F1-SEASON 1998

Australian GP, Melbourne March 8th
ALL THE HELL BROKE LOOSE
 
The two McLarens had been setting up the pace at Melbourne. At the race they lapped all the other cars. But the way how the team fixed the race results didn't please FIA, who decided to forbid team orders from that on. And what had actually happened? David Coulthard was leading the race near its end, but then let his team mate Mika Häkkinen pass him. And this was caused by a pre-race agreement by McLaren, which said that whoever got to the first corner first would then remain unchallenged by his team mate for the rest of the race. So Mika had took his second win in a row... again because of a team order!
 
Brazilian GP, Sao Paolo March 29th
FIRST REAL VICTORY
 
Finally in Brazil it happened: Häkkinen took his first 'real' victory. This time there wasn't any need for team orders, Mika ruled the whole weekend from the beginning to the end. David shadowed him to the second place.
 
Argentine GP, Buenos Aires April 12th
SPINNING THROUGHOUT THE RACE
 
David had taken pole at Argentina, but his race became nothing but victorious. First Michael Schumacher took the lead from him by hitting his car, then he spinned around the track with Jacques Villeneuve, and lastly he drove off the track when he was overtaking Jean Alesi. As a result of all this was just one point and sixth place in a race which Michael won.
 
GP of San Marino, Imola April 26th
PAIN GOES AWAY
 
The first - and unfortunately the last - win of the season for David! 
 
Spanish GP, Barcelona May 10th
ANOTHER ONE-TWO
 
Another weekend ruled by Häkkinen, David was way behind him...
 
GP of Monaco, Monte Carlo May 24th
BEGINNING OF THE END
 
David's four race long bad luck started at Monaco. He was driving at second place when his engine blew up.
 
Canadian GP, Montreal June 7th
LOSING AGAIN IN CANADA
 
Another race at Montreal, another leading position, another disappointment... When will DC get the win he well deserves in Canada?
 
French GP, Magny Cours June 28th
SOME GAS, PLEASE?!
 
Refuelling problems ruined DC's race at Magny-Cours. He had to come to the pits four times, and he managed to get only one point.
 
British GP, Silverstone July 12th
FIRST OR LAST?
 
Perhaps the most disappointing race of the 1998 season for DC. At his home race he drove off the wet track. The scandal of the race was how Michael took the win while he was sitting at the pits!
 
Austrian GP, A1-Ring July 26th
BEST RACE EVER?
 
DC's bad luck had lasted for four races. It seemed to go on also in Austria, where qualifying on a drying track went wrong - David was 14th. And the first lap of the race caused even more problems, when DC had to come to the pits to change his front wing. But he was saved by the safety car... David fought his way from last place to the second step of the podium.
 
German GP, Hockenheim August 2nd
HELPING MY MATE
 
On Saturday McLaren had informed that DC and Mika would be driving for the team also in 1999. And from that on David's job would be only to help Mika win the title. David had to prove that already at Hockenheim, where he was following Mika throughout the race less than one second behind. He wasn't allowed to pass him even near the end when a problem at Mika's car forced him to slow down. So the result was... another second place for David!
 
Hungarian GP, Hungaroring August 16th
BYE BYE, MR. LUCK
 
The team gave David the permission to pass Mika too late, and he couldn't catch Michael anymore. Second place again!
 
Belgian GP, Spa-Francorchamps August 30th
MULTIPLE MAYHEM
 
The most eventful race of the millennium? At least for DC! At first he caused the first corner pile-up by spinning off the wet track. Then at the second start's first lap he collided with Benetton's Alex Wurz. 'Luckily' DC was able to continue his race. Then, halfway through, Michael who was leading, tried to lap DC but managed only to wreck his car. Furious Michael shouted at the pits that DC had tried to kill him. The debate of Spa's happenings still went on at Monza. At Spa David spent five laps at the pits and rejoined the race again. Finally he was seventh. You surely could write a book about Spa 98!
 
Italian GP, Monza September 13th
NOT AGAIN!
 
