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Benetton. We're on top of the world in the middle of the 1990s, winning back-to-back

F-1 titles with Michael Schumacher to become F1's new elite team, sitting above Titans like Williams, McLaren and Ferrari.

But after winning the Drivers and Constructors Championships in 1995, Benetton faced a new challenge.

Schumacher was off to Ferrari and the team now had to prove its success wasn't just about the driver.

It banked on Jean Alessie as its new star, paired him up with his old Ferrari teammate, Gerhard Berger,

and for the first time since the 1980s, it failed to win a race.

So where did it all go wrong?

And was this simply a case of a Michael Schumacher hangover?

To help me, Glenn Freeman, dive into that on this episode of Bring Back V10s.

We have Matt Beer and Ben Anderson.

Matt, when you think of Benetton's first year in its post-Schumacher era in 1996,

what's the first thing that comes to mind?

It's a really vivid image of Jean Lacey going backwards, probably bits hanging off his car,

loads of tyre smokers he spins turns fruitlessly, and it could be from any one of about five races that season.

I can't even picture which one I've got in mind.

There's such a clear image of cloud of tire smoke, semi-rex Benetton, hopes going nowhere. As you just... Justin the Benetton. Yeah. Yeah. The image you're describing there to me is Melbourne, the first race, when he clatters into Eddie Irvine. That's what I thought you were describing. Yeah. I think there's at least, there's at least one moment, maybe three at Imala look almost identical in my mind as well.

So, yeah, he gave a few options.

Yeah, particularly shambolic.

The Imala race.

Ben, what about you?

Oh, for me, it's just massive relief as a David Hill fan.

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