BENETTON'S LAUNCH CONTROL! The Story of the 'Option 13' 1994 Cheating Scandal

[@nemesis-music]

Was the code the driver needed to enter “Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A then Start “

[@Xethis]

Kinda. If U pay attention, the "1 UP" Mario's sound comes up 😁

[@elnoodel666]

No, it was up down left right up down left right a b c start 💥

[@Xethis]

@@elnoodel666 who said "fatality mode"...? 😆

[@RonaldoCarbone]

A B A C A B B

[@jason78981]

isnt that a mortal kombat fatality?

[@meer1120]

The real master behind this mayhem has to be Briatore. After all, this is the guy who told Nelsinho to crash.

[@michaelbarker2988]

Tom Walkinshaw.....

[@shooter7a]

Briatore is not technical guy. He is a high level business development type guy. But the people that did it certainly worked for him.

[@michaelbarton4787]

Someone please refresh my mind as to who came up with the idea ? The phrase "No honour among theives" comes to mind...

[@motorsportfanboy7769]

@@michaelbarton4787 It is believe to be Alan Permane but he didn't know Renault were going to use his idea until the whole thing happened

[@levrone0075]

Need there be any further discussing. They were cheating on many levels.

[@vino-g6669]

Yeah I think it's been a blessing in disguise all the copyright strikes and the likes that first got you started on remaking all your videos. I enjoyed the original ones but a few more years experience and a bit more KZbin knowhow and it's now some of the best racing discussion content on youtube. Keep it up man.

[@seanthompson258]

Off the topic but important to figure out for us the people where we are and what we actually live in. I bet not many people know in comparison as to the world population that NASA and the world Governments are all Satanists!!! I know thats a huge statement but unfortunately its TRUE! Take the word SATAN wonder why when they do a count down they SAY T - MINUS 30 SECONDS AND COUNTING YEAH??? WELL THIS IS WHY THEY ARE SAYING IT MINUS THE T FROM SATAN AND YOU ARE LEFT WITH THE WORD NASA, THE RED FORK TONGUE IN THERE LOGO IS THE SNAKES TOUNGUE PEOPLE YIP THEY ARE TELLING US THEY ARE SHOWING US IN PLAIN SITE BUT WE THE PEOPLE CANT SEE IT BUT WE ARE SEEING A LOT MORE NOW! ANYONE EVER ANALYSED THE ALFA ROMEO LOGO???? IF YOU TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT IT THERE IS A SNAKE EATING A MAN ON THE LOGO NO DOUBT SATANIC IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SATANISM THEN ITS PRETTY OBVIOUS IF YOU DONT DO SOME RESEARCH AND REALIZE WHAT THEY ARE TELLING US! END DAYS ARE HERE THE VACCINE IS THE STING OF THE SCORPION ACCEPT IT AND YOU ARE ACCEPTING THE MARK OF THE BEAST DESIGNED TO LOWER YOUR FREQUENCY IF IT DOESNT KILL YOU, DISCONNECT YOU FROM GOD AND I HAVE NO DOUBT THERE IS A MICROCHIP IN THERE WHICH WILL BE ACTIVATED AFTER THE COMING CATACLISM TO BRING ON THERE ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT WITH A CASHLESS SOCIETY WITHOUT THE CHIP BEING IN YOUR BODY YOU WONT BE ABLE TO BUY OR SELL! THE DARKNESS IS MOVING IN AT A RAPID RATE THIS IS A WARNING TO US THE PEOPLE CATCH A WAKE UP AND STOP BEING DISTRACTED WE ARE BEING HUNTED FOR OUR SOULS!! BY SATAN, ONCE YOU TAKE THE VACCINE YOU ARE GIVING UP YOUR SOUL TO THE DARKNESS!

[@mikespearwood3914]

@@seanthompson258 Off topic? No! XD

[@tysopiccaso8711]

@@seanthompson258 weak troll

[@GenuineRage]

@@seanthompson258 Didn't ask mate

[@erpaderpa4469]

Prime example of people changing what they say to appease people.. give me likes duuurrr

[@amaccama3267]

Suggestion for story time. Jochan Rindts championship year.

[@nikolasmolin5749]

Hate to be this guy but *Jochen

[@josephnus]

Last time I checked, it was Jochen Rindt. Not Johan mate 😅

[@theflash9613]

Johan Rindt was probably some obscure race driver in the 20's 😅

[@willb3486]

@@nikolasmolin5749 better to be that guy than the butchering the name guy

[@aydankhaliq2967]

Johan is a guy I've probably met.

[@LIP3XGunner]

Legit laugh at the dab of the breaks joke. The retry just made it worse 😂

[@samsammy007]

Garak: "The truth is usually just an excuse for lack of imagination."

[@AidanMillward]

Hurrumphs in Odo.

[@ronintje7647]

When the name came up i immediatly thought of my favorit DS9 character :D

[@scottmiller1531]

You'd shoot a man in the back? We'll it is the safest way.

[@fullsendmotorsports77]

Love a good DS9 reference in my motorsport videos! 😂

[@thatguyfromcetialphaV]

Sisko in In the Pale Moonlight would agree.

[@quietbatperson3115]

F1 meets DS9. Love it. My attitude towards most arguments involving F1 these days is summed up by Garak: "If your mind is made up, I won't confuse you with facts"

[@TeemoQuinton]

had an incident like this with some F1 lads a while ago. Some dude was hardlining the 'pink Mercedes' bullshit about it literally being the Mercedes... Some dudes, am I right?

