Japanese GP 1998 - Preview, Comments

Drivers

Rubens Barrichello

"The long break since Nrburgring has done me good. I feel fit and
refreshed after spending time with my family back home in Brazil. I have
been training hard on my physical conditioning between testing. I'm looking
forward to returning to racing in Suzuka. I'm encouraged by the testing we
have done since the Luxembourg Grand Prix. We have found some big
improvements in the car's handling, so much so that if we have a reliable
weekend, a points finish would not be out of the question in Suzuka."


David Coulthard

"Suzuka is right up there with Spa as one of the best in terms of
high-speed challenge. The chicane is a wee bit too tight, but the rest of
the track is demanding, physical and very challenging. It's difficult to
race closely on, but to drive and qualify on, Suzuka is a great
track."


Pedro Diniz

"I share Mika's comments about out recent tests and very much look
forward to racing at Suzuka, as it is by far my favourite circuit. It's a
good track with a variation of corners and quick esses. On a personal note,
this will be my last race for Arrows and I hope that I will be able to
leave with a good result, the team and Tom in particular deserve
that."


Mika Hakkinen

"I really like Suzuka and the fact that it's a fast and challenging
circuit is ideal for a Championship decider. My recent performances at
Suzuka have been good, fourth once and on the podium twice, but my aim is
to win the Drivers' title in style by winning the race."


Damon Hill

"It is a very challenging, and stunning track. The circuit requires a
good deal of commitment and knowledge, which puts both Ralf and me in a
strong position. It is a little like Spa - a long lap with several
difficult corners. The start-finish line is actually on a downward slope
which presents a few difficulties at the start to ensure you don't roll
forward an get a jump start penalty. The only real chances you have to
overtake are in the last corner and into the hairpin at turn six. One would
think it was possible out of spoon corner, but it is actually deceptively
fast there. I believe we will be very competitive in Suzuka and we should
go there with the aim of winning the race. I am looking forward to my stay
in Japan and to spending a few days in Tokyo before the race."


Eddie Irvine

"With the title in the balance I will, of course, be doing everything
I can to help Michael towards the title. Suzuka is a circuit I made my F1
debut at and which I know well from my days in F3000 in Japan. It's a track
where a good knowledge of the track can certainly help a lot, so I am
confident that I can be running as quick as anyone and be in a strong
position to help out Michael if he needs it."


Michael Schumacher

"We have been working on all the aspects of the car in order to put
ourselves in the best possible shape for this race. In order to stand a
good chance of taking the title I need to take the win in Suzuka and that's
whet I will be going for, nothing less.

I enjoy the circuit very much. It's got some great corners. The team have
been working flat out ever since the Luxembourg Grand Prix to improve the
car and our chances of success. We definitely have made some improvements
since the last race so I hope it will be enough to put us ahead.

You can never discount dropping out of a race because of a mechanical
failure, but after the finishing record and the great preparation by the
mechanics that we have had this year, it's certainly not as much of a worry
as it has been in the past.

Whatever the outcome I hope it will be a good clean race. It would be a
shame to have the title decided by a mechanical failure or an
accident."


Ralf Schumacher

"I very much hope to get a good result in my last race for the team. I
have had a very happy two years with Jordan. They have given me a great
start to my F1 career, and I would like to leave on a high note."


Mika Salo

"We've come to the end of a very difficult season for the team,
however, after our long awaited test last week at Silverstone we are very
encouraged by the improvements and performance of our car. For me, Suzuka
represents my `home' Grand Prix and I very much look forward to racing
there."


Jos Verstappen

"This is my last race for the Stewart-Ford team so naturally I would
like to end my short stint with the team on a high with a good finish at
Suzuka. I like the uniqueness of Suzuka, it's challenging from a driver's
point of view, but some sections of the circuit can be a little dangerous
if you push too hard. We have made some excellent progress with the car
since Nurburgring. I'm optimistic that we'll end the year with a good
performance."


Teams

Benetton

Pat Symonds, Technical Director
"Suzuka is a superb circuit. It is extremely challenging with some
good high speed corners and a very difficult section from the back of the
pits all the way up to the hairpin. It is also very challenging for the
drivers. It is one of the few Grand Prix's left where a driver's knowledge
of the track plays an important part in the lap time he can achieve. There
are specialists on this circuit who have spent time racing in Japan and
have gained the benefit of that experience.

The set-up that is needed is one that gives the car precision. You need to
have a good change of direction for the difficult section behind the pits,
as well as good high speed stability for challenging corners such as the
R130 and the first corner.

There is normally quite high tyre wear at Suzuka, so quite hard compounds
are used."


