1998
SEASON

Teams and drivers

† All engines were 3.0 litre, V10 configuration.

Team changes

At the end of 1997 , Renault withdrew as a direct engine supplier from Formula One and thus marked the first season since 1988 that Renault -branded engines were absent due to the company's privatisation plan . As a result, the two teams running Renault engines were forced to source alternative suppliers. Williams opted to run engines supplied by Mecachrome , who were working with Renault to develop the most recent iteration of their RS9 engine rebadged with the Mecachrome name. Benetton sourced... Arrows had bought out Brian Hart 's preparation company to build their own engines . They would do so as well for 2000 . The Prost and Jordan teams swapped their engine suppliers from 1997: Prost now used Peugeot , whilst Jordan used Mugen - Honda . Minardi switched from Hart to Ford engines.

Driver changes

Gerhard Berger retired at the end of 1997 after fourteen years in F1, leaving a vacant seat at Benetton . The team also opted not to renew Jean Alesi 's contract, so the Frenchman signed a two-year deal to join Johnny Herbert at Sauber . As their replacements, Benetton signed Giancarlo Fisichella from Jordan and Alexander Wurz , who had already substituted for Berger for three races in 1997. Jordan replaced Fisichella by signing 1996 World Champion Damon Hill to partner Ralf Schumacher . To fill his Hill's seat, Arrows secured the services of Tyrrell 's Mika Salo alongside Pedro Diniz . Tyrrell also parted ways with Jos Verstappen in the off-season, despite Ken Tyrrell wanting him to stay. However, new owners British American Tobacco preferred to hire Brazilian Ricardo Rosset , who had briefly raced for the now-defunct Lola team in 1997. They promoted test driver Toranosuke Takagi t... Prost retained Olivier Panis , but dropped second driver Shinji Nakano and replaced him with Jarno Trulli . Trulli had started 1997 with Minardi but then substituted for Panis when he broke his leg at the Canadian Grand Prix . Meanwhile, Nakano joined Trulli's old team, Minardi , to replace his retiring countryman Ukyo Katayama . He was partnered by rookie Esteban Tuero , who was promoted from a testing role as he was preferred to the outgoing Tarso Marques . Marques would eventually return to F...

Mid-season changes

Jan Magnussen was dropped by Stewart after the Canadian Grand Prix , following a series of underwhelming performances (including crashing into and eliminating his teammate Rubens Barrichello on lap 1 at Imola ). He was replaced by Jos Verstappen , who had been out of a drive since leaving Tyrrell at the end of 1997. "X wings", a pair of tall aerodynamic appendages mounted at the front of each sidepod and first seen on the Tyrrell 025 in 1997, were banned before the Spanish Grand Prix . The teams that used them before the ban were Ferrari , Jordan , Prost , Sauber , and Tyrrell .

Technical regulations

The 1998 season brought about two significant technical changes to reduce cornering speeds and aid overtaking: Quite a list of regulations were drafted up with regards to the brakes . The goal was to limit braking performance, thereby improving possibilities of overtaking and reducing costs. The cameras mounted on top of the engine covers, as seen on selected cars from 1995 to 1997, were made mandatory for each car in 1998, and changed from an I-shape to a more aerodynamic T-shape. This design has remained largely unchanged since.

Sporting regulations

In 1997 , a driver was allowed a maximum of 30 laps free practice per day. This limit was abolished for 1998.

Rounds 1 to 6

When the season commenced, it was immediately clear that McLaren had adapted to the rule changes best, with their drivers locking out the front row of the grid at the opening race of the season in Australia and both being more than half a second clear of Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari . Mika Häkkinen started on pole position and led up to lap 36, when he misheard a call to come into the pits . Teammate David Coulthard took the lead, but moved over to allow Häkkinen to pass, honouring a pre-ra... The McLaren drivers finished 1-2 again in Brazil , and in the same order. But once again, controversy was not far away: a protest was lodged regarding the McLaren braking system. It was suggested to allow the drivers to brake front and rear wheels independently, contravening the rules. McLaren agreed not to run the system, but remained dominant in the race. With Goodyear making steps forward before Argentina , Schumacher was able to take his first win of the season there. Häkkinen finished a distant second and Coulthard only managed sixth after he was tipped into a spin by Schumacher early in the race. Coulthard bounced back in Imola by gaining pole position and winning the race ahead of the Ferrari's of Schumacher and Eddie Irvine . Häkkinen suffered his first retirement of the season due to a gearbox failure. It seemed that normal service resumed in Spain , however, where the McLaren took another 1-2 finish led by Häkkinen. A further win for Häkkinen in Monaco gave him a seventeen-point lead over Coulthard with Schumacher a further five points behind.

Rounds 7 to 12

Michael Schumacher climbed back in the standings by winning the next three races, while mistakes and mechanical failures cost both Häkkinen and Coulthard points. After the British Grand Prix , Schumacher had closed the gap to Häkkinen to just two points, while Coulthard was 26 points behind his teammate and looking unlikely to be able to fight for the championship. Consecutive wins in Austria and Germany for Häkkinen, however, proved that McLaren still had the strongest car. Finally, a strategic master stroke in Hungary allowed Schumacher to take the win, with Häkkinen only managing sixth, and close the championship gap again, to just seven points.