[@aaronaaronsen3360]

Aaaah, the good ol' "I didn't do it" Briatore.. Weird that he also became involved in the Crash gate, right ? What an unlucky man /s

[@aaronaaronsen3360]

@@seanthompson258 go to sleep, you're drunk

[@LoganHunter82]

"Garak Menswear." What a devious clothing line you have there. Where can I Order online? Obsidian?

[@AidanMillward]

The shop is opposite Quark’s

[@BOABModels]

@@AidanMillward didn't know you were a DS9 fan!

[@AidanMillward]

@@BOABModels I’m watching every episode through on Netflix.

[@TonySpike]

Its on the main concourse mate, near the toilets, watch out for drunk klingons

[@LoganHunter82]

@@TonySpike Near the Promenade?

[@smedley6444]

Only just found this channel, great listening for a rainy Sunday, I also agree, as being an ex-WRC mechanic from the 80’s & 90’s, ALL teams cheated, from Lancia using nitrous to Toyota’s applauded ‘restrictor’ cheat in 1994…

[@dylanzrim3635]

Can you do a quick episode about how high tech 90’s F1 teams really were? Like consumer grade laptops back then were the dimensions of a briefcase... yet I watch the 90’s adelaide GP’s and each team has paper thin almost MacBook spec laptops... on the sensible end it’s because they’re rich and are in a position to provide data that advances computer tech, and why racing games were so good from 95 onwards (F1 95 being wire models scanned into a world) The out there end of the argument? Time travellers.

[@AdamMGTF]

Or. Were they clip boards 🤔

[@cypher50]

80's tech already pioneered carbon fiber (at the time, bleeding edge tech only used in aviation), ABS, active suspension, semi-automatic gearboxes...the cars were already at insane levels of technology relative to the car industry at the time. I wouldn't be surprised if the laptops they were using then were ahead of the curve as tech companies also were integral to the telemetry which was also really starting to gain ground at the time. No time travel...just a lot of money and nerds who love racing.

[@razvanmazilu6284]

"Ah, an open mind. The essence of intellect." - just a simple tailor Something that seems to be sorely missing these days.

[@jryan0]

Everything he said was true, especially the lies.

[@mp4boy]

Second time you've covered this and it's the second time I'm absolutely amazed that Senna could hear something was different with that car. To actually be able to hear that is crazy to me. Guy was definitely one in a million.

[@mafiousbj]

I'm no racing driver and traction control is very distinct sounding, like a hundred taps on the break pedal in a second ^^

[@dylanzrim3635]

But the FIA found no traction control. And people had the same complaints about senna when he was better in the turbo cars.

[@mafiousbj]

@@dylanzrim3635 if you watched the video or know the story, Benetton took waaaaay too much time to handle the on board computers, and even then some launch control code was left behind and was still accesible. I imagine they wiped as much as they could

[@550LMS]

@@mafiousbj What Senna was hearing was the Blown Diffuser. Regarding traction control, Gary Anderson has said that probably all engine manufacturers had some sort of traction control embedded in their software somewhere. What people don't realize is that traction control back then was incredibly basic, just a few lines of code.

[@Sticktothemodels]

It’s common sense that Bennetton were cheating. Won 7 of the first 8 races, then they handed over their data. And subsequently went on to win only 2 of the next 9 races

[@JakePetrolhead]

Honestly, Cheating in motorsport is often as interesting as the racing itself. Option 13, Toyota's WRC Restrictor plate, Penske and Smokey Yuenick's antics over in the states, they're all some of my favorite things in motorsport. To echo what you said in the first one of these - I want to see an Option 13 film about this.

[@Vanessinha91Pucca]

You say that cause you aren't the one who lose money when another team cheat

[@AidanMillward]

The Toyota restrictor plate was genius and they still couldn’t win 🤣

[@GenuineRage]

Not just Smokey Yuenick- Look up some of the work Junior Johnson did in the NASCAR scene. They would do something super illegal on the exterior to hide any of the little cheats they did so the officials wouldn't notice them, then raise hell when they called out the blatant stuff to throw them off the scent. Junior Johnson was the reason NASCAR adopted the choreographed pitstop too, because he would run out into the pits during the pitstop and work on the car himself 😂 Nowadays the inspections have gotten so advanced it seems like all the car owners and crew chiefs are running out of ways to innovate the sport

[@jason78981]

@@GenuineRage this is why i love listening to dale jr download. some of the things the guys were doin way back is amazing.

[@colebaker___]

The stuff the NASCAR guys did was nuts. Connecting the gas tank to the chassis so it would hold gallons and gallons of extra gas. Inflating basketballs in the tanks so that when tested they could hold the right amount of gas, then deflating them after inspection. Filling the chassis with ball bearings to make minimum weight and dropping them on the way to the green flag. Drivers used to sneak shots of NOS during qualifying laps. There’s a legend that Smokey Yunich is the reason for over half the NASCAR rule book.

[@JJfromIA]

There's literally nothing about Flavio that makes me think, "yeah he's an upstanding guy"...

[@capo_di_capi]

Come on, he's not a bad guy, him and Mussolini would have made great pals! LOL

[@jesseemullen]

There was a great video on Flavio Briatore where engineer Willem Toet explains how the Benetton team found a loophole in the 1994 regulations which allowed for software limiting RPMs depending on which gear the car was in as part of the engine management system. So, technically they did have a form of traction control that wasn't covered under the rules 🤣👍🏻

[@yanikdavid3708]

I watched that it was the driver 61 video on flavio

[@PresidentScrooge]

This is a prime example of "It's only cheating, if you get caught"

[@TheFinalMeowntdown]

But there's only been one driver who could, at any given time, reasonably be suspected of cheating. "The Michael".