Bridgestone

Hirohide Hamashima, Technical Director
"With so much at stake on home soil, this is a nerve-tingling race for
us. We are determined to give Mika every chance of repeating his memorable
win at the Nurburgring in the Luxembourg GP, of course. But we are also
very much aware of the significance of the constructors' title. Who would
ever have thought a world championship would be within our reach in only
our second season of F1 competition?

We have conducted promising tests both at Barcelona and Magny-Cours, as a
result of which we will have five completely new types of tyre at Suzuka;
two dry-weather designs and three for wet conditions. The Barcelona test
was particularly useful because the surface there, and the ambient
temperatures, are close to what we are expecting for Suzuka.

But our test programme is never complete. Two days after the Grand Prix we
will be back to Suzuka in order to offer all the teams a chance to evaluate
Bridgestone products conforming with the new regulation and to start
development on the 1999 tyres. Suzuka has every type of corner, from a slow
chicane to the daunting 130-R, which only the best drivers and cars were
taking flat out last year. From our perspective, though, the most
challenging corner is the 180-degree Spoon Curve, where the exit speed has
a critical effect on speed down the long following straight. Good stability
and reliability of the rear tyres are the main conditions required to
achieve a good performance on this track.

In general, Suzuka needs a good car setup and the right choice of tyre in
order to avoid excessive understeer. Because overtaking is unusually
difficult, qualifying takes on added importance in order to achieve the
best possible grid position. We have reinforced our team with extra
engineers for this race and I can safely say that every one of us can
hardly wait for the big day."


Jordan

Eddie Jordan, Team Owner
"The same number of points lie between us and Williams (currently in
third place) as do between Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher. People believe
Schumacher is still in with a chance, and we believe we are too. For us to
finish third will be difficult, but not impossible, and we have to go to
Japan and give it everything. Of course there is then the danger that if we
don't improve our Championship standing we will be disappointed. In reality
we would be, but then we would have to remember that 1998 has been one of
Jordan's most incredible seasons - a season in which we dragged ourselves
back from the brink. We cannot lose really; fifth place is secure, we have
proved ourselves by winning our first race in a historic 1-2 finish, and we
have turned our fortunes around. Ending the season higher than fifth would
be the icing on the cake!"

Trevor Foster, Managing Director
"The five week break has allowed Jordan to develop, and most
importantly, test improvements to our car. In the usual two week gap
between races there is no time to test new components, which has
implications for the car's reliability. We have made suspension and
aerodynamic modifications, all of which we tested with Ralf and Damon in
Silverstone. In addition, Mugen-Honda has pushed hard to produce more
horsepower for its home Grand Prix. We will run a significantly up-graded
engine for qualifying and a new specification engine for the race. Our aim
over the weekend will be to balance speed in qualifying with reliability in
the race; whilst the car can be pushed to the limit for qualifying, you
need to finish the race to win points, so reliability on Sunday will be
key."


McLaren

Ron Dennis, Managing Director
"The team remains focused on winning in Suzuka just as we have been
focused on winning at every event this season. While we approach the final
race of the year in a favourable position, it is mathematically possible
that we could end up without either title. Therefore, above all else, we
must retain our concentration and, whatever the result, know that as a team
we have performed to the best of our abilities."


Minardi

Gian Carlo Minardi, Team Owner
"The last race of a championship is always a very significant event,
because it indicates the moment when a whole year of work is placed in the
archives and the Team begins to draw up a balance sheet. For our Team, this
1998 is to be considered a positive year, after all, as it took to a great
development and to an outstanding growth of the Scuderia. In Suzuka we wish
to reconfirm the 10th place in the world championship constructor list -
which was our goal at the beginning of the season - even if with a bit of
sadness we realise that today we could be in an even better position if a
bad race such as Spa, would not have taken away from us a good result that
we had nearly at hand. We are leaving behind a year that rewards the Team,
speaking about reliability, and sees us thrown towards a very exciting
phase with good prospects for the future."

Mark Parish, Ford Motorsport Programme Director
"Since the last Grand Prix we have been completing some development
work on the dynamometer at Cosworth and a new specification, M4, will be
available for the Japanese Grand Prix. The M4 spec. offers both improved
performance and driveability which should be of benefit at the Suzuka
circuit. It is planned to use it in both cars on Saturday and for the
race."


