supply for the 1987 season. In 1989, Renault returned to F1 as an engine supplier to WilliamsF1 (and Ligier from 1992) with Mecachrome again responsible for preparing the engines for the team. Renault engines powered Williams and Benetton to six consecutive Constructors' World Championships between 1992 and 1997 and five Drivers' titles with Nigel Mansell (1992), Alain Prost (1993), Michael Schumacher (1995), Damon Hill (1996) and Jacques Villeneuve (1997). In 1995, Benetton acquired Ligier's stock of Renault V10 engines (same specifications as Williams). In 1996, Renault was privatised and announced its withdrawal from Formula One after the 1997 season. In order to avoid protests by shareholders regarding the costs of engine development, Mecachrome agreed to pay Renault for the development work in order to continue the relationship. The 1998 engines supplied to Williams carried the Mecachrome name while Benetton's engines were badged as Playlife. In 1998, Flavio Briatore's company, Super Performance Competition Engineering, signed a distribution agreement with Mecachrome to begin in the 1999 season. The engines were purchased and rebadged as Supertec. Supertecs powered Williams in 1999, BAR in 1999 and Arrows in 2000. Supertec also continued to power Benetton under the Playlife brand. In 2001, Renault returned to Formula One by purchasing the Benetton team with the Renault-designed engines carrying again the Renault name. The relationship remained unchanged with Renault responsible for design and Mecachrome assembly and also tune-up; this relationship helped Renault win constructors' and driver's F1 championships in 2005 and 2006 with Fernando Alonso. Mecachrome-assembled Renault engines powered the Red Bull Racing Formula One team to the Constructors' Championship and Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel to the World Drivers' Championship in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. GP2 Series/FIA Formula 2 Championship In 2005, the GP2 Series (now FIA Formula 2 Championship) was launched as the official feeder category to Formula One. As the brainchild of Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, the new series was to be powered by Renault engines (badging only), and Mecachrome was tasked with their production. The engines were manufactured at the same base as the Renault F1 units in Aubigny, France with direction from Heini Mader in Switzerland. The company continued to provide engines and gearboxes for the GP2 Series in its second generation (2008-2010) whilst also supplying the new-for-2008 GP2 Asia Series with slightly detuned versions of the power unit which has been at the core of the GP2 Series since