January 31, 1998
Gentlemen, start your engines! You guessed it - the 1998 FIA Formula World Championship season is almost upon us. The first race is scheduled for the 8th of March in Melbourne, Australia and with this date fast approaching the tensions and speculations are starting to fly. Before I get caught up in this frenzy, I would like to take a moment to look back to the 1997 season.
A Look Back
Much like the start of this season, the first race last year was held on the 9th of March 1997 in Melbourne, Australia. At the start of the season there was much speculation regarding the success of the Ferrari team. A team that had, in the past, been dogged with reliability problems and a lack of success, they were out to prove themselves as a force to be reckoned with. They had just paid a rumoured $25 million to sign Michael Schumacher as their lead driver and wanted some success. Ferrari’s main problem was, like most teams for a number of years, that of the Williams Renault team. Long regarded as the force to be reckoned with, 1997 looked to be no different. Williams had what looked to be the strongest car in the pack and two very good drivers. Their lead driver was the rookie, fresh from his success in the American Indycar series, Jacques Villeneuve and the very promising German driver, Heinz Harald Frentzen. The only other possible force to be reckoned with was the McLaren team. Their two drivers in the form of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard had proven themselves to be steady, reliable drivers with considerable talent. The dark horse role was filled by the new Stewart team which was just beginning their Formula One career and were complete unknowns.
The season got underway with a bang when, to everyone’s surprise, David Coulthard clinched the first race victory of the season. Suddenly those in the know were touting McLaren and David Coulthard as a real force and said that McLaren would be the team to watch. However, as the season progressed it became evident that it would be a tussle at the top between Ferrari and Williams and in particular, between Jacques Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher. To prove this point, Schumacher failed to finish in the top six on just three occasions whilst Villeneuve failed to finish in the top six on five occasions.
The End
By season’s end and with all the rumours a thing of the past, the results spoke for themselves. Jacques Villeneuve had won the 1997 World Drivers Championship and Williams Renault had taken the Constructor’s Championship. Michael Schumacher had driven a brave season taking his new team to heights not seen for years by the Maranelo-based Ferrari team. However, the results did justice by showing which team were the true power for the season.
Like any other season in Formula One racing, there was plenty of controversy. The words were flying from very early on between Schumacher and Villeneuve and the pre-race verbal tussling became something of an expectation before each race. On the track, accidents were to be had from race one. However, luckily, there was only one really serious accident which took place at the Canadian Grand Prix. Olivier Panis hit a tire wall and rebounded across the tarmac into the concrete wall. The accident resulted in both his legs being broken which placed him on the injured list for several months. The final controversy however, came after the close of the season. Following a very unsportsmanlike accident in which Michael Schumacher deliberately drove into Jacques Villeneuve on the last race, Schumacher was disqualified from the season and was stripped of his second place finish in the Championship. He has subsequently apologised to both Villeneuve and the FIA for his behaviour and has vowed not to ever do such a thing again.
In the months between the last race in November and now have not been altogether silent. The charges brought by the Italian Courts on Frank Williams, his designers and his team for manslaughter to Ayerton Senna following Senna’s fatal accident in 1994, were dropped just before Christmas. Goodyear announced their withdrawal from Grand Prix racing at the end of 1998 sighting the expenses as the reason for their withdrawal. And between the drivers the words have not stopped flowing either. Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve have said that they intend to take issue with the FIA regarding the behaviour of Schumacher at the final Grand Prix in which Schumacher deliberately drove into Villeneuve. Villeneuve and Hill argue that Schumacher has behaved in this fashion before and is likely to do it again and they want some sort of assurance from the FIA that should it happen again, serious punishment will be leveled at Schumacher. At the time of writing a conclusion to this debate has not yet been reached.
Controversy and racing taken together, that was the 1997 season. But what can we expect for 1998. Probably more controversy, but enough of that for now. On the racing side, some sweeping rule changes are the order of the day for the 1998 season ahead.
