GRR

Video: Get up close and personal with a Benetton B197 at Hockenheim

28th June 2024
Rachel Roberts
How often is it you get the chance to get up close and personal with a Formula 1 race-winning car? Well, today’s video allows you to stand right in the garage alongside Jean Alesi’s Benetton B197 F1 car in between stints of racing at the 2024 Hockenheim Historic back in May, an event honouring F1 champion Jim Clark, who had his fatal crash at the circuit in 1968.

The B197 was driven by Alesi and Gerhard Berger during the 1997 F1 season, the Austrian delivered the car’s best result – victory at the that year's German Grand Prix, so it’s something special to see the car return to the site of its greatest triumph almost 30 years on.

Helpfully, the specs are nicely laid out at the start of the clip, reminding us all of the 420PS (309kW) V10 engine that rev to 11,000rpm – a quick look at the comments tells you how much adoration there still is for this wondrous era of F1 cars, and that unforgettable sound they made.

This video is divided into sections which give us a look at the car standing out on track with its bright blue livery, and then close up in the pits, and we mean, really close up – right into the engine, under the floor, at the front sans nose.

But it finishes where we’d all rather see it, in all its glory back on the track with screaming flybys. As a way to spend five minutes of your day, this isn’t half bad.

Welcome to Goodwood Elevenses, a helping of motoring-related amusement to help break up your day. Watch the last video: Roaring opening lap at the Nürburgring in a Porsche 911 RSR

  • Video

  • Elevenses

  • Benetton

  • B197

  • F1

  • Formula 1

elevenses 1997 benetton b197.jpg

Historic

Video: Get up close and personal with a Benetton B197 at Hockenheim

28th June

elevenses-schumacher-benetton-b193-adelaide.jpg

Formula 1

Video: Michael Schumacher inch-perfect in his Benetton at Adelaide

01st March

boss-gp-benetton-f1-noise-monza-2021-video-goodwood-15112021.jpg

Formula 1

Video: Raw V8 and V10 F1 noise at Monza

15th November 2021

benetton-b193-bonhams-main.jpg

Formula 1

Michael Schumacher’s Benetton F1 car is up for sale at FOS

01st June 2022

elevenses Lister Costin tops 140mph in Sicily.jpg

Historic

Video: Lister Costin tops 140mph in Sicily

01st July

elevenses-b192-onboard-sound.jpg

Formula 1

Video: Brutal onboard sounds of a 1992 F1 car

14th November 2022

elevenses-lotus-87b-spa-onboard.jpg

Formula 1

Video: Incredible flying lap onboard Nigel Mansell’s Lotus F1 car

04th March

elevenses-simtek-nosecam-spanish-gp-1995-rainer-schlegelmilch-mi-main.jpg

Formula 1

Video: Riding on the nose of a Simtek F1 car

10th July 2022