first season of the Benetton era even if the record books still name them as Toleman during that year.[16] The Benetton Group being Italian was perceived as easing Toleman in securing a tyre supply from Pirelli, and it was considered important to find a buyer that would retain the design team led by Rory Byrne.[17] Benetton initially continued to race under a British licence, before switching to an Italian licence for the 1996 Formula One World Championship.[18][19]

French car-maker Renault purchased the outfit in March 2000 and renamed it to the Renault F1 Team for the 2002 Formula One World Championship.[14][20] Renault sold a seventy-five percent stake in the organisation to Genii Capital ahead of the 2010 Formula One World Championship,[21] before selling the remaining twenty-five percent to Genii a year later, with Lotus Cars becoming the Renault team's title sponsor for the 2011 Formula One World Championship.[22][23] While the team switched from a French to a British licence, they continued to officially compete as Renault in 2011.[24] From the 2012 Formula One World Championship the team represented a new constructor called Lotus F1, whose cars chassis designations contained an "E" which stood for "Enstone".[22][25] Renault repurchased the team from Genii at the end of the 2015 Formula One World Championship, and the Renault F1 Team name returned for the 2016 Formula One World Championship.[26] For the 2021 Formula One World Championship, Renault renamed the team after their subsidiary marque Automobiles Alpine to the Alpine F1 Team.[27]

  1. ^ a b c Straw, Edd (21 August 2021). "Every 'Team Enstone' F1 driver ranked". The Race. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  2. ^ Newbold, James (23 April 2021). "The hidden hero behind Alonso's Enstone F1 glory years". Autosport. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  3. ^ Smith, Damien (25 March 2021). "Formula One team guide 2021". Autocar. Archived from the original on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  4. ^ Weaver, Paul (8 February 2016). "Jolyon Palmer: 'F1 teams don't just take you for your name'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  5. ^ Barretto, Lawrence (26 June 2013). "Britain's Motorsport Valley – the home of Formula 1". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Alpine". Forix. Autosport. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  7. ^ Kelly, Sean (1 August 2021). "Hungarian GP Facts & Stats: Ocon secures first French triple since Prost – and there's a new record for Alonso". Formula One website. Liberty Media. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  8. ^ Parkes, Ian (2 February 2016). "Analysis: 'Special' Enstone gets its reward with Renault F1 era". Autosport. Archived from the original on 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  9. ^ Smith, Damien (1 March 2023). "'Back to old Benetton' — can Alpine avoid mediocre history repeating?". Motor Sport magazine. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Alpine Racing Limited company number 01806337". Companies House. 28 June 2021. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021. If someone with a better knowledge of these things could look into the Inremco 60 situation that would be much appreciated.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  11. ^ "Special resolution of Toleman Group Motorsport Limited". Companies House. 29 January 1986. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021. This document states that the legal name of the company was "Toleman Group Motorsport Limited" and not "Inremco 60 Limited" immediately before it changed its name to "Benetton Formula Limited".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  12. ^ Codling, Stuart (16 May 2022). "The underdog F1 squad that thrust Senna into the limelight". Autosport. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  13. ^ Rencken, Dieter (10 March 2021). "How Alpine is defying Formula 1 tradition in its pursuit of success". Race Fans. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  14. ^ a b Diepraam, Mattijs (12 March 2010). "Identity changes in Grand Prix racing". 8W (Forix). Autosport. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  15. ^ Jenkinson, Denis (March 1986). "The Formula One Scene". Motor Sport magazine. Vol. 62, no. 3. p. 252.
  16. ^ Smith, Damien (30 September 2023). "Ranking the top 10 Benetton F1 drivers". Autosport. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  17. ^ Smith, Damien (2 October 2023). "The salvation story behind Benetton's emergence as an F1 team". Autosport. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  18. ^ "Will Benetton's nationalism cause problems?". GrandPrix.com. 1 January 1996. Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2006.
  19. ^ "Benetton to race under Italian colours". New Straits Times. 29 November 1995. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  20. ^ Fahquar, Gordon (16 March 2000). "Renault return after Benetton deal". BBC News. Archived from the original on 29 July 2003. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  21. ^ Benson, Andrew (16 December 2009). "Renault will stay in Formula 1 despite selling its team". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  22. ^ a b Smith, Damien (22 September 2021). "The floundering fortunes of F1's many Lotus reboots". Autosport. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  23. ^ "Renault F1 team to be renamed Lotus Renault GP in 2011". BBC Sport. 8 December 2010. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  24. ^ Noble, Jonathan (13 January 2011). "Renault to switch to British licence". Autosport. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  25. ^ Elizalde, Pablo (27 January 2012). "Lotus names 2012 F1 challenger". Autosport. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  26. ^ Parkes, Ian (3 December 2015). "Renault confirms works Formula 1 return with Lotus takeover". Autosport. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  27. ^ Balfour, Andrew (1 May 2021). "Team Enstone: tracing the roots of the Alpine F1 team". F1 Experiences. Liberty Media. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.