Rocco Benetton, New Kid on the Grid
December 6, 1998 - 0:0
ENSTONE, England Rocco Benetton is a rarity in Formula One a team boss younger than world champion Mika Hakkinen and with no track record in the sport. But he insists that he, and his Italian industrialist family, are fully committed to staying in motor racing's glamor championship. "As far as experience is concerned, I can't bring much," said Benetton Formula's new 29-year-old chief executive at his Oxfordshire Headquarters. "But I have managerial experience from the United States. "I don't have the experience of these people but at the same time I think that I have more enthusiasm and desire to prove that I'm okay than anybody else," he said, soft-spoken and elegant in his gray business suit.
"To be successful in Formula One you do not have to be a racer. I am a manager. I think that Benetton Formula One can be approached as a business." "Today, it's not just a team any more, a garage with 10 people and a car. It's a business." He is, as the youngest son of company founder Luciano Benetton needlessly states, 100 percent Italian despite spending 11 years in the U.S. where he obtained a degree in engineering from Boston University. More importantly, he is a Benetton. He may be passionate about motor sport but business runs in the blood.
"I am here first of all to represent the Benetton group and all of its shareholders," he declared. He said the group had felt many people were failing to make the link between the Benetton racing team and the Italian Parent Company and there was also seen to be a need to emphasise Benetton's commitment to staying in motor sport. "Speculation is the one thing that comes for free in Formula One," said Benetton of rumors that had suggested the family was growing lukewarm about their involvement.
"I wouldn't be here if i didn't believe that there was something to look after for the future." "They (Benetton and Benetton Formula) are two different businesses, they are to be run on a separate basis for logical reasons but they are the same family," he said. "My position will make this even stronger." Rocco, previously the company's commercial director, replaced Englishman David Richards as Benetton Formula chief executive in October after what his predecessor said were disagreements about the team's future direction.
A month on from being appointed, Benetton said he was engaged in a thorough review of the team's activities. He is in a hurry to learn the business, not to change it. "I approach the sport with respect," he said. "I know my limits, the fact that I don't have the experience that all of the other team directors have." "I approach it as a humble person, respecting the others and trying to learn as much as I can." He insisted that he was no revolutionary and was optimistic about next season, emphasising that he had every intention to be a hands-on chief executive.
Drivers Giancarlo Fisichella, a Roman, and Austrian Alexander Wurz have both been retained for 1999. "The two lads have shown they have a lot of talent, among the best in Formula One," said Benetton. "They have now got to make a jump in quality." "They owe it to themselves and to the team that is working very hard for them. We have two very talented drivers, now it's time for them to show they can make a step forward." Both drivers are younger than Rocco, but with rather more experience of motor racing, and Benetton shrugged off any suggestion that being of the same age group was an asset in putting them on the same wavelength.
"You could say that it is more important to have a relationship with the sponsors. There are very few sponsors my age," he said, adding that some of the other team bosses were old enough to be his grandfather, let alone father. Benetton won the World Championship with German Michael Schumacher in 1994 and 1995 and started last season promisingly only to slump in the second half of the year.
They failed to win a race and finished fifth in the World Constructors' Championship, a point behind Jordan. "We did make some mistakes and we want to make sure that we don't repeat them, but I think that at the end of the day maybe a bad experience helps," said Rocco. After watching the unveiling of the team's new, state-of-the-art wind tunnel on Monday, he said he was confident 1999 would see a return to the fast track.
"I believe we can fight for the championship, I believe we have the elements to succeed," he said. "We are a top team and we have to deliver." (Reuter)
"To be successful in Formula One you do not have to be a racer. I am a manager. I think that Benetton Formula One can be approached as a business." "Today, it's not just a team any more, a garage with 10 people and a car. It's a business." He is, as the youngest son of company founder Luciano Benetton needlessly states, 100 percent Italian despite spending 11 years in the U.S. where he obtained a degree in engineering from Boston University. More importantly, he is a Benetton. He may be passionate about motor sport but business runs in the blood.
"I am here first of all to represent the Benetton group and all of its shareholders," he declared. He said the group had felt many people were failing to make the link between the Benetton racing team and the Italian Parent Company and there was also seen to be a need to emphasise Benetton's commitment to staying in motor sport. "Speculation is the one thing that comes for free in Formula One," said Benetton of rumors that had suggested the family was growing lukewarm about their involvement.
"I wouldn't be here if i didn't believe that there was something to look after for the future." "They (Benetton and Benetton Formula) are two different businesses, they are to be run on a separate basis for logical reasons but they are the same family," he said. "My position will make this even stronger." Rocco, previously the company's commercial director, replaced Englishman David Richards as Benetton Formula chief executive in October after what his predecessor said were disagreements about the team's future direction.
A month on from being appointed, Benetton said he was engaged in a thorough review of the team's activities. He is in a hurry to learn the business, not to change it. "I approach the sport with respect," he said. "I know my limits, the fact that I don't have the experience that all of the other team directors have." "I approach it as a humble person, respecting the others and trying to learn as much as I can." He insisted that he was no revolutionary and was optimistic about next season, emphasising that he had every intention to be a hands-on chief executive.
Drivers Giancarlo Fisichella, a Roman, and Austrian Alexander Wurz have both been retained for 1999. "The two lads have shown they have a lot of talent, among the best in Formula One," said Benetton. "They have now got to make a jump in quality." "They owe it to themselves and to the team that is working very hard for them. We have two very talented drivers, now it's time for them to show they can make a step forward." Both drivers are younger than Rocco, but with rather more experience of motor racing, and Benetton shrugged off any suggestion that being of the same age group was an asset in putting them on the same wavelength.
"You could say that it is more important to have a relationship with the sponsors. There are very few sponsors my age," he said, adding that some of the other team bosses were old enough to be his grandfather, let alone father. Benetton won the World Championship with German Michael Schumacher in 1994 and 1995 and started last season promisingly only to slump in the second half of the year.
They failed to win a race and finished fifth in the World Constructors' Championship, a point behind Jordan. "We did make some mistakes and we want to make sure that we don't repeat them, but I think that at the end of the day maybe a bad experience helps," said Rocco. After watching the unveiling of the team's new, state-of-the-art wind tunnel on Monday, he said he was confident 1999 would see a return to the fast track.
"I believe we can fight for the championship, I believe we have the elements to succeed," he said. "We are a top team and we have to deliver." (Reuter)