Japanese GP 1998 - Race, Comments

Drivers

Rubens Barrichello

"I'm bitterly disappointed because I was expecting great things in
Japan after the progress we made prior to the race. But it just didn't
happen at all this weekend - we couldn't get the car to work at all. I made
up a couple of places at the start but the rear of the car became very
loose and since I wasn't really going anywhere in the race, we decided to
retire."


David Coulthard

"I spun the wheels at the start which allowed Frentzen to get ahead of
me. I needed to finish the race in order to gain points for the
Constructors Championship and make sure that I was available to support
Mika so I didn't attack Frentzen as much as I would have normally. However,
the team kept me aware of where Michael was and I could measure my pace. I
am pleased that Mika is World Champion and I believe that I have
contributed to that result. I would just like to thank and congratulate
everyone at McLaren and Mercedes both those at the track and those back at
the factory."


Giancarlo Fisichella

"I pushed very hard all through the race. The car was quite
well-balanced, better than during qualifying. I had some problems with the
last set of tyres because of a bit of understeer. I tried to approach
Villeneuve, but at the end I had a problem with the right front wheel
bearing and I had to slow down. Obviously I am very sorry that we lost a
position in the world championship, but we will recover next season."


Mika Hakkinen

"This is a very special day for me. It has taken a while for me to win
the Formula One World Championship, but now it has happened and I am very
happy. The team as a whole achieved a lot this season and this is the
perfect result for all of us.The two false starts meant that I had to keep
focused despite the disruptions and I have to say that the team did a
fantastic job to keep the car at its optimum. Of course the fact that
Michael started from the back relieved the pressure a little bit, but I
knew he would be quick and that he would carve his way through the field.
The team kept me informed all the time of what was going on, which was good
and meant that I could concentrate on the car, keep my head and stay cool.
A great day for the whole team - thank you!"


Damon Hill

"I am absolutely delighted! This has been a remarkable season - quite
exceptional. Everyone in the team has moved forward - everyone at
Mugen-Honda, everyone at Goodyear, and of course everyone at Jordan Grand
Prix. We can now look forward to next year and to being a top team. I even
managed to overtake Heinz-Harald for good measure, so I am now going to
celebrate with everyone at Jordan. I am also delighted for Mika. He has
been solid all year and kept calm under attack. I said he would do it, and
he has."


Eddie Irvine

"I am very pleased to be second. Of course, with Michael at the back,
everything changed and I had to flick a switch in my mind. We had looked at
every possibility except me at the front and Michael at the back. I had a
fantastic start and pushed very hard to try and put Mika under pressure.
But towards the end of every stint, my tyres started to go off and I had to
drop back a bit. It was just a race between me and Mika, but I could not
push harder. The best thing for me was that the modifications we made to my
seat really worked and I was able to drive and brake harder. It is a very
positive sign for next season as my back has hurt all year until this
weekend."


Michael Schumacher

"First of all I want to congratulate Mika Hakkinen and his team. They
performed better throughout the season and so they deserve the title. I
think we did not lose this championship today in Suzuka, but in the early
stages of the season, when we were too far behind. I do not feel too
disappointed, because I think the team can be proud of what we achieved
this season. I feel sad for the boys, as all their hard work did not pay
off in the end. At the second start, the engine stalled because the clutch
did not free itself and I do not know why. All the work this weekend was
then wasted as I had to start from the back. The first couple of laps were
good fun. All the other drivers were very fair and did not try and make
life difficult for me. I did not expect a rear tyre to explode as I had
problems with a flat-spotted front, which caused a lot of vibration. Life
goes on and now we must look forward to trying again next season."


Shinji Nakano

"I am deeply sorry that I could not finish the race right here, in my
Country. Everything was going quite well: the car was OK, my pit-stop was
fast and about ten laps before my car stopped, I had overtaken Takagi. The
problem happened suddenly, without any warning, in fact I did not feel any
strange noise or any loss of power. It's a shame also for Esteban! Anyway I
want to thank the Team who helped me really a lot during the whole
season."


Ralf Schumacher

"This was a disappointing way for me to end my season and two years
with Jordan. I would have loved to have won more points for the team, but
it was not my lucky day. In fact it was not a lucky day for the
Schumachers. The two re-starts meant the oil temperature in my car became
very high and we were unable to do anything about it which meant that
eventually the engine failed. I am very sorry for Michael. He came up so
quickly behind me that it was normal for me to let him through, but sadly
his race came to nothing as well. I would like to thank everyone at Jordan
for a great two years and an excellent 1998 season - or at least the second
half of it. Eddie and I had a quiet chat at the end of the race and it was
really quite emotional."


Esteban Tuero

"I had a bad start, because I found a stopped car in front of me on
the grid, which was a handicap. After this, it was no better story, as at
about half way through the race, I touched Takagi who had just come out of
the box. I was faster, saw a gap and tried to overtake him but my wheels
locked and unluckily I went into him."


Jos Verstappen

"Obviously this is not the way I would have liked my last race for the
Stewart-Ford team to end. We had problems throughout the weekend finding a
good set-up so I was not expecting too much from the race. After only a few
laps I had a gearbox problem so it was probably inevitable that I had to
retire."


Alexander Wurz

"I am quite disappointed. It was a very difficult race. The balance
itself was not so bad, but I had absolutely no grip and I had to struggle a
lot with the car always at the limit. It was difficult and now we have to
recover from our disappointment and plan ahead."


