Benetton's history in Formula One traced back to 1983 when the clothing brand began sponsoring Tyrrell, followed by the Alfa Romeo factory team in 1984 and 1985. In late 1985 Benetton acquired both the Toleman and Spirit operations, renaming the combined entity Benetton Formula in 1986. With BMW engines and Gerhard Berger driving, the team took its first Grand Prix victory that year.
For the B190, Rory Byrne collaborated with John Barnard, who joined as Technical Director having previously designed championship-winning cars for McLaren and Ferrari. Barnard had also designed the Chaparral 2K that won the 1980 Indianapolis 500. The engine specification was the Ford HBA4 V8, produced exclusively for Benetton under an arrangement with Ford, with Geoff Goddard of Cosworth responsible for the unit's design.
The B190 was notable as the first Benetton to position the airbox above the driver's head, a configuration that became standard across the grid. Its predecessors, the B188 and B189, had featured twin intakes alongside the cockpit atop the sidepods — a legacy of the turbocharged B187.
The Ford HBA4 produced approximately 650 bhp, compared to 690 bhp from the Honda V10, 680 bhp from the Ferrari V12 and 660 bhp from the Renault V10. The Ford's relative power deficit was offset by the engine's smaller dimensions and lower weight, which gave the B190 a lower centre of gravity and improved aerodynamic efficiency. The smaller cooling requirements of the V8 allowed for reduced radiator sizes, tightening the sidepod packaging and improving the car's drag coefficient. At some circuits the B190 matched or exceeded the straight-line speed of more powerful rivals, with Piquet's car clocking 287 km/h on Brabham Straight during the Australian Grand Prix morning warm-up.
Nelson Piquet and Alessandro Nannini drove the B190 through much of the season. The car kept pace with McLaren, Williams and Ferrari across a variety of circuits despite the engine power gap. After Nannini achieved a podium in Spain, his Formula One career was cut short when a helicopter accident near his home in Siena severed his right forearm. Surgeons successfully reattached the limb, though he never returned to racing at the same level. On Piquet's recommendation, Brazilian Roberto Moreno replaced him for the final two rounds.
Piquet won both remaining races of the season. At the Japanese Grand Prix he finished first with Moreno second, giving Benetton a 1-2 result. Piquet then won the Australian Grand Prix — the 500th World Championship race since the series began in 1950 — holding off Nigel Mansell's Ferrari. These wins lifted Piquet to third in the Drivers' Championship behind Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. Benetton placed third in the Constructors' Championship behind McLaren and Ferrari.
The B190 was carried into the first two races of the 1991 season in updated form as the B190B. It was subsequently replaced by the B191 — Benetton's first car to feature the raised nose design — from the San Marino Grand Prix onward.
The B190 remains one of the most technically instructive cars of the 1990 season, demonstrating how a well-optimised V8 package could remain competitive against higher-powered multi-cylinder rivals through aerodynamic and weight advantages. The closing two wins made Piquet's season and gave Benetton a platform of confidence entering what would become a transformative period culminating in Michael Schumacher's World Championships later in the decade.
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