I have word from my top tier informant inside the F1 paddock that Benetton experimented with a nuclear powertrain in the 1994-1995 off season.

Control of the reactor was done via the throttle pedal, with full throttle completely withdrawing the control rods and coasting effectively SCRAMing the reactor.

Obviously the SCRAM effect was undesirable as the reactor would prove difficult to restart. Benetton was believed to have developed a blown diffuser concept similar to what was used in the early 2010’s where the reactor would run continuously under deceleration.

The reactor would power two air cooling fans, concealed in what outwardly appeared to be the car’s exhaust.

Although the car was tested successfully, it was ultimately deemed too dangerous. The driver’s suit required excessive radiation shielding and spectators would have been required to duck behind nearby objects as the car passed by on the circuit.

Unwilling to subject their championship winning driver to testing, Benetton had fill-in driver Jos Verstappen test the car. In one unfortunate accident, it is belived Verstappen was partially exposed to radiation when he forgot to equip his egg basket while driving the car.

In an attempted coverup, Verstappen was passed on to Simtek for the 1995 season and the reactor car was destroyed.

Not all evidence could be destroyed, however, as Jos’s son was born in 1997 with severe deformities believed to be the result of Jos’s irradiation accident during testing.