Teams

Benetton

Rocco Benetton, Chief Executive
"The team worked very hard throughout the weekend and the drivers
pushed to the limit. This is not the result we had hoped for, but we are
happy to congratulate McLaren, Mercedes-Benz and Bridgestone on their
championship success and Jordan, too, for taking fourth place ahead of us.
Having said that, we are not going to allow them any rest. From tomorrow,
we will be very strongly focussed on our plans for our 1999 car and next
season when we will be determined to win back our place and to challenge
again at the front."


Ferrari

Luca di Montezemolo, President Ferrari
"We all knew it would be very difficult to win the championship on
this circuit and I am very disappointed that we did not manage it. I think
we can take consolation from the fact we did all we could right to the very
last. We are at the end of a magnificent season. That is down to the
determination and talent exhibited by the whole team."

Jean Todt, Team Chief
"We knew we faced a difficult task and obviously Michael's problem at
the start made it virtually impossible. Despite his incredible climb
through the field we did not reach our target. The unexpected tyre problem,
whose cause we do not yet know, robbed us of any chance. Eddie had a great
race to second place, but it was not enough for the championship. It was a
very competitive season with many ups and downs. I want to mention the
fabulous work of our strong and competitive team who have demonstrated
their ability all season. Now we must think about next season and our
objective is clear. We have the team and the necessary means to achieve it.
I thank Goodyear, which is leaving F1 after so many successes with us. I
also thank all our sponsors who have supported us, Philip Morris, Shell,
Asprey, Telecom and Magneti Marelli."


Jordan

Eddie Jordan, Team Owner
"If you think that half way through the season, before we scored our
first point at Silverstone, we were 27 points behind Benetton, it is an
amazing achievement to have beaten them. It is a very emotional moment - a
combination of elation that we have finished higher in the Championship
than ever in Jordan's F1 history, and sadness that we are losing Ralf. We
have made a remarkable turnaround and can really say that we are on our on
our way now that we have made it into the top four. It is fantastic! This
result means a huge amount for the team - it is a just reward for
everyone's hard work. It is difficult to express in words what it means. I
would also like to add that it is sad that this is Tyrrell's final race.
And I would like to give a personal thank you to Goodyear who have been
fantastic to me and to Jordan."


McLaren

Ron Dennis, Team Chief
"A great day which has provided everyone both at the track and back at
the factory the satisfaction that comes from success. The end of an arduous
year which has seen the team maintain a calm approach. My sincere thanks to
our engine Partner Mercedes, our Principal Partner West and Technology
Partner Mobil. There are too many other contributors to mention but I hope
they will accept my sincere thanks and appreciation."

Norbert Haug, Mercedes Benz Sporting Director
"Everybody did a great job and many thanks to the whole team. When we
had a few technical problems in the middle of the season nobody gave up or
became disheartened, everyone pushed even harder and I am particularly
pleased for Mika, he could have won the title much earlier. David did a
great job finishing third in the championship having lost lots of points
due to three engine failures during the season. We try to make sure that
this will not happen again next year. Today we achieved a memorable result
in Mercedes-Benz Motorsport history."


Minardi

Gabriele Rumi, Team Owner
"Now ends for our Team a season that was planned out on new programs
and at the beginning we gave ourselves the goal - that we reached - to
finish in the top ten. We can therefore consider ourselves quite satisfied
and go on in our commitment and act resolutely, in preparation of the next
Championship."

Trevor Knowles, Ford Cosworth Support Engineer
"We were a bit worried at the start of the race with the several
re-starts the engines were getting hotter and hotter on the grid, but it
didn't give any problems. This race takes us to the end of the season, now
we look forward to the next year, to accomplish all the development work as
requested by the Team Fondmetal Minardi, and we are sure this will take us
to supply to the Scuderia better performing engines than before."


Stewart

Paul Stewart, Managing Director
"Not the ideal way to end the season. Unfortunately, yet again
unreliability with the car cost us a race finish. What we have to do now is
put the disappointment of this year behind us and put to good use all that
we have learned in what has been a difficult season. We now realise that we
have an awful lot to do over the winter - a few tweaks here and there are
not going to be enough to lift our level of competitiveness for next
season. We were warned that the second year in Formula One was always going
to be the hardest and that certainly rang true for us. We have five months
before the start of the 1999 season, so it's out job to throw all our
energy and resources into ensuring we make a strong debut with the
SF-3."


Stewart

Alan Jankins, Technical Director
"Having come to Japan with hopes of a good performance following some
encouraging tests, this weekend has been a disappointing end to a very hard
year. In particular it is a poor reward for all the efforts of the team and
our partners at Cosworth Racing. Hindsight says that running new components
in a race after relatively little testing was not the best of ideas but it
has at least taught us some things for next year. The team has grown a lot
during 1998, and the inevitable disruption caused by this process will be
turned into genuine progress as the existing team and significant new
recruits evolve into a stronger practice. The 1999 car and engine will be
on the track much earlier than was the case this year and this fact alone
will allow us to develop a more reliable and competitive package for the
start of the racing season."


Stewart

Martin Whitaker, Ford European Director of Motorsport
"Throughout 1998 we engaged in an extensive engine development
programme resulting in six major upgrades with the latest engine
specification making its trouble-free race debut today. This is a process
which will continue next year with the introduction of the brand new Ford
Formula One engine which is currently under development at Cosworth Racing
- the third Ford Formula One engine introduced in as many years. During
this season a lot of developments have taken place which we expect to prove
beneficial in 1999 - in particular the purchase of Cosworth Racing is a
further step on the road to give us an even better and more powerful
engine. We aim to see improvements in the Stewart-Ford partnership from
year to year, hopefully culminating in a fully competitive and successful
package. There is no doubt that we want to get back to the front of the
Formula One grid and with the hard work put in by the team, Cosworth
Racing, Visteon and Ford we hope this will be sooner rather than
later."

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