Grand climax
Four points gained by Hakkinen in April prove crucial
Posted: Monday November 02, 1998 05:44 PM
The Formula One season came to another grand climax last Sunday in Japan, with Germany's Michael Schumacher and Finland's Mika Hakkinen vying for the title of World Drivers' Champion.
Hakkinen was in pole position, with a four-point lead, and made it stick, winning Sunday's finale and the F1 championship. Even if Ferrari's Schumacher had won at Suzuka, Hakkinen could have claimed the championship by finishing second. It would have meant a tie in points, but the flying Finn would have edged Schumacher because he had more '98 second-place finishes than Schumacher.
And by such tiny margins are titles so often decided. Which is why -- with the last car having roared across the finish of the final Grand Prix -- it's always worth a delve back into the season's other battles to determine quite where the championship was won and lost.
Back in March it was most definitely advantage McLaren. Hakkinen's teammate David Coulthard controversially pulled over late in the Australian Grand Prix to let the second-placed Finn through. They had agreed to the move in a pre-race arrangement.
How crucial did those four extra points prove last Sunday?
In the next race in Brazil on March 29, Hakkinen more traditionally led a McLaren one-two. Schumacher picked up his first points of the season in third. The running tally: Hakkinen 20, Schumacher 4.
A collision with Coulthard could not deny Schumacher his first win of 1998 as the F1 boys sped into Argentina in April. Little did Schumacher and Coulthard know that they had a more momentous collision to come.
The points: Hakkinen 26, Schumacher 14.
Coulthard won next time out in San Marino. Hakkinen had gearbox trouble and fell by the wayside. Schumacher's second place closed the gap overall: Hakkinen 26, Schumacher 20.
Time for a McLaren spurt. It came on May 10th at the Spanish Grand Prix, where Hakkinen led a McLaren one-two. Schumacher was third. The points: Hakkinen 36, Schumacher 24.
More delight for the Finn in Monte Carlo as he led from start-to-finish. Schumacher was out of the points in 10th. Could this be the turning point of the season -- after all it was Hakkinen 46, Schumacher 24?
But no. A crash-cluttered Canadian Grand Prix saw Schumacher bounce back in true champion style to take the victory laurels. Hakkinen was out on lap one of a re-started race. Hakkinen 46, Schumacher 34.
Suddenly Ferrari's season was gaining championship momentum. As the drivers returned to Europe, the famous Italian team was poised for an all-out assault on McLaren's lead.
Ferrari's first one-two since 1990 was the highlight of the French Grand Prix on June 28. Schumacher claimed his second straight win. Eddie Irvine was second, taking two crucial points off Hakkinen. The scores: Hakkinen 50, Schumacher 44.
And the gap was down to two points after yet another Ferrari triumph in the rain at Silverstone. Schumacher actually won the British Grand Prix amid great chaos while serving a penalty in the pit lane. Hakkinen finished second - but had led for 50 laps. For him, this was the one that got away. The title might have been his already but for letting this one slip from his grasp. Hakkinen 56, Schumacher 54.
Ferrari clearly had the momentum. But in this topsy-turvy season, it was McLaren who showed most steel in the next couple of races to regain the initiative.
Hakkinen led a one-two in Austria, Schumacher was third, and did the same again in Germany, when Schumacher was fifth. The title appeared to be Hakkinen's for the taking. Hakkinen 76, Schumacher 60.
But yet again, Schumacher charged back into the picture by winning on August 16 at the Hungarian Grand Prix, while Hakkinen struggled home sixth with mechanical problems. Hakkinen 77, Schumacher 70.
Then came probably the most crucial incident of the season in the rain at the Belgian Grand Prix. Hakkinen spun off on the restart of lap one and would finish without a point. Schumacher led and looked set to overtake the Finn in the points standings for the first time all season.
But he crashed into the back of Coulthard while trying to lap him. The German driver accused his McLaren rival of deliberately slowing down to force him out of the race. No points for the leading duo -- but many recriminations. It remained Hakkinen 77, Schumacher 70.
In stirring fashion, Schumacher rebounded at Ferrari's home race on September 13th -- the Italian Grand Prix. He led a Ferrari one-two and was tied with Hakkinen for the first time since the start of race one. Hakkinen 80, Schumacher 80.
If any Grand Prix truly showed Hakkinen to be a worthy world champion-elect it was the penultimate race of the campaign. He out-witted Schumacher, the master tactician, with his pit stops and won the Luxembourg Grand Prix in stunning style. Hakkinen 90, Schumacher 86.
That success lifted so much weight off Hakkinen, who had never been in this lofty position before, and he entered the Japanese Grand Prix knowing second place was good enough to finish first overall for the first time ever.
Schumacher said he had "a strong feeling inside me that I can do it", although he added "I cannot explain it or why I have it."
Hakkinen said: "I have a four point advantage and I would rather have it than not. It is a luxury and it helps me feel good and to relax."
But it takes just one major mistake or some mechanical trouble for a whole season to blow up in their faces. That's what happened Sunday when Schumacher stalled at the start, and then later saw his season and championship hopes go up in tire smoke. The way the season went, perhaps it was an appropriate finish.
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