[@boxy2k8]

I noticed you mentioned Mark Blundell at one point there. I think he holds the speed record for Le Mans after the chicanes were put in on the Mulsanne, because the turbo waste gates on Group C Nissan got stuck leading to him punching above 1100 horsepower by the end. The onboard footage of the lap is crazy, and Blundell hit 238mph at one point. He got pole by 6 seconds due to the fortuitous malfunction. It's one of my favourite Group C stories

[@AidanMillward]

Blundell was underrated.

[@joebone3151]

They should of left those chicanes out. As if another has that problem they won't have a straight to slow down or speed up just barieres to smack

[@MPal24]

​@@joebone3151Main problem is how little run-off there is at the end if you've got cars approaching at that speed. Parabolica at Monza was approached at ~220 mph by F1 cars in the mid-2000s. It has a larger run-off than the Mulsanne corner and a much higher entry speed, as it's not a basically right-angle, 60 mph corner. Cars approaching at 230, 240+, then slowing to that speed is just too dangerous - especially with multi-class racing. The chicanes on the Mulsanne are relatively quick corners, so the problem of cars slowing with big speed differences is minimised.

[@evo5dave]

An embedded computer system such as those run by F1 cars back then would have contained pretty damn simple routines: the equivalent of many 'if' > 'then' routines. No operating system or any such nuisances to worry about so the excuse of 'too time consuming to remove' is a load of bollox.

[@AidanMillward]

It is when they have other things they can get done instead.

[@Olivyay]

​@@AidanMillward Complying with one of the most important new regulations of the year seems like something that should be pretty high on list of things to get done?

[@seanthompson258]

Off the topic but important to figure out for us the people where we are and what we actually live in. I bet not many people know in comparison as to the world population that NASA and the world Governments are all Satanists!!! I know thats a huge statement but unfortunately its TRUE! Take the word SATAN wonder why when they do a count down they SAY T - MINUS 30 SECONDS AND COUNTING YEAH??? WELL THIS IS WHY THEY ARE SAYING IT MINUS THE T FROM SATAN AND YOU ARE LEFT WITH THE WORD NASA, THE RED FORK TONGUE IN THERE LOGO IS THE SNAKES TOUNGUE PEOPLE YIP THEY ARE TELLING US THEY ARE SHOWING US IN PLAIN SITE BUT WE THE PEOPLE CANT SEE IT BUT WE ARE SEEING A LOT MORE NOW! ANYONE EVER ANALYSED THE ALFA ROMEO LOGO???? IF YOU TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT IT THERE IS A SNAKE EATING A MAN ON THE LOGO NO DOUBT SATANIC IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SATANISM THEN ITS PRETTY OBVIOUS IF YOU DONT DO SOME RESEARCH AND REALIZE WHAT THEY ARE TELLING US! END DAYS ARE HERE THE VACCINE IS THE STING OF THE SCORPION ACCEPT IT AND YOU ARE ACCEPTING THE MARK OF THE BEAST DESIGNED TO LOWER YOUR FREQUENCY IF IT DOESNT KILL YOU, DISCONNECT YOU FROM GOD AND I HAVE NO DOUBT THERE IS A MICROCHIP IN THERE WHICH WILL BE ACTIVATED AFTER THE COMING CATACLISM TO BRING ON THERE ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT WITH A CASHLESS SOCIETY WITHOUT THE CHIP BEING IN YOUR BODY YOU WONT BE ABLE TO BUY OR SELL! THE DARKNESS IS MOVING IN AT A RAPID RATE THIS IS A WARNING TO US THE PEOPLE CATCH A WAKE UP AND STOP BEING DISTRACTED WE ARE BEING HUNTED FOR OUR SOULS!! BY SATAN, ONCE YOU TAKE THE VACCINE YOU ARE GIVING UP YOUR SOUL TO THE DARKNESS!

[@CharlesFreck]

Have to agree. It was not that much effort, every team was keeping this stuff around 'just in case'. Just in case they needed to cheat at some point. It would not have slowed development down, cleaning up code as you go is normal practice.

[@elta6241]

@@AidanMillward Errrrr, no. We all know it’s no excuse at all, especially with a hidden menu.

[@CrunchyMotorsport]

Back to the classics. My favourite F1 story.

[@seanthompson258]

Off the topic but important to figure out for us the people where we are and what we actually live in. I bet not many people know in comparison as to the world population that NASA and the world Governments are all Satanists!!! I know thats a huge statement but unfortunately its TRUE! Take the word SATAN wonder why when they do a count down they SAY T - MINUS 30 SECONDS AND COUNTING YEAH??? WELL THIS IS WHY THEY ARE SAYING IT MINUS THE T FROM SATAN AND YOU ARE LEFT WITH THE WORD NASA, THE RED FORK TONGUE IN THERE LOGO IS THE SNAKES TOUNGUE PEOPLE YIP THEY ARE TELLING US THEY ARE SHOWING US IN PLAIN SITE BUT WE THE PEOPLE CANT SEE IT BUT WE ARE SEEING A LOT MORE NOW! ANYONE EVER ANALYSED THE ALFA ROMEO LOGO???? IF YOU TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT IT THERE IS A SNAKE EATING A MAN ON THE LOGO NO DOUBT SATANIC IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SATANISM THEN ITS PRETTY OBVIOUS IF YOU DONT DO SOME RESEARCH AND REALIZE WHAT THEY ARE TELLING US! END DAYS ARE HERE THE VACCINE IS THE STING OF THE SCORPION ACCEPT IT AND YOU ARE ACCEPTING THE MARK OF THE BEAST DESIGNED TO LOWER YOUR FREQUENCY IF IT DOESNT KILL YOU, DISCONNECT YOU FROM GOD AND I HAVE NO DOUBT THERE IS A MICROCHIP IN THERE WHICH WILL BE ACTIVATED AFTER THE COMING CATACLISM TO BRING ON THERE ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT WITH A CASHLESS SOCIETY WITHOUT THE CHIP BEING IN YOUR BODY YOU WONT BE ABLE TO BUY OR SELL! THE DARKNESS IS MOVING IN AT A RAPID RATE THIS IS A WARNING TO US THE PEOPLE CATCH A WAKE UP AND STOP BEING DISTRACTED WE ARE BEING HUNTED FOR OUR SOULS!! BY SATAN, ONCE YOU TAKE THE VACCINE YOU ARE GIVING UP YOUR SOUL TO THE DARKNESS!

