For the 1998 F1 season Sauber was looking for a qualitative leap; as far as the pilots were concerned, Johnny Herbert was joined by Jean Alesi. The C17 was designed by Leo Ress according to rather conventional canons. The engine was still the Petronas, that is the 80 ° V10 Ferrari, which did not have the power of rival teams. The results of 1998 were rather uneven and the team only got 10 points, which earned them 6th place in the constructors' championship. Alesi was third in Belgium and finished 11th in the world championship with 9 points; Herbert only scored one point thanks to a sixth place finish in Australia.