Year of the Finn
Hakkinen, Makinen top 1998's world motor triumphs
Posted: Sunday December 20, 1998 09:35 PM
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A win for the Finn: Hakkinen is only the second Finn to win the Formula One title AP |
LONDON, Dec 21 (Reuters) -- The Ice Men of motor sport, Finns
Mika Hakkinen and Tommi Makinen, were the kings of the road in
1998.
Hakkinen took his first Formula One championship while
Makinen retained his rally crown after a season rich in
controversy, high drama and screaming frustration --
particularly for Ferrari.
Both men triumphed after tenacious but unlucky rivals were
ruled out by mechanical misfortune, and after their usual
ice-cool resolve had been pushed to the limit.
Hakkinen, despite his 30 years and more than 100 Grand Prix
starts, was a fresh face among repeat winners.
Australian Michael Doohan chalked up a fifth successive
500cc motorcycling title while Briton Carl Fogarty snatched a
third superbike crown in the final race after leader Troy Corser
of Australia crashed on the warmup lap.
Italian Alex Zanardi won his second successive CART title
before returning to Formula One next season.
Hakkinen, only the second Finn to win the Formula One title,
provided a surprisingly heartwarming comeback story for a
reserved man who rarely reveals his own emotions.
Exactly 1,000 days after a near-fatal crash in Australia, he
took the checkered flag in Japan as champion. He had led the season from the start after being controversially gifted in the opening race in Australia by teammate David Coulthard under a pre-race agreement.
That kicked up a storm of controversy and led to the FIA
world body banning team orders at a stage in the season when the
battle had not been narrowed down to a handful of drivers. But Hakkinen was flying from then on, winning eight races in total and leading the standings all season.
The title still went down to the wire, thanks to some
extraordinary driving by German former champion Michael
Schumacher, who won six races. Schumacher had been tied at 80 points with Hakkinen going into the penultimate race at the Nuerburgring, but the Finn won
with one of the finest performances of his career.
Suzuka was the dramatic showdown and the scene was set by
both rivals qualifying on the front row. Then Schumacher stalled at the start on race day and was sent to the back of the grid, leaving him a mountain to
climb.
Undeterred, he charged back to second before his Ferrari's
right rear tire exploded on lap 32. Hakkinen was champion
whatever the outcome of the race.
"Losing the world championship on the last day for two
years in a row is tough," said Ferrari president Luca di
Montezemolo, still chasing his team's first title since 1979.
Schumacher had lost out to Jacques Villenueve in 1997.
Hakkinen, meanwhile, tried hard to stay focused.
"[McLaren team boss] Ron [Dennis] was on the radio a couple
of times just reminding me to keep my head cool," he said.
Tommi Makinen (right) was sitting in a hotel room with his bags packed waiting for a ride to the airport, when he learned of his championship in a phone call AP | |
That was beyond Makinen in the rally finale.
Spain's Carlos Sainz had led the standings before the
penultimate rally of the season in Australia, which Makinen won
after being disqualified and then reinstated.
The Finn, hoping to become the first driver to win the
championship three years in a row, was favorite to take the
title in the final race in Britain, but he ripped a wheel off his
Toyota after six stages of the first day.
A car, taking part in the Historic rally, had dumped oil on
the road and Makinen spun and collided with a concrete block.
The Finn tried to continue on three wheels, only to be
stopped by a police motorcyclist as he tried to join a motorway.
Makinen's title hopes seemed to have evaporated. He was furious,
but it was nothing to what Sainz had in store.
The Spaniard was cruising to his third title only to be
stopped when his car caught fire within sight of the finish. Sainz wept tears of rage while his co-driver hurled away a fire extinguisher and smashed the stricken Toyota's rear window.
Makinen, sitting in his hotel room with his bags packed
waiting for a ride to the airport, discovered he was champion
when his brother called him on the telephone.
"I told him not to joke, I did not believe him," said the
former tractor-pulling champion.
Even Hakkinen was touched by his triumph.
"When I heard that Tommi had won a hat-trick of rally
championships, especially in the way that he achieved it, I
became quite emotional," he revealed later.
Formula One threw up novelties, with Damon Hill taking Jordan
to their first GP victory and ensuring the team ended the season
fourth in the standings, while Briton Richard Burns carved out a
reputation in rallying as a man to watch.
Ken Tyrell, who spent 30 years a Formula One team owner, called it
a day, handing over to BAR. German veteran Klaus Ludwig won the
FIA GT sportscar title and then retired.
Goodyear also quit Formula One, leaving next season's grid
entirely to tire rivals Bridgestone.
Doohan did what he always does in motorcycling, yet the sport
was shaken up from the very first race when Italian 250cc
champion Max Biaggi won in his 500cc debut in Japan and went on
to lead the standings for much of the season. Biaggi's challenge then self-destructed when he was disqualified in Spain for ignoring a black flag warning.
The 250cc and 125cc categories also ended controversially,
with Italian Loris Capirossi winning the former after being
disqualified and then reinstated following a collision with his
only rival in the final race in Argentina.
Japan's Kazuto Sakata won the latter title after weeks of
waiting to see whether or not he would lose vital points after
his machine failed a fuel test. He won on appeal.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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