[@JamesBouault]

Great video. Interestingly, Michael Schumacher had quite a few poor starts during the 1994 season. Starts that induced wheel spin and were certainly not optimal get aways. Brazilian GP San Marino GP 2nd start British GP German GP Hungarian GP Belgium GP

[@nickmaclachlan5178]

Just because it may or may not have had launch control, doesn't meant it always worked as advertised? Either that or they didn't use it every time to try not to be too obvious maybe?

[@RunDub]

Almost like he was counting on launch control to work, and it didn't...

[@JamesBouault]

@@RunDub Yes, that could be true, although one would think that even after a few GPs, after a few failures they would of got a possible working launch control system to be fully reliable, or certainly more reliable. Especially with all the testing time available back then, away from the GPs. Thus one would expect as the season progressed, that the system would develop and the amount of launch failures would decline. What actually happened doesn’t seem to support that. To continue to rely on a faulty launch control system, to the point it’s loosing you significant ground at the start of a good percentage of GPs, throughout the whole season, seems a strange decision / risk to take.

[@apiFerrari]

European GP....

[@fam.hunger5244]

@@nickmaclachlan5178 a F1 car using launch control does not have wheel spin like the B194 sometimes had. You can easily see this in 93 and later in 2001. So its pretty obvious that Benetton did not have a "classic" launch control. Indeed the truth is they used a very clever system, which used air pressure in the airbox, rpm,.ambient air pressure and gear to determine the velocity of the car, and "tune" the traction of the car/available torque/power of the engine by spark cutting. As the track conditions sometimes change during a session or a race, sometimes even within minutes(high pressure region coming, track getting "more rubbered in"), as did the grip of the track, this system sometimes was working better and sometimes was useless. It was a very clever system invented by Benetton to "tune" the traction of the car. But it was not a "classic" traction control working with wheel sensors etc. Some now may say - but it affected the traction of the car so it was traction control- if you argue like that, than every team emulated traction control sooner or later, because they all had ways to improve traction and emulate some kind of traction control. Benetton only was the first team to find the best way to emulate some kind of traction control. All the teams worked on something like that. Benetton just did better job in that regard and were able to make such a system work.

[@davidjean2170]

I had completely forgotten about the heavy metal in your old videos, you’ve definitely come a long way since then

[@AidanMillward]

I dumped it when Pressing Issues started. Now to get a house that has that old school bar vibe and a smoke machine for the full mood 🤣

[@davidjean2170]

@@AidanMillward just don’t get rid of the guy that likes to do his lawn right as you start filming lol

[@Kezmanisgod9]

I'm pretty sure Aidan's description of Senna is the real life :Ricky Bobby: "If you ain't first, you're last!"

[@matthewjackson4923]

I think my favourite Benetton cheating story is when the cars where running the wide angle Renault V10, everybody was amazed at how fast they were off the line and Benetton said it was because of the low COG. Cees van de Grint (A Bridgestone tyre engineer) said in a dutch interview that the cars had a sensor that detected when the false start loop embedded in track switched of in conjunction with the lights initiating launch control.

[@pcdispatch]

Many cars used systems like this. When they found out something was going on the FIA changed the starting lights delay at some race and drivers from different teams made a false start as a result.

[@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1]

@@pcdispatch I believe that race was the 1999 European GP

[@STURM323]

Option 13 is what launch control should be called in all those cars having it today, would love it 👍

[@F-Man]

You know who once drove for Benetton? Roberto Moreno.

[@Butterfingers1989]

Moreno basically drove everything.

[@Tacko14]

I do remember Jos complaining that his car was basically a thrift shop of hand me downs, he never got the top notch car like Schumi. I always thought that was because Benetton couldn’t actually afford to run two cars full ops. But years later Jos was asked about the option 13 thing, he was well away from Benetton by then, and he still zipped his lips. He was ‘not at liberty’, as they say. Which is a clear statement in itself, someone still had a few strings to pull. Then Renault/Piquet jr happened. All very Ludlum, with Briatore in the middle of it. There is a personality type that HAS to break a rule, however small and insignificant, as proof of power. Even if you can do a thing smooth, easy and legal, that’s not on. Complying with rules is the ultimate sign of weakness. Bria is very much that type. If you get a sachet of sugar with your coffee, he’ll snatch yours so he can have two. He then drinks his coffee without sugar, and he’ll explain to you why it is only logical. Look around, they are aplenty. They’re called psychopaths

[@dennisschmitter7310]

Another great explaination! Can't thank you enough! I really enjoy these stories.

[@alenx5455]

How did ayrton wonder why Schumacher was beating him? Thats complete bs, considering how aerodynamically unstable and bad williams was at the start of 1994 yet ayrton got 3 out of 3 pole positions, was catching Schumacher at a rapid pace at brazil only to be DNF, then also got hit out of the race in the 2nd race, im pretty sure Senna was quite confident he could handle Schumacher, specially knowing they will fix the Williams soon.