David was leading the race at Monza when his engine failed. Unluckily enough, the smoke coming from DC's engine also helped Michael to get pass Mika.
 
GP of Luxembourg, Nürburgring September 27th
WIN BY KNOCK OUT
 
Mika took a win in pure style before Michael and David.
 
Japanese GP, Suzuka November 1st
FLYING FINN FIRST AT FINISH

Michael had to start the last race of the season from the last place because his engine stalled at the second start. Michael started a heavy pursuit but managed only to explode his tyre. Mika took a win and became the world champion. With David's third place McLaren took also the constructor's title.

F1-season 1998 longer version

AUSTRALIAN GP 98

Formula 1-season 1998  began with McLaren-team's total control. At the first race of the season in Australia,  Melbourne, all the other cars were left at least a lap behind. But what really pissed off the public was how David Coulthard, who was leading the race near its end, let his team mate Mika Häkkinen pass him at the main straight, and Mika went on to a win. Why on Earth did you do that, people asked David after the race. Was that because of a team order? So are you the number two driver after all? David revealed that his actions were caused by "a gentleman's agreement", which the McLaren-drivers had done before the race. What was said in the agreement was that who ever got to the first corner first would then remain unchallenged by his team mate. Mika thanked DC after the race: "What David did was remarkable. I haven't seen many drivers doing so in the history of motor racing." But David's actions caused however so much controversy around the world, that FIA decided to forbid all team orders in the future. But the truth is that team orders have always played a major part in motor racing. No one can Team orders no one can control or prove, and they were used several times also during the 1998 season. Even though team orders would be forbidden in theory, the situation in practice is wholly different.
 

BRAZILIAN GP 98

In Brazil McLaren took its third 1-2 win in a row, and Häkkinen his first real victory. He had got his first two wins only because of team orders.
 

ARGENTINE GP 98

In Argentina another story was being told, when M Schumacher crashed to win. At the beginning of the race its was lead by the pole man DC,  until Schumi pushed him to the gravel. Schuey's car was unhurt, but David dropped down by several places because of his spin. The race was eventful for David, at one stage Jacques hit him from behind and there he went again... At the end of the race David spun off the track because of the rain. After all the incidents he was finally sixth in the race, and got only one silly point.
 

GP OF SAN MARINO 98

In Imola that long waited win finally came, but it didn't make much difference after the season, because it was the only victory DC achieved during the 1998 season!

SPANISH GP 98

In Spain McLaren took another 1-2. Mika controlled the whole weekend from start to finish.

FROM MONACO TO BRITAIN...
 

In the next race, the GP of Monaco, started David's 4 races long row of bad luck: In Monaco David was second when his engine blew up, in Canada he was leading when an axle let him donw, in France he had to visit the pits for four times and stay there for 30 seconds each time because of problems with the gas supply and at Silverstone, in a real joke race which Schumi won by sitting at the pits, David drove off the track in pouring rain.
 

AUSTRIAN GP 98
 

The Austrian GP began with the same tune: In the qualifying David came too early to drive his last laps to the drying track and was only 14th. A clear mistake by the team made to think, wouldn't his bad luck never end? The beginning of the race was a pure catastrophe, David was involved in a first lap's crash and had to go to the pits to change his front wing. But the safety car came out and that saved DC and he was soon right behind the rest of the pack. After that everything went more than great for David and he ended up being second in the race! David's best race so far, everyone said. McLaren had returned to the road of 1-2 victories thanks to David's awesome performance. A1-Ring had been a goor track for DC at least before the year 1999, in 1997 he was 10th in the qualifying and second in the race. With the success in Austria the long lasted misfortune ended and gave a promise of a better future.
 

GERMAN GP 98
 

A week later before the German GP McLaren announced that the same drivers would be driving for the team also in  1999, jand David finally admitted that his chances to win the World Championship had gone. In the future he would concentrate to helping Mika to become the Champion. David had to prove already at Hockenheim that he truly was there just to help Mika, when he was sitting at Mika's gear box for the whole race. He wasn't allowed to pass Mika, even though he was clearly faster than his team mate. At the end of the race Mika's car had a leak and as his speed was getting even slower David got all the shit all over him. Luckily Mika's car finally lasted to the finish, and McLaren got its fifth 1-2 win of the season.
 

