Season Summary
The season had many rule changes, including the introduction of grooved tyres and making the cars narrower to reduce downforce. It was clear that McLaren had adapted to the new rule changes best as Mika Häkkinen comfortably won the first two races, with team-mate David Coulthard finishing second in both. With Goodyear making steps forward before Argentina, Michael Schumacher was able to win there and take second at Imola, both slow and twisty circuits. At Spain, however, the fast corners favoured McLaren and again they raced away to another 1–2 finish. A further win for Häkkinen in Monaco gave him a 17 point lead over Coulthard with Schumacher a further 5 points behind.
Schumacher fought back to win the next 3 races, while mistakes and bad luck cost both Häkkinen and Coulthard points. After the British Grand Prix Schumacher had closed the gap to Häkkinen to just 2 points, while Coulthard was 26 points behind his team mate and looking unlikely to be able to fight for the championship. Wins in Austria and Germany for Häkkinen proved that McLaren still had the strongest car, but a strategic master stroke in Hungary allowed Schumacher to take the win and close the gap to Häkkinen to just 7 points.
The start of the Belgian Grand Prix saw one of the worst accidents in F1, with over half the cars on the grid involved, and four drivers unable to take the restart almost an hour later due to lack of spare cars. An action packed race saw Häkkinen spin out at the restart, whilst Schumacher was leading comfortably before crashing into David Coulthard's McLaren whilst trying to lap the Scotsman. This cleared the way for Damon Hill to take Jordan's first win.
Schumacher bounced back to take a surprise victory at the Italian Grand Prix, and with Häkkinen finishing only fourth after brake problems the championship was level with 2 races to go. This result also brought Ferrari back into the constructors world championship, being just 10 points behind. However, Häkkinen managed to beat Schumacher in a straight fight in Luxembourg and win the final race in Japan, clinching his first world championship and the constructors championship for McLaren. Reigning champions Williams had a poor season overall, with only 3 podium finishes. However, in Japan they managed to secure 3rd in the constructors championship, ahead of Jordan and Benetton.
Read more about this topic: 1998 Formula One Season
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