[@jamesreynolds2867]

Congratulations Aidan, the fullest, and best researched article on the Benetton 1994 cheating scandal, how Flav got away with constantly cheating is a mystery, if one were cynical you could swear money changed hands under the table.

[@nikbear]

The fact that he used his super model girlfriend as a drug mule adds another poison to the mix 🤔

[@keithburrage1424]

Flav cheating? Oh puuulleeaase as if! LOL The man was as bent as a nine bob note

[@AdamMGTF]

Consider this. FB wasn't good at cheating. He was bad. Everyone cheated. He just got caught. A lot.

[@sergioleone3583]

Did Flav ever get caught with 780 pages of another team's intellectual property as Ron Dennis and his team did?

[@barryfowles-zl5ib]

@@sergioleone3583 Intellectual property is lower down the list than ordering a driver to crash deliberately, imho.

[@dangallant4704]

I’ve been watching 100 level freshmen year f1 KZbin. This is some post grad level content and I love it.

[@heliumtrophy]

Since I've blown my cover this is where I could get accused of bias. I just think that Moseley's application of trying to eradicate the hi-tech nature F1 was going in was too messy in its execution. If all these teams have had the necessary data and the know-how, it could be exploited with a bit of trickery. You can't undo everything at the flick of a switch. The fact that Moseley thought this was pure folly. Hence we got the clusterfuck of a season that was 1994. Almost literally out with the old and in with the new. In typical F1 fashion.

[@AidanMillward]

Phasing them out would have probably worked better in hindsight.

[@heliumtrophy]

@@AidanMillward absolutely would have but we got the season we did.

[@shawnmungur4875]

Yay! DS9 reference! But honestly, option 13 is one of my favorite topics, would make an amazing documentary or movie, even by name!

[@winstonsmith7652]

I just can't imagine Fabio Briattori cheating....Said no-one, ever.

[@michaelb6729]

Do a story on Flavio and his honest ways ! 😂

[@bretbauer7582]

Or his honeys.... the man had some taste in tail

[@akinaspeedstar8872]

Stumbled across your channel today. What a breath of fresh air.

[@chicobicalho5621]

It dawned on me, Senna's death was the "perfect storm". Beginning with Newey not getting the FW16 right, and Briatore launching his mafioso mode that very same year, combined with Schumacher being a fantastic driver, and Senna being a competitive animal determined to dominate in 1994, this placed Senna in a weird backfoot, able to pull off miraculous poles because he was "Senna", but having to "drive like hell" in races to find himself rowing against the tide rather madly, especially in Imola. Then, a suspension rod entering his helmet through a rubber gasket around the visor and piercing his brain, that was way too freakish. Perhaps, had he known things would turn around later in the season, or if the FW 16 had been more competitive earlier in the season, he would have been less anxious, or less eager to beat a car that was using illegal artifices, and, on top of that, being driven by a sensational driver.

[@phonebem]

Love the preamble about loving motorsport for the background intrigue!

[@Juaza]

Jazz is good, but the first of your videos I watched had the only, the incredible, the magggnificent (no typos, this is intentional) One Must Fall 2097 main theme. And I´m revisiting eveything (as in Every-Single-Video) again, not for the background music but for the quality content and the way it is put forward. Big congratulations for your great job and thanks for not getting rid off of the serifs!

[@michaelkitchin9665]

I think that's the most frustrating thing about the B194. All the key players either can't or don't tend to talk about it in detail. I'm sure Schumacher's ability was a big factor and it's hard to gauge car performance because his teammates were nowhere near him. Schumacher called the car difficult to drive but he never looked like stacking it, most of the time. Is the blown diffuser stuff actually confirmed as fact?

[@stuartwelsford8909]

I read about benetton using a blown diffuser effect during 94 and looking back it can only have been from Autosport. I can remember being amazed at the ingenuity, but I've subsequently found out that Renault used exhaust blowing during their turbo era way before... I think it was 83 or 84 or both...

[@kevinprior3549]

1994 season certainly wasn't dull was it for both bad and good reasons. Benetton cheating, Senna's & Ratzenberger's death, Schumacher penalised during Silverstone then him being banned for 2 races. Jos Verstappen's Benetton blowing up in flames in Germany. Hill beating Schumacher at a very very wet Suzuka, then THAT collision in Adelaide. Then Mansell winning that race made it even more ironic seeing its the very track where his tyre blew up in 1986.

[@marguskiis7711]

Ross Brawn was just the Master of Refuelling Tactics and this was the key of success of MS too.

[@cas5447]

I've seen that original video at (or at least very shortly after) release!! Made me a fan of your channel actually!

[@gagegr]

One thing I didn’t hear was the difficulty with the Williams car post driver aids. Newey went into this in chapter 48 of his book. The car had stalling issues big time and they were working on a fix post imola. Newey still maintained that Benneton was cheating though. One of his reasons was the huge delta between Michael and JJ.

[@demdjen77]

Why would Benetton cheat with 1 car only? No logic in that.

[@MrRodzilla]

There was a huge delta between Schumacher and Johnny Herbert too, and Schumacher/brundle, Schumacher/patrese Newey had to cancel the Ferrari 2000-2001 cheating chapter in his book when they allowed traction control again and newey accused Ferrari of cheating, people said Schumacher would look like an average driver Well Schumacher increased his dominance and newey cars suddenly didn’t look as good lol, Hakkinen quickly retiring

[@rosstaylor1039]

Benetton arrive at the first race after the FIA deadline. FIA: Hi Benetton, when are you going to give us the information we've asked for? Benetton: New phone who dis?

