October 1998

31 October 1998 M. Schumacher managed to gain pole position for the final GP of the 1998 F1 seaon. Title rival Hakkinnen will start from second place, after spinning out in the last stages of the qualifying session trying to match M. Schumacher's time. Coulthard and Irvine gained third and fourth place respectively, with a one second gap from the front row drivers. Trulli qualified behind team mate Panis, despite driving next year's car. A sad note is Rosset failing to qualify for Tyrrell's last ever F1 GP.

         1) Michael Schumacher (Ger-Ferrari) 1'36"293 
         2) Mika Kakkinen (Fin-McLaren Mercedes) 1'36"471 
         3) David Coulthard (GB-McLaren Mercedes) 1'37"496 
         4) Eddie Irvine (Irl-Ferrari) 1'38"197 
         5) Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Ger-Williams) 1'38"272 
         6) Jacques Villeneuve (Can-Williams) 1'38"448 
         7) Ralf Schumacher (Ger-Jordan-Mugen Honda) 1'38"461 
         8) Damon Hill (GB-Jordan-Mugen Honda) 1'38"603 
         9) Alexander Wurz (Aut-Benetton) 1'38"958 
         10) Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita-Benetton) 1'39"080 
         11) Johnny Herbert (GB-Sauber-Petronas) 1'39"234 
         12) Jean Alesi (Fra-Sauber Petronas) 1'39"448 
         13) Olivier Panis (Fra-Prost-Peugeot) 1'40"037 
         14) Jarno Trulli (Ita-Prost-Peugeot) 1'40"111 
         15) Mika Salo (Fin-Arrows) 1'40"387 
         16) Rubens Barrichello (Bra-Stewart-Ford) 1'40"502 
         17) Toranosuke Takagi (Jap-Tyrrell-Ford) 1'40"619 
         18) Pedro Paolo Diniz (Bra-Arrows) 1'40"687 
         19) Jos Verstappen (Hol-Stewart-Ford) 1'40"943 
         20) Shinji NaKano (Jap-Minardi-Ford) 1'41"315 
         21) Esteban Tuero (Arg-Minardi-Ford) 1'42"358 

30 October 1998 These are the results of the Friday qualifying session at Suzuka:

        1. Michael Schumacher (Ger/Ferrari) 1'39"823 (211,478 km/h) 
        2. Ralf Schumacher (Ger/Jordan-Mugen Honda) 1'40"336 
        3. Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Ger/Williams-Mecachrome) 1'40"389 
        4. Eddie Irvine (Irl/Ferrari) 1'40"615 
        5. Mika Hakkinen (Fin/McLaren-Mercedes) 1'40"644 
        6. David Coulthard (Gbr/McLaren-Mercedes) 1'40"845 
        7. Damon Hill (Gbr/Jordan-Mugen Honda) 1'41"098 
        8. Jacques Villeneuve (Can/Williams-Mecachrome) 1'41"252 
        9. Jos Verstappen (Hol/Stewart-Ford) 1'42"191 
        10. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita/Benetton-Mecachrome) 1'42"224 
        11. Alexander Wurz (Aut/Benetton-Mecachrome) 1'42"628 
        12. Toranosuke Takagi (Jap/Tyrrell-Ford) 1'42"833 
        13. Jarno Trulli (Ita/Prost-Peugeot) 1'43"121 
        14. Olivier Panis (Fra/Prost-Peugeot) 1'43"493 
        15. Mika Salo (Fin/Arrows) 1'43"634 
        16. Jean Alesi (Fra/Sauber-Petronas) 1'43"788 
        17. Rubens Barrichello (Bra/Stewart-Ford) 1'43"854 
        18. Johnny Herbert (Gbr/Sauber-Petronas) 1'43"894 
        19. Pedro Paolo Diniz (Bra/Arrows) 1'44"468 
        20. Shinji Nakano (Jap/Minardi-Ford) 1'44"632 
        21. Ricardo Rosset (Bra/Tyrrell-Ford) 1'45"054 
        22. Esteban Tuero (Arg/Minardi-Ford) 1'46"396

30 October 1998 To avoid unexpected problems, both Ferrari and McLaren have brought four cars to Suzuka.

30 October 1998 At Suzuka Minardi will use a new engine, the M4 evolution of the V10 ZetecR engine. According to Mark Parish (Ford Cosworth) the new engine guarantees better performance. Both Minardi will have the new engine.

30 October 1998 Today FIA presented the new seat for F1 cars which can be xtracted from teh cockpit with the driver on it. The new seat will be compulsory from next year, together with more space in the cockpit to install it. The seat was designed by Lear and teh prototype built by Stewart.

30 October 1998 Honda has confirmed that they are planning to return to F1, but have denied the rumour that they have already found an agreement with Jordan to come back by the year 2000.

