The Benetton B198 is a Formula One racing car with which the Benetton

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

team competed in the 1998 Formula One season. It was driven by

Giancarlo Fisichella Giancarlo "Giano" Fisichella (; born 14 January 1973), also known as Fisico or Fisi, is an Italian racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Fisichella won three Formula One Grands Prix across 14 seasons. Bo ...

, who had moved from

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, and Alexander Wurz, who was in his first full season of F1 after deputising for the unwell Gerhard Berger in 1997.

Overview

Early in the season, Benetton held third place in the Constructors' Championship after Fisichella finished second at two successive races and took

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. However, the team ultimately finished the season in fifth place, placing some blame with

Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational manufacturing company founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (18891976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of (), meaning ...

for favouring eventual champions

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...

, the tyre supplier's top team at that time.Henry, Alan (ed.), '' AUTOCOURSE 1998-99'', Hazleton Publishing Ltd. (1998)

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) * Denotes Mecachrome-built engines, badged as

Playlife Playlife (stylised in reverse mirrored words) was a fashion company based in Treviso, Italy. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Benetton Group. History In July 1997, Benetton Group acquired a 57% stake in Benetton Sportsystem from Edizion ...

References

B198 The Benetton B198 is a Formula One racing car with which the Benetton Formula One team competed in the 1998 Formula One season. It was driven by Giancarlo Fisichella, who had moved from Jordan, and Alexander Wurz, who was in his first full ...

1998 Formula One season cars {{F1-stub