[@2Step2Hell]

Loving that DS9 reference 😂

[@andykopgod]

Had no idea what you were talking about 🤔, but i was still engrossed in your video. Thanks really enjoyed that 👏👍

[@andrewcarter1747]

Will your bands first song be called Multi-21?

[@barrybritcher]

What a great period in F1 , so many competitive guys

[@Cloxxki]

The Ford being a sole V8 on the grid, might it have had a better drivability through throttle application? Indeed top speeds were low, but lap times good. What Schumacher did when his gearbox got suck in 5th gear, was pretty astounding. The power curve of that Ford must have been pretty great. Tme won early in the straight? The indeed odd noise under traction limitation sure is suspect, though.

[@jesseemullen]

Probably the only bit of humour the whole weekend, but if you watch the start of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix on the BBC broadcast source, you'll hear Murray Walker say "stand by for blast off!" right before the starting lights cycle through. Funny that he used a rocket/space shuttle metaphor when Lehto failed to use his "launch control" a few seconds later - which also sounds like something from outer space. Buzz Aldrin would be disappointed lol.

[@Greninjia]

had that dab been done by any other youtuber, it would have been cringe, but this, this was just absolutely hilarious.

[@jamesbehra2690]

Good job Aidan. I never forget Ayrton in the Aida's pit wall watching Schumacher flybys in amazement... Ground effects?!

[@Scoots1994]

I love the background tech stuff too. And a largely unknown hero Tad Czapski.

[@GregBrownsWorldORacing]

Yes, I learned quite a bit. I heard no mention of anyone being nailed to a cross. I heard that really happened. Also, even until today, things on the level of PLCs never needed or used compilers. They are/were instead 'interpretors', this whole issue of compiling seems to be a red herring.

[@mrpempi]

So, JJ Letho stalling on the grid at SM94 was because of his inability to activate the LC through the gear select sequence... Makes sense to me...

[@philharvey4945]

Launch control can be used like TC on the exit of corners a top engineer who worked at a top team told me. This would also apply to 1994s LC.

[@philharvey4945]

@anonymous one he wouldn’t need to do it mid corner. It would be constantly activated. Launch control just another name for a traction control program. Simple eh.

[@apiFerrari]

lol

[@philharvey4945]

@anonymous one jeez a one you are a naive chap eh.

[@blackstonedaze8983]

Option 13 would be a cool band name

[@jim874]

"I know, I've already done this video, but not having the rock music behind is better, right? Jazz for life and stuff..." Thanks for writing that..... I thought I was losing it when I saw the date of Sept 24, 2021.

[@xWolfykins]

Love that plain, simple Garak reference. Genius

[@simracer1256]

I did that that Andrew Robinson's makeup in "what you leave behind" made him look a tad sunburnt for a Cardasian. Like in the scene when he kills Wayoun.

[@Official_MikeyT]

6:24 is enough to justify cancelling you 🤣

[@caincha]

I remember back in those days it was said that Senna going to Williams was the actual reason for the ban on electronics. Best driver in the best car with all other top drivers retiring had FIA worried it would be too easy or something. So after all has being said and done I know Schumacher had a cheating car and I believe Senna died for negligence combined with FIA's stupidity for not allowing time for teams to adapt to the new rules. What I do not know is: did the electronics ban happened before or after Senna signed with Williams? I mean he nearly went to Williams in 93 if it weren't for Prost's veto so people already knew it was pretty much a done deal so...

[@Olivyay]

Williams already had the best car before they added electronic aids (they only lost the championships in 1991 due to unreliability and blunders), so avoiding a Williams-Senna total domination wasn't a compelling argument for the ban anyway. It really was because they were worried about safety, and the 1993 season proved them right: Senna and Andretti had several crashes because of active suspension behaving weirdly on kerbs, Zanardi crashed heavily at Spa, Berger slid across the track exiting the pits at Estoril, all because of failures of electronic aids.

[@caincha]

@@Olivyay oh I know, 1991 was Mansell's to lose (which unsurprisingly he did) and in 1993 Prost was having a lot of trouble adapting not for the sabbatical of the previous year but because he couldn't 'feel' the car due to so many driver aids. However the question remains: when is it that FIA actually decided to ban? I really don't remember that but the way it went after - cars basically the same but stripped out of driver aids - makes me think it was a last minute thing. And then it could have been because Senna was going to Williams added to the retirement of all the other legends..

[@Olivyay]

@@caincha IIRC at first they wanted to ban all aids during the season itself but the teams protested and they accepted to postpone it to the following season. I think it was around the Canadian GP but not sure anymore.

[@caincha]

@@Olivyay Canadian GP 1993? Google says it was in June, halfway the season so Senna had already signed with Williams or was well known he would sign soon. That is pretty much how I remember time wise - not calendar wise (if that makes sense) - so Senna signing with Williams could have indeed been what settled the issue of banning driver aids for good.

[@caincha]

@MrLewisBate I lived through 1994 but yeah seems it's you who didn't see the video mentioning launch control and the irregular refueling 🙄

[@har_mar1141]

every time you mention senna i full expect "was pissed" to quickly follow

[@cahill22]

Been here since the Cold Kingdom soundtracks on your videos. Nice choice btw.👌

[@harmkuijpers6642]

You correctly pointed out the irony of the FIA trying to make the cars safer, but making them more dangerous instead. They should have allowed for a transition year, IMO. Also that comment Senna made showed just how entitled he was. They are beating me, therefore they MUST be cheating. He just couldn't fathom anyone being better than he was. That's probably where his, either you let me past, or we both crash mentality came from. For all the incredible drives he's put out, he also has had a number of questionable moments. I wish he had decided to retire after Ratzenberger's crash, he could have done so much good in Brazil and as Watkins pointed out, he had nothing left to prove. If anything, his legend would have been even bigger had he retired there and then.