29 October 1998 Coulthard said that Hakkinen deserves to win the Championship because this year he drove extremely well. M. Schumacher has never beaten him directly, but he's always been favoured by accidents or breakages. In Magny Cours he only won because Irvine helped him a lot. The only time there has been a clear race, at the Nürburgring, Hakkinen won. It would be unfair if M. Schumacher won the Championship. On the other hand, Irvine today warned Hakkinen that he'll have to be very careful in overtaking him, because the Ferrari driver has nothing to lose and can risk a lot more than the Finn.

29 October 1998 The organisers of the Portoguese GP and the Portoguese Federation of Motor Racing and Karting have submitted an application to FIA for the Portuguese GP to be included in the 1999 calendar. The application states that the required improvements to the circuit should be finished by June 1999. The final 1999 F1 calendar will be released in December.

29 Ocober 1998 Vivianne Senna, sister of Ayrton, said that the trial did not produce answers as to what caused the accident that killed the brazilian champion. She added that her family does not blame the organisers of the GP or the people who control F1, but that they want to find out the truth about Ayrton Senna's death.

29 October 1998 Rory Byrne revealed that the work to prepare the new (as yet unnamed) Ferrari for next year is progressing rapidly and that the car might be ready for testing before Christmas. The official presentation will take place in mid-January and the new car, and possibly the new engine, will be used in the pre-Championship testing in January and Februay.

29 October 1998 Ferrari and Williams are unhappy about Hamashima's statement that the tyre tests will be reduced from 80 to 44 days next year. Ferrari would have to give up testing at Fiorano, while Williams has already planned three months of continuous testing, from December to February. Luca Montezemolo met the Bridgestone representatives today to discuss the situation.

29 October 1998 Next season will see the monopoly of the Bridgestone tyres in F1, but the Japanese company will have to get ready for a challange in the year 2000, when BMW will enter F1 with Michelin tyres. This news comes forom Bridgestone itself and it seems to be confirmed by Michelin. The French tyre company is rumoured to have already secretely tested 1999 specification (ie with 4 grooves) front tyres on a Provence race track.

29 October 1998 Alain prost is expected to announce this weekend that John Barnard will join the Prost team to design the AP02 for the 1999 season. Barnard will also become the technical director of the French team, a position up to now covered by Bernard Dudot, "father" of the Renault V10 engine.

29 October 1998 Panis revelade today that he and Trulli tossed a coin to decide who should drive the new AP01B at Suzuka.

29 October 1998 Mosley and Ecclestone have decided not to travel to Japan to see the last GP of the 1998 season.

29 October 1998 Panis said yesterday that he thinks Hakkinen has a slight aerodynamic advantage on the Suzuka track. He added that he hopes Ivine and Coulthard will not commit any "mistakes", especially if it rains.

29 October 1998 Swiss designer Mario Illien said that the best V10 engine McLaren has available can produce up to 814 hp and that they will decide whether to use it at Suzuka by Saturday. Alternatively they could choose to use one of three evolution engines, which produce less power, but are more reliable.

29 October 1998 M. Schumacher said that he is very pleasantly surprised by the improvement obtained in the last few weeks, especially for what concerns the Goodyear tyres. At Suzuka, for the qualiying session, M. Schumacher and Irvine will use a new engine which will be able to produce over 800 hp, while for the race they will use the 047d engine. Irvine will use a new seat which he said works wonders for his back. Ferrari is planning to use the short wheelbase car in Japan.

28 October 1998 Former Jordan designer Gary Anderson will be working as chief designer under Alan Jenkins in the Stewart GP team.

28 October 1998 Benetton have extended the contract with their sponsor Mild Seven until the end of the year 2000. Fisichella and Wurz will also stay with the team until that date.

28 October 1998 Geraldo Rodrigues, Ricardo Zonta's manager, said that the Brazilian is not going to be a second driver, but will have exactly the same equipment as Jacques Villeneuve. Apparently Zonta turned down offers from Sauber and Jordan. He will be joining the BAR team in December.

27 October 1998 Bridgestone has warned Ferrari and Williams that if they don't sing the contract for next year by the weekend, it will be too late for the two teams to be included in the 1999 tyre tests scheduled for Tuesday-Wednesday next week at Suzuka. The departure of Goodyear from F1 will leave Bridgestone as the only tyre supplier and the Japanese company has already said that they are planning to reduce tyre testing from next F1 season and the number of sets of tyres given to each team.

27 October 1998 Hakkinen said that he does not think Irvine will try anything irregular because he is a professional racer and knows how to behave.

27 October 1998 Coulthard said that he thinks his team mate Hakkinen will win the World Championship and that he deserves it.

26 October 1998 Ex-F3000 champion Ricardo Zonta, 22, has joined BAR as Villeneuve's team mate with a one year contract. The young Brazilian said that racing in F1 is a dream come true for him and that he wants to become a champion. His hero is Ayrton Senna and he hopes to keep up the long tradition and success of Brazil in the sport.