What Lies Ahead
To the cars, there are a number of significant changes. The chassis have been reduced in width thereby reducing the overall stability of the car. Rest assured, you are not going to see cars rolling on every corner but they will be taking the corners a lot slower than before. Adding to the FIA’s attempts to slow the cars down, grooved tires have been introduced in place of the slick tires used in the past. The grooves in the tires create more movement in the tires themselves which in turn, causes the tires to heat up significantly more than the slick tires. Also, the contact surface on the tarmac is reduced because there is simply less rubber on the road. These two factors will mean that the drivers will have to drive slower and will have to pay far more attention to the care of overheated tires during the race. Don’t expect to see the cars driving around the track at a snail’s pace though. To the television viewer and even the track-side spectator, the difference in speed will only become noticeable when looking at the clocked lap times. In other words, the excitement will still be there in bucket loads. More minor changes to the cars include some redesign to the cockpit area and the area around the driver’s head and there is talk of an airbag being designed for use in the not to distant future. To the circuits, there is talk, although not yet confirmed, that the gravel traps used to slow stricken cars down, may be replaced by tarmac which, following recent test, has been seen to slow the cars better than the gravel.
My Guess
Predicting what will unfold during the 1998 season is difficult for two reasons. First, most of the cars have not even been unveiled yet and second, no results from testing have been made public yet. In short, we simply do not know what to expect as far as the performance of the new spec cars is concerned. I mentioned the unveiling of the cars a moment ago and let me reveal what we know so far. Ferrari have already unveiled their new F300 car. Slightly narrower and sporting the new grooved tires and an updated cockpit area, the F300 looks like a stunner. Meanwhile, the Stewart team revealed their contender for 1998 in the form of their SF2-Ford. Next week will see the launch of the Benetton, Tyrrell and Jordan cars whilst Williams will unveil their new FW20 at the end of January and McLaren will unveil their contender in mid-February.
I will however go out on a limb and put down some of my predictions for the record. I think that there will three hot contenders for the Constructors title this year. Ferrari have long said that 1998 will be their year and I believe that the improvements in reliability shown during 1997 will continue to improve through 1998 making this their year. I do however feel that if one thing will spoil their chances this year, it will be their reliability. Williams, sporting a new colour scheme in the form of an overall red finish to reflect their new Winfield sponsor, is somewhat of a dark horse. They are uncertain of how the new car will perform and with the retirement of Renault from Grand Prix racing at the end of 1997, Williams have lost their trusty Renault engines and are set to be powered by a new engine. This uncertainty aside, I still feel that with the might of Frank Williams and the technical expertise extant in his team, the Williams team are still going to be a force to be reckoned with, if slightly less potent than before. My third and final top runner for 1998 has to be McLaren. 1997 Saw the team outperforming the big boys on more than one occasion and the hunger of Coulthard and Hakkinen will doubtless put them in line for some top spots. As for the "B" cars (those not quite at the top), I would include teams like Stewart, Prost, Jordan and Arrows. I think that the Stewart team will improve as the season continues and they continue to gain experience. The ever promising Prost team might just prove to be the dark horse that surprises the top teams. Their impressive performance last year looks set to continue to improve with the likes of Panis and Trulli in the pilots’ seats. Jordan meanwhile will also continue to be seen in the top six but I don’t think that they will be quite good enough to topple the teams at the top. The Arrows team is also a team that I think will improve, but here again, I don’t think that they are in line for any Championship victories.
As for the drivers, I will go out on a limb and predict that 1998 will be the year that Schumacher will reclaim his title. Like last year, I don’t expect any runaway victories and I think that although Villeneuve will place second, he will be closely chased by Frentzen. I think that Ralph Schumacher will continue to grow in confidence and we can expect to see him on the podium before the end of the season. Alexander Wurz in the Benetton will definitely be a driver to watch as will Olivier Panis. We can expect to see Damon Hill finishing in the top six on more than one occasion but don’t bet on any Championship threats coming from him. Finally, I think that Giancarlo Fisichella is also one to watch and we could see some surprise finishes from this young driver. And the car? Ferrari and Williams in a one two and separated by less than 20 points but I won’t say who will be in the number one spot.
Finally the calendar. This has still not been finalised. The Portugese Grand Prix has been cancelled for October due to sponsorship problems and Belgium will only know if they are still on the calendar by mid-February. In reserve are South Africa and China, but no confirmations for any of these changes are known at the time of writing.
Conclusion
One of the best parts of this job is serving as a witness to the uncertainty and resultant excitement that comes with the sport of Formula One Grand Prix motor racing. My predictions will probably all be wrong and although that is certainly not very flattering for me, I don’t mind as long as the excitement and spectacle are all there - and one prediction I can make with a fair degree of certainty is that I am sure there will be bucket loads of excitement to enthrall even the most demanding fans.
For all the ongoing action during the 1998 season be sure to tune in to GO INSIDE shortly after each race for a full account of the pre-race and race action.
Copyright © 1998 by Steven Jersky
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