[@vishaldutta]

I searched for Benneton option 13 after watching the Schumacher plank, Belgium GP video and found this 😊

[@dr4d1s]

Garak Mensware is brilliant! Great DS9 reference.

[@KLUTCHdot58]

I have always liked option 13 as a band name. Could never clear it with my band mates 😂

[@ryukenhondaraiden]

When you mention the refueling thing it makes me think about brazil 94 were schumacher got out of the pits faster then senna but he was in before the benetton. Things that make you go hmmm. I mean 12% of a 10 second stop is like 1 second, THATS a big difference in f1.

[@tylervanorman492]

The ideas to beat the rules will always be my favorite part of all motor sports

[@curzongaming]

OMG Garak Menswear Plain. Simple.. as a fellow DS9 fan I love this

[@rbmwiv]

I started working on a NASCAR Cup team in 1994 and we and everyone else were cheating like crazy. A few of my favorite were we made a deck lid that you could adjust the spoiler down during qualifying at super speedways like Daytona. We also had nitrous that would spray through a rivet in the fire wall and we used it during qualifying and had to change the carburetor jets for qualifying since you needed more fuel with the nitrous. Then in the late 90s we got to be good friends with an engineer at MSD and he had modified a MSD box for his son’s late model race car and we were very interested in it and we used it for quite a while and never got caught. Somehow it would drop the rev limiter if it started to lose traction. I don’t know how he actually got it to work but it did and no one was the wiser. You always run 2 ignition boxes and 2 coils so you have a backup and the driver would just switch ignition systems after he got up to speed because it was noticeable that something was different if you launched with that box, it would cut out when you hit the throttle to hard so it was only switched on ar top speed.

[@alaeriia01]

I still want to see a Story Time about some fictional races. Bringing back the Boonta Eve Classic would be fun, or maybe one of the races in Speed Racer (the Casa Cristo would be really fun to hear you cover).

[@markhallowell4059]

Hey Aidan. This video popped up on my feed and the name rang a bell because I am a member of Dan Finney's channel (and race with him in AusNZ). Some good videos here, will have work my way through them.

[@TheEDFLegacy]

It's good to see you returning to making these videos. I was worried that you gave it all up. :(

[@AidanMillward]

I've done loads since that thing happened last year...

[@TheEDFLegacy]

@@AidanMillward I'm glad! :D I need to catch up.

[@user-2203xyz]

After Schumacher on Netflix ...story comes up on benetton launch control 🧐

[@4Leka]

So they had traction control as part of the launch control feature, but absolutely did not have any traction control available to them at other times? How does that work? 🤔

[@albertorodriguezfernandez5956]

Man, when he wanted, he was the best. But by god, Schumi was so full of shit sometimes. 1994, 1997, and so many more. I'm still in awe of what happened in Monaco 2006 qualy.

[@FlyBoyGrounded]

One thing I've never understood, as a computer programmer myself, is how/why do you examine source code to check what a system does or is capable of? From the sound of everything, they're coding in 'C' and the code has to be compiled into executable machine code to actually run on the car. So who guarantees that the software on the vehicle is the same program as the source code provided for analysis? Couldn't the teams provide one version of the source code but compile a different version? Can anyone explain who stands over the team and says, "This is the source code you gave us. Now flash that exact code on to your microcontroller(s) and don't change it after our backs are turned"? Or does the investigating team examine the binary code after compilation? I've always thought the FIA never had a clue about how computer code works whenever I read stories about option 13.

[@izzieb]

I assume the people analysing it will have done, at minimum, a comparison between the compiled binary based on the source code and the actual binary running on the computer. Even back then, this would be fairly trivial - something simple like a hex editor could be used.

[@FlyBoyGrounded]

@@izzieb And then the team recompiles a totally different version of the software (with all the cheats onboard) and runs that on the car instead of what they showed the FIA. I'd like to hear exactly how they policed this because it all sounds like they made a ridiculous rule (it's not illegal to have the software, just illegal to use it) and then trusted the teams rather than actually doing something to prevent cheating.

[@davidminns9799]

I have been saying it for years it was always a tainted title. Great Video. Flavio more bent than my plumbing!!

[@musculusiv4172]

I dont have the technical knowledge but it sounds to me like Benetton was stalling with these excuses of commercial contracts preventing them from handing over the code. Sounds like they were removing the evidence of their cheating but the option 13 enabler got overlooked or they had no time to fully remove it (while ensuring that the system was still running bug-free). Obviously this is just a baseless theory on my part, maybe someone with more knowledge on the topic can comment on how likely that senario is

[@rcurtis7583]

A team headed up by Walkinshaw (who was already found out for cheating in the BTCC prior to this) and Flavio Briatori (he and cheating go hand in hand like salt and vinegar) - says it all.

[@OboeCanAm]

"Option 13" is the name of an Information Security Consultancy company in the UK.

[@AidanMillward]

Oh shit, there is! Based in Llan… Ll… Llanwy… Wales.

[@OboeCanAm]

@@AidanMillward Yes, they are Welsh! I wonder if the founder is an F1 fan?

[@gisele2421]

Don't be sorry mate, that dab was awesome.

[@stuartwelsford8909]

All your vids are great, this one is the best. There is a lot here I was not aware of, and I thought I was well versed in the option 13 debacle. I thought the 13 was TC, not just launch. I still think the benetton championship sucked and they deserved to be kicked out of it... but... Yeah. Like I said, great vid. Thanks Aiden. There is no one on KZbin anything like you.

