Benetton Formula One team has signed Hidetoshi Mitsusada as test driver for the 2000 season. The 29-year-old Japanese driver will also be competing in this year’s F3000 series, although the team which he will be racing with has not yet been confirmed. ‘I am very excited at the prospect of driving for the Benetton Formula 1 team,’ said Mitsusada, who finished third in the 1999 Formula Nippon championship. ‘Combined with my racing programme, it will allow me to gain valuable experience of competing at the highest level on European tracks, with the ultimate goal of racing in Formula One.’