Benetton B189

The Benetton B189 was a Formula One racing car designed by Rory Byrne and raced by the Benetton team in the 1989 Formula One season. The car replaced the B188 that had been in use from the 1988 season.

The car was due to be available from the start of the season but was delayed by various problems as it was designed to take Ford's new HBA1 V8 engine which was in constant development. It was also delayed as the teams lead driver Alessandro Nannini had crashed it during testing.

The B189 finally appeared at the French Grand Prix where Nannini showed the potential of both the car and the new Ford engine by qualifying 4th ahead of the both V10 Williams-Renaults and the V12 Ferrari of Gerhard Berger. He then ran a strong race in the top three but retired with broken rear suspension on lap 40 that sent him spinning down the escape road at the end of the pit straight, thankfully without hitting the barriers. A second B189 was made available from the German Grand Prix and was driven by McLaren test driver Emanuele Pirro. While still testing for McLaren, Pirro was allowed by McLaren boss Ron Dennis to also test with Benetton and he became highly regarded within the team for his testing abilities.

The B189 got its only win at the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix when Nannini finished 2nd on the road but was awarded the win after McLaren's Ayrton Senna was disqualified. He had been third for most of the race, a long way behind the more powerful V10 McLaren-Hondas of Senna and Alain Prost, before their infamous coming together at the Suzuka chicane. Pirro, at the track where he was based as the McLaren test driver, moved quickly from his 22nd starting spot to 10th by lap 33 before being forced out due to a crash.

Nannini then finished off the season with a fine second place in the extremely wet Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide while Pirro, in his last race for the team, managed to keep the car on the road (while many of his more experienced rivals failed to do so) and finished 5th for his only points of the season.

A modified version of the car, the B189B, raced in the first two races of the 1990 Formula One season. The car was again driven by Alessandro Nannini who was joined at Benetton by three time World Drivers' Champion Nelson Piquet. The B189B was powered by a development of the Ford HBA1 V8, the HBA4.

The B189B was replaced after the second race of the 1990 season by the B190. The B189B was the last Benetton to use the distinctive air intakes on either side of the cockpit with the B190 having a single airbox in the now standard position above the drivers head.