1999 Driver Profiles by Julie Gates

Benetton - Where Are They?

by Julie Gates

The Team: After their pre-season talks of winning races, they have made themselves look rather silly with their results so far. They lack outright speed from their Playlife engine, and this has been evident in qualifying. However, they do have good reliability. Obviously they are not performing as they expected and they have failed to meet any expectations, but they have a stable package that is capable of reaching the chequered flag. They were the first team in Formula One to present the FTT braking system for this year and they are the proud owners of a full-size wind-tunnel. Obviously speed is required and has to be found to enable the drivers to perform.

What can be done: They obviously need more speed and this will have to come from Playlife just as much as the team. They have worked on new wing assemblies for Canadian Grand Prix, and seem a bit directionless since. As long as they can improve their power output and keep plugging away with the aerodynamics, they may be able to turn their 1999 campaign around.

Driver - Giancarlo Fisichella: Has held the upper-hand all season, out-qualifying his team-mate on every occasion has scored all bar one of the team's points. He hasn't made any silly mistakes and has probably obtained the best that his car is allowing. He has peaked with a fifth position in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix which he finished in fourth place - bettered by the third place in Canada which marks the best finish for the team this season. He demonstrates a good attacking nature on the track and has matured a lot in his driver capabilities and mentality. If given a car capable of winning, this little Roman will be a force to be reckoned with.

Driver - Alexander Wurz: After past performances, this year so far has been a bit of a disappointment for him. He has finished several races, but on only one occasion in the points - sixth place at Monaco. Qualifying hasn't been exactly ideal either, he has qualified in the top ten only once. He is generally being out-paced by 'Fisi and hasn't shown the same spark that he has demonstrated so many times before. He is a gritty and determined driver and is scared of no-one on the track. His meteoric drive at Monaco last year with Schumacher justifies this statement, but he has failed to show us the same type of performances this season. Obviously, he hasn't the best car on the grid and he can only perform to the standard of what his car will do, but I'm sure he expected more of himself. I know we certainly did.

Conclusion: A disappointing season after their pre-season hype. However, they have good reliability and can complete race distances more often than not. They need to find extra speed before they can compete for points finishes regularly, but I will rate them higher than Williams due to the fact they can actually finish a race.

Rating: 6/10