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# Podcast: F1's 'rebel champion' team risks becoming forgettable
- URL: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/the-race-f1-podcast-benetton-alpine-renault/
- Published: 2023-09-28T10:54:00.000Z
- Updated: 2023-10-18T09:43:12.000Z
- Description: A team that has been everything to F1 over the past few decades finds itself treading water in the shackles of midfield mediocrity
- Author: The Race Team
- Tags: Formula 1, #williams, #mclaren, #bringbackv10s, #ferrari

The team that broke Williams and McLaren's decade-long monopoly on Formula 1 championship wins in the mid-1990s wasn't mighty Ferrari, but an upstart outsider owned by an Italian clothing brand.

Benetton is the subject of a new book - [Benetton: Rebels of Formula 1](https://www.evropublishing.com/products/benetton?ref=the-race.com) \- by motorsport journalist and author Damien Smith, and he's the special guest on the latest episode of The Race F1 podcast.

Smith joins host Edd Straw and Matt Beer to discuss what drew him to the Benetton story, and to give his take on the team's pair of championship successes under first that identity, then as Renault's works team, and on some of the key (and most controversial) characters in those stories.

The former Benetton team's latest new identity is Alpine but though it has a - fortunate - grand prix win under that name, it looks a long way away from recapturing its title-challenging form.

Our panel move from the Enstone team's glorious past to its fraught present, and explain why they're all sceptical about its chances of getting back to the front without substantial change or perhaps fresh ownership.

The Race F1 Podcast is available free to subscribe to from all good podcast suppliers, including [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-race-f1-podcast/id1495557562?ref=the-race.com) and [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/5jYPRckNa9oSZAiuURm8WZ?ref=the-race.com).