HUNGARIAN GP 98
 

In Hungary Mika suffered from a mystical problem in his car, because of what he was sixth in the race. And too late David was given the permission to overtake Mika, and because of that he couldn't beat Schumi and was finally second. The next race, the Belgian GP is a wholly another story...
 

BELGIAN GP 98
 

The 1998 Belgian GP at the track of Spa-Francorchamps will be remembered as the most expensive and one of the most eventful weekends in the history of F1. Already on Friday a glimpse of the future reached our eyes, when Jacques drove off the track dangerously. And on Saturday Mika Salo drove off at the same corner (Eau Rouge...) and wrecked his car completely. Luckily both drivers suffered only from headache and aching muscles. But you had seen nothing yet babe! The race itself was started in the rain, and even though the cars made it pass the first corner, the second straight caused problems. In the middle of the rain Eddie Irvine hit David's car and sent him across the track, from barrier to another. There it was, the worst pile up ever. Almost 15 cars were wrecked. No one was hurt, but yet few drivers couldn't participate to the second start, when there wasn't enough spare cars for all.
At the second start something happened again, when Schumi's Ferrari hit Häkkinen's car at the first corner and caused Mika to spinn. That was the end of Mika's race... Also on the first lap David collided with Wurz, but was able to continue. Hill who had been leading the race at the beginning had to finally let Schumi pass him. Schuey soon started to increase his gap to others. The race was already nearing its end, Schumi's lead to next driver was about a minute, but then happened something really amazing and extraordinary...
 

Schumi was about to lap David and looked for a way pass. Schumi was desperate even though his lead was so huge... Apparently David made the decision to let Michael pass him, and moved to the edge of the track and slowed down. But because of the poor visibility and high speed Schumi didn't have time to see what David had done and banged his car to the rear of the McLaren. Slowly this strange duo drove to the pits, where furious Schumi bumped out of his car and headed straightaway towards McLaren's garage. There he yelled to David claiming that DC had tried to kill him. The staff of McLaren kept Schumi far away from DC and this maniac was forced to leave the place 'empty handed'. David's car was being fixed at the pits for five laps, and then he returned to the track (to everyone's surprise) hoping that he would be able to get that one last point. But there were no more retirements in the race and David's destiny was pointless seventh place.
 

ITALIAN GP 98
 

The test week after Belgium at Monza, Italy was a pure nightmare for David. Fanatical Ferrari-fans were accusing him as a killer and were shouting at him every time he was on the track. A week later in the Italian GP David had to retire because of an engine failure when he was leading the race. To McLaren the weekend at Monza was a sad one, when the smoke coming from David's car helped Schumi to pass Mika.
 

GP OF LUXEMBOURG 98
 

In Luxembourg there was another tune in the song when Mika controlled the race from start to finish. When Schumi was pushing hard at the beginning of the race Mika didn't make a mistake. Frustrated Schuey tried too much and drove off the track, but didn't luckily wreck his car. Like so many times before David clotted towards the end of the season and could only manage a third place at the Nürburgring. David wouldn't be able to give Mika any help in the hunt of the title, in Japan Mika would be all on his own against the two Ferraris...
 

JAPANESE GP 98
 

And this happened in Japan: Schumi, who had taken the pole, stalled his engine at the second start and was forced to start the race from the last place of the grid. That didn't stop Schumi from trying, but it just wasn't enough this time. Or in fact it was too much; Goodyear's soft tyres couldn't handle the pressure and so Schumi's game was finally over after a tyre explosion. Mika was ready to be crowned as the World Champion 1998. David's third place in the last race of the season meant that McLaren took also the Constructors' title.
 

Year 1998 was McLaren's and Mika Häkkinen's year, but which driver and which team took the last Championships of the millennium?...