Stewart

Alan Jankins, Technical Director
"Despite the Japanese Grand Prix being the last race of the 1998
season a considerable amount of work has been carried out at Stewart Grand
Prix and Cosworth to improve the performance of the SF-2 package. The
results have been encouraging with tests at Barcelona and Silverstone
producing lap times near the top of the time sheets. Of course Stewart-Ford
are not the only team working flat out at the end of the season. The 1998
regulations have necessitated unprecedented revisions to car designs from
teams throughout the grid. Changes to 1999 tyre regulations in the form of
a fourth groove on the front tyre could mean that this uncertainty about
the ideal design concept could carry through into the start of 1999 season.
The FIA have with Bridgestone taken the unprecedented step of staging a
special tyre test after the race in order to gain an initial impression of
the new tyres and to provide directional information as to the effect on
performance, wear and car balance. In the eyes of t
he spectating public, the main event is the championship decider between
Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher, but you can be sure that everyone at
Stewart-Ford will be working hard for a good result to reward the enormous
efforts of everyone this year and to encourage us and our supporters
through the winter months ahead."

Martin Whitaker, Ford European Director of Motorsport
"A tremendous amount of effort has been put in since Luxembourg with
tests at Barcelona, Santa Pod and Silverstone. From an engine point of
view, the work has been split between work on the Series 6 engine and
development for next season. Our first test at Barcelona saw a failure with
the Series 6 engine, but a lot of subsequent work from our engineering and
build groups led to a new version of the Series 6 engine for the three
Silverstone tests. At each of those tests we ran one of the new versions of
the Series 6 engines to distances in excess of 300km so we are now
confident that we should race the engine at Suzuka. The added performance
in power through the rev range and the improved driveabilty that both
drivers confirm is a significant step forward and should help us to get the
best possible end to the season. Ford believes it is vitally important to
keep pushing on engine development and that will carry into next year when
we introduce a brand new Ford Formula One engine. Consi
 dering that this year's Ford Zetec-R V10 was also a new engine which first
ran on the dyno only 10 months ago, and we have had six significant
upgrades through the year, there can be no doubt that Ford's commitment to
winning is very real."


Tyrrell

Dr Harvey Postlethwaite, Managing Director
"It is sad that a famous name in Formula One will disappear after this
race, but to be honest, there's very little room for nostalgia in Grand
Prix racing these days. This is a straight business deal - Tyrrell has been
sold, and life in the Formula One paddock will move on. In that respect,
Grand Prix motor racing is simply following the lead of other modern
professional sports where teams are regularly bought and sold.

This is not in any way to detract from the efforts of Ken Tyrrell or the
people who have worked for the team over the years. In fact, it is a
measure of the professionalism and dedication of the Tyrrell staff that
they have remained focussed and motivated throughout this year despite the
uncertainty resulting from the sale of the team. The Tyrrell Racing
Organisation's achievements are significant and will remain indelibly
etched on the fabric of Formula One. Undoubtedly, they will continue to be
of interest to those who have a passion for the sport and its
history."

David Brown, Race engineer Toranosuke Takagi
"It may be the last event for Tyrrell, but race team personnel have to
focus on it as they would any other event and aim to make their cars as
competitive as possible. The task is made a little easier in this instance
because Suzuka is one of the best circuits we currently visit - it's on a
par, for instance, with Spa in Belgium. It's a very challenging track with
gradient changes and a good selection of fast corners. It's also the only
circuit we visit with a `figure-of-eight' layout.

It's a fairly high downforce circuit because, although there are
substantial straights from the Spoon Curve up to the chicane, you need
downforce to help cope with the esses, Dunlop Corner and Degner Curve, plus
to assist with braking for the chicane. You also need downforce for 130R,
which is a mighty corner that was taken at 260 km/h last year.

Suzuka is a circuit that offers good overtaking opportunities, notably into
the first turn and on the approaches to the hairpin and the chicane. It's
also a track that tends to generate understeer from the cars, and the major
chassis balance issue at Suzuka will undoubtedly be dealing with that. It
is especially important to neutralise the understeer on the exit from the
Spoon Curve since it is critical to carry as much speed as possible onto
the following straight up to 130R and the chicane in order to exploit any
overtaking opportunities.

The other place you cannot afford understeer is through the esses. A driver
needs to hit the apex of the first corner of this sequence correctly if
he's to stay on line through the remaining bends. If you stray from the
ideal line, it really has an adverse effect on your lap time. Traction
remains important, particularly on the exit from slow corners, but you
would probably accept a slight loss of traction to keep understeer to a
minimum.

The track surface at Suzuka is not particularly bumpy, and you wouldn't
expect tyre wear to be an issue either. Speaking of tyres, you can be sure
that both Goodyear and Bridgestone will be making a huge effort for Japan,
Bridgestone because it's the company's `home' Grand Prix, and Goodyear
because it is departing the Formula One scene after this race and will
undoubtedly wish to go out on a `high'."

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