25 October 1998 Mika Hakkinen said that he has not decided whether to try and win, or to just finish second. In either case the Finn would become the Wolrd Champion.

25 october 1998 M. Schumacher said that in F1 performance drugs are not necessary, because the drivers never reach their physical limits, only the psycological ones.

23 October 1998 After doing three laps on the Zhuhai circuit in a Renault Spider, Villenueve said that he found it was a nice simple track, easy to learn, wide and with good braking zones.

23 October 1998 There are rumours that Toyota would get into F1 in 2001, using its German Rally structure as a starting point.

23 October 1998 Hiroyuki Yoshino of Honda said that the Japanese company will go back into F1 in the year 2000. He would have liked Honda to be back in 1999 but that is not possible.

23 October 1998 Michele Scannavini is leaving his position as commercial and marketing director of Ferrari after six years. The name of his replacement is not yet known.

23 October 1998 At Suzuka Trulli will drive the Prost-Peugeot AP01B. The car will have the new Peugeot A18 Evolution engine, which is expected to be a lot more competitive than the one the Prost team has used throught throughout the season.

22 October 1998 M. Schumacher said that he is confident he will win the GP at Suzuka and the Championship.

22 October 1998 The Dallas Economic Development Council has dismissed Buddy Boren's plans to build a racing track to host the first US GP since the 1991 race in Phoenix. The council is only prepared to give Boren the go ahead if he can guarantee that a F1 race will take place there. Boren says that needs the support of the council before he can secure investors and ask for a F1 date.

21 October 1998 Max Mosley has written to Raffaele De Brasi, mayor of Imola, saying that the GP of San Marino has been included in the 99 F1 calendar as a provisional race until clarifications will be provided about Italian laws on criminal responsability in dangerous sports. Mosley mentioned the fact that teams will feel "uneasy" racing in Italy if the laws are not clarified. The aim is to reduce the risk by 50 percent and it is difficult to imagine what will happen in the future if no action is taken. Mosley's letter to De Brasi was prompted to the trial following the death of Ayrton Senna in 1994.

21 October 1998 Rocco Benetton, on his first day as chief of Benetton Formula 1, said that his aim is to give Wurz and Fisichella the means to win from the very start of the 99 season.

21 October 1998 M. Schuamcher and Jean ALesi had lunch together at Fiorano. Afterwards they said they were just meeting as friends and they did not talk about F1. Alesi said that Ferrari has worked very hard for this title and if he can do anything to help M. Schuamcher at Suzuka, he will do it. He also said that he would like to go back to Ferrari, but that at the moment he is happy at Sauber. M. Schumacher said that he thinks the main factor at Suzuka will be the tyres and he hopes he has chosen the right ones.

20 October 1998The organisers of the Argentina GP have prepared a new financial project to try and keep the race into the 1999 F1 season. Argentina is currently only a reserve race and Ecclestone is rumored to have asked for 80 million USD for the race to be reintated into the calendar. The organisers of the Argentina GP are Martin Salaberry, who is the manager of the society maintaning the Buenos Aires circuit, and Eduardo Ramirez, manager of Esteban Tuero.

19 October 1998 David Richards, chief executive of Benetton Formula 1, has resigned and Rocco Benetton is to take his place. Officially Richards resigned over a plan for changes in the structure and financing of the Benetton team which he had submitted for approval and which was rejected.

19 October 1998 M. Schuamcher said that he's never going back to live in Germany, as he doesn't think it is the rigth environment for his children to grow up in.

18 October 1998 Hakkinen said that he is confident he will win the GP at Suzuka and become thw World Champion. He also said that he thinks M. Schumacher will run a clean race and won't attempt and tricks.

16 October 1998 Neil Ressler of Ford has joined the Stewart Racing board of directors as a non-executive member. This move will strengthen the relationship between the Formula 1 team and Ford.

15 October 1998 The organisers of the Hungarian GP have been fined 1m pounds for the field invasion by the Ferrari fans. Seventyfive percent of the fine has been waived, provided that a similar incident does not occur again.

15 October 1998 Both Ferrari and McLaren are working hard to find the right tyres for the Suzuka GP, which will close the season. Yesterday M. Schumacher tried out 47 dry tyres and 44 wet ones. The McLaren team had two lorry loads of tyres (1530) to try.

15 October 1998 Thaks to new side cushions, Irvine seems to have solved his seating problems. The solution has worked so well that yesterday he managed to beat M. Schumacher's record at Mugello.

14 October 1998 Irvine is still suffering from backache, despite Ferrari providing him with a new purpose-built seat.

9 October 1998 M. Schumacher has denied rumours that Ferrari would like to swap Irvine for Sauber's Alesi. The ex World Champion said that he likes Irvine as team mate and that Irvine has a one-year contract with Ferrari for 1999.

7 October 1998 Pedro Diniz has signed a contract with Sauber for next year.

Last updated on 31 October 1998 by Federica Massagrande