Benetton B198
Formula One racing car
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The Benetton B198 was the car with which the Benetton Formula One team competed in the 1998 Formula One World Championship. It was driven by Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, who had moved from Jordan, and Austrian Alexander Wurz, who was in his first full season of F1 after deputising for the unwell Gerhard Berger for three races in 1997.
Nick Wirth (Chief Designer)
James Allison (Head of Aerodynamics)
 The B198 | |||||||||||
| Category | Formula One | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Benetton | ||||||||||
| Designers | Pat Symonds (Technical Director) Nick Wirth (Chief Designer) James Allison (Head of Aerodynamics) | ||||||||||
| Predecessor | B197 | ||||||||||
| Successor | B199 | ||||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||||
| Chassis | Moulded carbon composite monocoque | ||||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Double carbon wishbones, pushrod, triple damper | ||||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Double wishbones, pushrod, double damper | ||||||||||
| Engine | Playlife (Renault RS9) 3.0L 71° V10 NA Mid-engine | ||||||||||
| Transmission | Benetton 6-speed longitudinal sequential semi-automatic | ||||||||||
| Power | 750 hp (559 kW) @ 14,000 rpm[1] | ||||||||||
| Fuel | Agip | ||||||||||
| Tyres | Bridgestone | ||||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||||
| Notable entrants | Mild Seven Benetton-Playlife | ||||||||||
| Notable drivers | 5.  Giancarlo Fisichella6.  Alexander Wurz | ||||||||||
| Debut | 1998 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| Last event | 1998 Japanese Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Overview
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For much of the season, Benetton held third place in the Constructors' Championship, behind only McLaren and Ferrari, after Fisichella finished second in both Monaco and Canada and took pole position in Austria,[2] while Wurz finished fourth five times and took the fastest lap in Argentina. However, the team scored just one point in the final seven races (Fisichella finishing sixth at the Luxembourg Grand Prix) and ultimately fell to fifth in the Constructors' Championship, behind Williams and Jordan, placing some blame with Bridgestone for favouring eventual champions McLaren, the tyre supplier's top team at that time.[3]
Livery
The livery for B198 was completely changed with the blue colour on the top, white on the sides and red accents. A new sponsor joined for the team was D2.
Benetton used the 'Mild Seven' logos, except at the French, British and German Grands Prix.
Complete Formula One results
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Mild Seven Benetton Playlife* | Playlife V10 | B | AUS | BRA | ARG | SMR | ESP | MON | CAN | FRA | GBR | AUT | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | LUX | JPN | 33 | 5th | |
| Giancarlo Fisichella | Ret | 6 | 7 | Ret | Ret | 2 | 2 | 9 | 5 | Ret | 7 | 8 | Ret | 8 | 6 | 8 | ||||||
| Alexander Wurz | 7 | 4 | 4 | Ret | 4 | Ret | 4 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 16 | Ret | Ret | 7 | 9 |
* Denotes Mecachrome-built engines, badged as Playlife