[@mark4lev]

From what I understand the reason schu was so fast was that he was left foot braking. The only problem is that it uses more fuel than right foot braking. This is not a problem in the refuelling era. It’s not clear who was also LFB at that time, but in 94 both schu and hakk were LFB. Coulthard definitely wasn’t. This can be confirmed by a live bbc broadcast, Johnathan palmer stated that brundle couldn’t use the two pedal set up in hakks car. As Adrian alluded to in his video, Brundle wouldn’t have been able to if he wanted due to old injuries. But it proves the point. A lot of the older drivers couldn’t left foot brake. Including senna.just to add some information from frank dernies podcast, the Benetton had very high levels of rear traction, hence the sometimes lightening starts, despite having a temperamental clutch. Senna had a lot of problems in the ‘94 Williams, including it being too cramped for him.

[@bodinefan1126]

The Garak sponsor made me laugh our loud.

[@comeausautomotiveradioshow]

Funny you were talking about right foot braking I right foot brake on my sim wheel pedals

[@sullybiker6520]

I used to buy into the conspiracy and while I think Benetton were cheating with the fuel rig and were at the very least doing something tricky with the their ECU I don't think it would have made much difference, because in that car Schumacher was plain faster, as he had on occasion been the two years previously.

[@mrpempi]

The Williams dependance on electronics meant that once it was removed, the analogue car was terrible. Senna discussed it with Prost, hence his prediction of "many accidents" Like many (modern) fighter jets, the avionics keeps it in the air, without it, it's a brick. Williams had to relearn so much that the electronics was able to overcome /disguise. But if you are interested in real racing, check out MOTOGP and SBK.

[@turricanedtc3764]

@@mrpempi - I recently read Adrian Newey's book, and the way he tells things, it wasn't as simple as that. Williams knew that active suspension was going to be banned, but despite that, they simply didn't have enough time to rework the aero and were forced to make educated guesses, quite a few of which turned out to be wrong - the team were driving themselves bananas trying to assess and correct those mistakes on-the-fly (often with Damon pulling double-duty as test and #2 race driver). Ayrton's instinctive sense as to how to push any car to the limits was - and probably still is - unique and unmatched, and even despite the technical issues with the FW16 (of which he was painfully aware), he was absolutely convinced that there was something hinky going on with Benetton - apparently even going as far as to listen out for the engine noise coming from Schumacher's car on the grid.

[@Dashriprock4]

Schumacher wasn't faster. Senna took an inferior car and put it on pole three races in a row. At Brazil the only reason Senna lost the lead was due to the illegal fuel rig that you have acknowledged. I do believe Senna was having to push the car over the limits whereas Michael could just focus on race Pace. Just remember there was never a single race where Michael Schumacher got pole position while Senna was alive

[@jonnyspa27]

Your Option 13 Team is a bit like Jeff Krosnoff's early "sponsor" Underworld Coverup. He had a great sense of humor. #StayHungry

[@chrisbroadhurst3039]

FYI, 'Launch Control' and 'Traction Control' are the same thing and do the exact same job.

[@Olivyay]

As it says in the FIA analysis itself at 16:45, launch control needs traction control. So, traction control code was in there somewhere, the FIA just couldn't prove it had been used. What I believe is Benetton had all the time to tamper with evidence during the two full months they stalled wrt the request to provide the code.

[@kallo182]

Traction Control is 50% Software, and 50% Hardware. A TC will not work without the Hardware. So they can have any Software they want on the Car. As long the Hardware is not there, the Software is useless. Im pretty shooked about how long this "TC Myth" is alive, and it show just how clueless most People on the Internet are.

[@Olivyay]

@@kallo182 Lack of proof of usage does not make this a myth, just something the FIA couldn't prove. The only hardware necessary is the ECU that all engines had.

[@thiswillprobhrt]

The traction control hardware controls were already part of the engine control system. Ignition (cut or retard) and (sequential) fuel cut are good strategies. Braking control is not required. I don’t really have an opinion on wether option 13 was a thing or not, but 2/3 power control strategies would have been available for use as traction control and would have been adequate. Also, Launch control (esp in 1994 implementation) doesn’t require TC. Launch control maintains a pre determined RPM when moving off the line. Driver floors the throttle and the launch control does keeps the engine at the target RPM while the driver manages clutch slip without having to modulate the throttle. Big plus in a car that has a clutch the size of a saucer. In this setup there is no need for a wheel speed sensor. Nowadays TC is seen as part and parcel of launch, but technically it is a different system. So it’s feasible that launch, TC or a combo of both could be implemented using ignition and fuel controls by anyone who dared run the risk of being found out. Both systems are very audible.

[@fullmetalf4i]

I love the fact you make the dab joke, sigh disappointed in yourself, but leave it in with the re-read :) Stuff like that makes me smile

[@billcooper2798]

Outstanding work!

[@caiocury7655]

I was seven years old back then and Senna was very much an idol to me... So you can imagine watching the San Marino GP was pretty traumatising... I mean, there was a puddle on blood under the guy while the medics attempted CPR... Even for adults that was a horror show. So I stoped watching F1 for a couple of years and I excuse myself to think of 1994 as an F1 season that completely sucked

[@AidanMillward]

It was the first race I watched 😬

[@LimitPro1]

Am I glad that I watched F1 for the first time in 2004 - 2008 season.

[@stickdeath1980]

I remember "Cheating" one from 2018 you did what made me Sub to you :D

[@kspillane]

Came for an F1 story, was not expecting a DS9 reference.

[@Assassin-eh3du]

We will never know what happened 100% but it’s definitely an interesting story

[@lerom8490]

your add plug was hilarious!