Austrian GP Benetton Race Notes

Austrian GP / Race 26 July 1998 _________________________________________________________________ Chassis Numbers: Car No.5 - Giancarlo Fisichella - Mild Seven Benetton Playlife B198 06 Car No.6 - Alexander Wurz - Mild Seven Benetton Playlife B198 07 __________________________________________________________________ WURZ 9th / FISICHELLA Retired on 21 Laps Having started in the first pole position of his career, Giancarlo Fisichella had a collision with Jean Alesi on lap 21 and was forced to retire. Alexander Wurz managed to improve on his grid position by eight places to finish 9th. The Mild Seven Benetton Playlife team maintain third position in the constructors' championship. Giancarlo Fisichella : Retired on 21 Laps "I don't want to complain about Jean Alesi, usually he is a very fair driver, but this incident could have been avoided. I had just left the pits after a tyre stop when I found myself alongside Jean. I overtook him, then when I braked I saw him shoot passed on my left and close the door in front of me. It is a shame because the car was going really well and I was driving very carefully. In the first few laps I had avoided battling with Michael Schumacher and Hakkinen because my main concern was to finish on the podium." Alexander Wurz : 9th "Having started the race in seventeenth place, I couldn't have done any better. The race was good, I really enjoyed it, but I have learnt how important it is to get a good grid position. I took a very high risk trying to overtake Jos Verstappen, but knew I had no choice if I wanted to battle for some points. I went into the gravel, but managed to continue with no major problems." David Richards : Chief Executive "It was a weekend that held a lot of promise with a pole position for Giancarlo which is something we can all feel very proud of. Alexander drove a solid race and got the best result possible. Overall, it didn't worked out as we had hoped and we now have to focus our attention on next weekend in Germany."