Dating the team's origins to its Toleman years from 1981, the B188 was the first Benetton not to run a turbocharged engine. The timing was driven by FIA regulation: turbos were to be banned outright after 1988, and Ford chose to redirect development resources from the V6 turbo used in the preceding B187 toward a new naturally aspirated engine architecture. As Benetton were under contract to use Ford power, their designers had to build around the naturally aspirated Ford DFR V8.
Visually the B188 was similar to the B187 it replaced, though it featured a bulkier engine cover to accommodate both the larger engine and a substantially bigger fuel tank. Twin air intakes sat above the sidepods rather than above the driver's head, a placement that would become atypical as the design conventions of the early 1990s developed. The car also used a longer, sleeker nose section, designed to comply with incoming 1989 regulations requiring the driver's feet to sit behind the front axle line — a rule the FIA mandated that all newly designed 1988 cars must satisfy, even though carry-over cars were exempt.
The DFR, a development of the Cosworth DFV that Lotus had introduced to Formula One in 1967, produced approximately 620 bhp — more powerful than the older DFZ variant used by customer teams and competitive enough to make Benetton the fastest atmospheric car on the grid.
The B188 was driven by Belgian Thierry Boutsen and Italian Alessandro Nannini. Boutsen scored 27 points across the season, including five podium finishes, to finish fourth in the Drivers' Championship. Nannini scored 12 points, taking his first podium with third at the British Grand Prix at a wet Silverstone Circuit, and adding another third in Spain.
Benetton finished third in the Constructors' Championship with 39 points, 16 points clear of fourth-placed Lotus. However, both B188s were disqualified from the Belgian Grand Prix for use of irregular fuel — a penalty that did not become official until a month after the season concluded, meaning many published records of the time still list Boutsen and Nannini as third and fourth at Spa. The disqualification reduced Benetton's points tally from 46 to 39.
Nannini set the B188's only fastest lap at the 1988 German Grand Prix at a rain-affected Hockenheimring.
For 1989 Boutsen departed for Williams, replaced by British rookie Johnny Herbert. Nannini assumed the lead driver role and the team anticipated a mid-season switch to the new B189 chassis and upgraded Ford HB4 engine. However, delays with the new engine and Nannini crashing the sole completed B189 during pre-San Marino testing forced the team to continue with the B188 and older DFR unit for the first six rounds.
Herbert, still recovering from a serious Formula 3000 crash at Brands Hatch in 1988, scored points on his Formula One debut in Brazil with a fourth-place finish — just 1.123 seconds behind third. Despite showing promise, the extent of his injury recovery required more time, and he was replaced after the Canadian Grand Prix by McLaren test driver Emanuele Pirro. Pirro continued with the car from the French Grand Prix as Nannini moved to the new B189, with the B188's final competitive appearance being Pirro's start from the back of the grid at the British Grand Prix.
Across its full competitive life spanning 24 races, the Ford-powered B188 scored 52 points and eight podium finishes.
The B188 established Benetton as a legitimate front-running team in the naturally aspirated class and gave the organisation a foundation on which subsequent cars — and ultimately championship victories — were built. It also served as Rory Byrne's clearest demonstration of his design capabilities before John Barnard joined the team, and remains one of the most competitive atmospheric-engine cars of the turbo era by points and results relative to the available machinery.
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