The Sauber C17 was the car with which the Sauber

Sauber

Sauber F1 Team is a Swiss Formula One team. It was founded in the 1970s by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in 1993....

 Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 team used to compete in the 1998 Formula One season

1998 Formula One season

The 1998 Formula One season was the 49th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 8, 1998, and ended on November 1 after sixteen races.-Season summary:...

. It was driven by Jean Alesi

Jean Alesi

Jean Alesi is a French racing driver of Italian origin. His Formula One career included spells at Tyrrell, Benetton, Sauber, Prost, Jordan and most notably Ferrari where he proved very popular among the tifosi...

, who joined from Benetton

Benetton Formula

Benetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from to . The team was owned by the Benetton family who run a worldwide chain of clothing stores of the same name. In 2000 the team was purchased by Renault, but competed as Benetton for...

, and Johnny Herbert

Johnny Herbert

John Paul Herbert is a British racing driver from England. He competed in Formula One, winning three races, and also in sports cars winning the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1991 driving a Mazda 787B...

, who was in his third season with the team after an impressive 1997 season.

1998 confirmed Sauber's position as a respectable midfield runner unable to make the final breakthrough needed to become a top team. The team's package was quick and reliable, but not quite enough to regularly score points. Indeed, Alesi and Herbert finished just outside the points, in seventh, no less than five times. The highlight of the year was Alesi's run to third at the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix

1998 Belgian Grand Prix

The 1998 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on August 30, 1998, at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps; contested over 44 laps, it was the 13th race of the 1998 Formula One season. The race was won by Damon Hill driving for the Jordan team...

 to score the team's third podium since their F1 début in 1993. This capped an encouraging season for the Frenchman, who was duly kept on for another year. Herbert, despite a points finish in the first race of the season

1998 Australian Grand Prix

The 1998 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Albert Park street circuit in inner Melbourne on 8 March. It was the 63rd race in the combined history of the Australian Grand Prix that dates back to the 100 Miles Road Race of 1928...

, lost his motivation after a sequence of bad luck and narrowly missing out on further points. He decided to move to Stewart

Stewart Grand Prix

Stewart Grand Prix is a former Formula One constructor and racing team. The team was formed by three times Formula One champion Jackie Stewart and his son Paul Stewart in 1996. The team competed in F1, as the Ford works-supported team, for only three seasons, from 1997 to 1999...

 for 1999, and would be replaced by Pedro Diniz

Pedro Diniz

Pedro Paulo Diniz is a racing driver from Brazil. He participated in 99 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on March 26, 1995...

.

The team eventually finished sixth in the Constructors' Championship with ten points. This was their best WCC position so far, but there was still some way to go to take on the likes of Ferrari

Scuderia Ferrari

Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

 and McLaren.

It was with this car that the last round steering wheel in Formula 1 was used. All steering wheels have been rectangular since then.

Complete Formula One results

(results in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Points	WCC
1998 1998 Formula One season The 1998 Formula One season was the 49th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 8, 1998, and ended on November 1 after sixteen races.-Season summary:...	Sauber Sauber Sauber F1 Team is a Swiss Formula One team. It was founded in the 1970s by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in 1993....	Petronas Petronas PETRONAS, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company that was founded on August 17, 1974. Wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia, the corporation is vested with the entire oil and gas resources in Malaysia and is entrusted with the responsibility of developing and...  V10 V10 engine A V10 engine is a V engine with 10 cylinders in two banks of five with a distinct exhaust note.- Mechanics :The V10 is essentially the result of mating two even-firing straight-5 engines together. The straight-5 engine shows first and second order rocking motion...			AUS 1998 Australian Grand Prix The 1998 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Albert Park street circuit in inner Melbourne on 8 March. It was the 63rd race in the combined history of the Australian Grand Prix that dates back to the 100 Miles Road Race of 1928...	BRA 1998 Brazilian Grand Prix The 1998 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Interlagos on March 29, 1998. Mika Häkkinen, won his third straight race, with McLaren, also securing their third straight one two finish.-Race Summary:...	ARG 1998 Argentine Grand Prix The 1998 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires on April 12, 1998. The race was won by Michael Schumacher, and represented his first win of the season...	SMR 1998 San Marino Grand Prix The 1998 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Imola on April 26, 1998. The race was won by David Coulthard and represented his first win since the 1997 Italian Grand Prix.-Race Summary:...	ESP 1998 Spanish Grand Prix The 1998 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on May 10, 1998 at the Circuit de Catalunya.-Race Summary:Mika Häkkinen qualified in pole position, 0.7 seconds ahead of his McLaren team-mate David Coulthard in second place, with Ferrari's Michael Schumacher a further 0.8 seconds behind in...	MON 1998 Monaco Grand Prix The 1998 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monaco on May 24, 1998. The race was won by Mika Häkkinen, his fourth win of the season.-Qualifying Summary:...	CAN 1998 Canadian Grand Prix The 1998 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 7, 1998. The race was won by Michael Schumacher, however the race is probably best remembered for the crash on the first lap involving Alexander Wurz and Jean Alesi, which resulted in the race being red...	FRA 1998 French Grand Prix The 1998 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Magny-Cours on June 28, 1998. The race was won by Michael Schumacher.-Qualifying Summary:...	GBR 1998 British Grand Prix The 1998 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Silverstone on 12 July 1998. The race was won by Michael Schumacher in controversial circumstances.- Qualifying :...	AUT 1998 Austrian Grand Prix The 1998 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the A1-Ring on July 26, 1998. A mixed-up grid resulted from a wet/dry qualifying session, with Giancarlo Fisichella taking his first pole position. Mika Häkkinen won the race...	GER 1998 German Grand Prix The 1998 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Hockenheimring on August 2, 1998. Mika Häkkinen won the race for McLaren Mercedes.-Qualifying:...	HUN 1998 Hungarian Grand Prix The 1998 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Hungaroring on August 16, 1998.The race was won by Michael Schumacher, who started the race 16 points behind Mika Häkkinen, and was behind both McLarens for the first half of the race, which would have effectively ended his...	BEL 1998 Belgian Grand Prix The 1998 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on August 30, 1998, at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps; contested over 44 laps, it was the 13th race of the 1998 Formula One season. The race was won by Damon Hill driving for the Jordan team...	ITA 1998 Italian Grand Prix The 1998 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monza on September 13, 1998. The race was won by Michael Schumacher. This was also the last win for tyre manufacturer Goodyear in Formula One....	LUX 1998 Luxembourg Grand Prix The 1998 Luxembourg Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Nürburgring on September 27, 1998.-Report:With two races remaining of the season, McLaren's Mika Häkkinen and Ferrari's Michael Schumacher were battling for the drivers title; they were level on 80 points with Häkkinen ahead on...	JPN 1998 Japanese Grand Prix The 1998 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Suzuka on November 1, 1998.- Classification :-Standings after Grand Prix:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings...	10	6th
				Jean Alesi Jean Alesi Jean Alesi is a French racing driver of Italian origin. His Formula One career included spells at Tyrrell, Benetton, Sauber, Prost, Jordan and most notably Ferrari where he proved very popular among the tifosi...	Ret	9	5	6	10	12	Ret	7	Ret	Ret	10	7	3	5	10	7
				Johnny Herbert Johnny Herbert John Paul Herbert is a British racing driver from England. He competed in Formula One, winning three races, and also in sports cars winning the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1991 driving a Mazda 787B...	6	11	Ret	Ret	7	7	Ret	8	Ret	8	Ret	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	10