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?...
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