Hustling a V8 Benetton F1 car round Goodwood

One very pretty example in particular – the 1993 Benetton-Ford B193B – stood out to us during Saturday’s demo, sending us on the hunt for its owner and driver, Mr Stephen Ottavianelli. Thankfully, we found our man warm, welcoming and disarmingly down-to-earth. Affording us the opportunity to find out everything we wanted to know about the iconic-liveried B193B.

“It was driven by Michael Schumacher and Riccardo Patrese in the 1993 Formula 1 season. The car is pretty much completely original. Original engine and gearbox. We're just running different software from what they did in 1993.”

In stark contrast to the bloated cars racing today, this little machine weighs just 485 kilos fully fueled, while the Ford-Cosworth V8 engine pushes out 700PS (514kW), which translates to a bonkers 1,400PS per ton. Today the car is fitted with a smaller ten-gallon fuel tank, plenty for its new life as a demonstration car, which Stephen has proudly driven all over the world. From the Goodwood Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard and the British Grand Prix, to Suzuka, Australia, and South Africa.

It’s a car that fans still wish to watch scream past, not least because of the two weighty driver names placed against the side of the top air intake.

“This is chassis four. It did seven grand prix in its day with a season-best third place finish at Silverstone in 1993 with Patrese driving. I also own chassis five that was driven solely by Michael Schumacher. That one did ten grand prix with eight podiums and one win.”

It was chassis five that would finish in second place at Silverstone in ‘93, one place in front of Patrese, and behind Alain Prost in his Williams-Renault. A notable performance considering Prost and his Williams-Renault would go on to take both the drivers’ and constructors’ world championships that year.

“I’m driving 193B today. It costs me a bloody fortune to run, so why would I give the privilege to someone else?” he smiles, before reminding us that Patrese himself has driven it at the Festival of Speed in the past.

“It's not as difficult to drive as people imagine. The real problem with it is pulling away. The clutch is very, very fierce. They have no flywheel on the engine so you have to give it plenty of revs and pull away at about 5,000 to 6,000 rpm. Then you pray you don't wheel-spin too much, because it just grabs and goes. Once you're going, it's ok, but you have to be hitting a minimum of 120mph to get the downforce to work. Once that activates, it suddenly hunkers down and ends up on rails. Anything slower than that, it tends to drift, because of the size of the tires. It can be a bit wobbly.”

Talking of downforce, the eagle-eyed Formula 1 fans may have noticed that the B193B’s wing looks a little out of the ordinary, especially when compared to the other cars on show.

“It’s a totally unique wing, developed especially for the Monaco Grand Prix for low-speed downforce. It was then banned after failing regulation tests, meaning it was never actually raced. It was later adapted for and used at the Hungarian Grand Prix.”

“This was actually one of the most advanced cars of 1993. It had launch control, traction control, active suspension, all the driver aids that were then banned. We've now turned off the majority of that. So all we're doing really is using the laptops to monitor the engine, hydraulic pressure, and so on. At the end of the day, it's just an engine. If you have fuel and water, it's going to fire.”

It’s this user-friendly, hassle-free approach to owning and driving that first attracted Stephen to the Benetton, meaning he can live his very clear passion for its beauty and power without feeling too bogged down by logistics.

“It’s always special to drive. Every time I know I'm going to drive it, the old heart starts up. The adrenaline starts to go. It's a great feeling. And to be a part of all this, because I'm a nobody really, compared to a lot of these drivers. I'm just a builder by trade. So to run this and be able to drive on a track with some of these quite famous drivers. It is a real privilege.”

With that hugely modest sign-off, Stephen the builder busies himself with tucking the B193B in for the night. Taking the care of a clearly very successful tradesman to cover its exposed V8 engine, raising its marbled wheels off the Goodwood tarmac, gliding it back into its paddock in total silence sat atop a well-oiled trolley. It’s a loving ritual made all the more beautiful knowing no one will be more excited to reawaken it once again come Sunday morning than Stephen Ottavianelli.

Photography by Jordan Butters, Joe Harding, Nick Dungan, Pete Summers, Phill Hay and Toby Whales.