1998 F1 Management Series - SEASON COMPLETE

[Ataxia]

Round 3 - Argentine Grand Prix - 12th April 1998

Qualifying


Race
Michael Schumacher put in a masterclass performance at Buenos Aires, recovering from a first-lap scuffle with Dario Franchitti to streak to a famous Argentine Grand Prix victory.

Starting from pole, Schumacher led the field away, but came under immediate pressure from McLaren driver Franchitti into the first corner.

Holding the inside line, Schumacher looked to have batted away the Scottish driver's advances, but Franchitti came back at him - and with the inside line for turn 3, edged Schumacher off the road and into the gravel.

Although Schumacher kept the car rolling, he was well down the order - but a swashbuckling drive meant that he could ease past the midfield runners before making an early pitstop.

With fresh tyres, Schumacher set the pace and closed up to the midfield order once more - electing to stop a final time and loading up his tanks with enough fuel for the second half of the race.

As strategy played out, with Franchitti and team-mate Greg Moore taking charge of the race, Schumacher hauled himself back into contention, and the McLaren drivers' retirements for engine-related issues helped the two-time champion return to the lead.



Drivers' standings
1. Michael Schumacher - 20
2. Giancarlo Fisichella - 16
3. Mika Hakkinen - 13
4. Jacques Villeneuve - 9
5. Dario Franchitti - 7
6. Heinz-Harald Frentzen - 4
7. Tom Kristensen - 3
8. Alessandro Zanardi - 3
9. Jos Verstappen - 2
10. Jean Alesi - 1

Teams' standings
1. Ferrari - 36
2. Benetton-Playlife - 15
3. Williams-Mecachrome - 13
4. McLaren-Mercedes - 7
5. Jordan-Peugeot - 6
6. Sauber-Petronas - 1

[F1 Livery Histories]

Another ideal result for the Prancing Horse. Didn't expect to be so dominant this early into the season!

[Ataxia]

Round 4 - San Marino Grand Prix - 26 April, 1998

Qualifying


Race

McLaren's Dario Franchitti converted an unfancied two-stop strategy into his maiden Formula 1 victory, overtaking Michael Schumacher on-track ahead of the Ferrari driver's retirement.

Franchitti, on course for his first pole, was bested in qualifying by Schumacher's marginally-faster lap - but the qualifying result counted for nothing as Franchitti surged past Schumacher on lap 5 having harried the German throughout the opening phase.

Ducking in for an early first stop, Franchitti made light work of the traffic ahead and returned to the lead some 18 seconds clear once Schumacher made his only stop of the race.

Franchitti's second stop at two-thirds' distance left the Scottish ace with work to do, but his pursuit of Schumacher showed no signs of abating and his dispatched the two-time champion on lap 43.

Schumacher, on course for second place, retired in the dying laps with a rare Ferrari engine failure, elevating team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella to the runner-up spot - and with it, the championship lead.

Mika Hakkinen claimed his third podium of the season with a tidy third place finish, and was the last of the finishers on the lead lap as Tom Kristensen was lapped en route to fourth.

Eddie Irvine and Alexander Wurz bagged their first points of the year in an attrition-hit race, both a lap clear of surprise seventh-place finisher Vincenzo Sospiri of Minardi.



Drivers' standings
1. Giancarlo Fisichella - 22
2. Michael Schumacher - 20
3. Dario Franchitti - 17
4. Mika Hakkinen - 17
5. Jacques Villeneuve - 9
6. Tom Kristensen - 6
7. Heinz-Harald Frentzen - 4
8. Alessandro Zanardi - 3
9. Jos Verstappen - 2
10. Eddie Irvine - 2
11. Alexander Wurz - 1
12. Jean Alesi - 1

Teams' standings
1. Ferrari - 42
2. Benetton-Playlife - 19
3. McLaren-Mercedes - 17
4. Williams-Mecachrome - 13
5. Jordan-Peugeot - 9
6. Sauber-Petronas - 3
7. Prost-Mugen Honda - 1

----

NOTE: You have until midday tomorrow to submit test line-ups for the post-Imola test. Info is on the previous page.

[Miguel98]

Team Name: Prost
Test fee: £500K
Drivers: Stephane Sarrazin and Franck Lagorce

[Kinnikuniverse]

Williams grand prix engineering
500k$
Jacques Villeneuve and Juan Pablo montoya

[Ataxia]

Collective test 1, Imola

Jacques back on top in Imola test

1997 Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve led the way in the first of four collective F1 tests following the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, setting a 1m22.413s in the morning session in his Mecachrome-powered Winfield Williams car.

Villeneuve's pre-lunch time stood firm throughout the afternoon, and the Canadian returned to the top of an F1 session for the first time since winning the World Championship last year.

West McLaren Mercedes ace Greg Moore, who has yet to score a point this season, was second-fastest around the Imola circuit, going two-tenths slower than his compatriot to lead an all-Canadian one-two.

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro test driver Luca Badoer was third quickest, beating Mild Seven Benetton Playlife regular driver Jos Verstappen by fractions of a second. Ferrari's Giancarlo Fisichella, who now leads the 1998 World Drivers' Championship, was fifth on the final timesheets, although a spin in the afternoon session ended his day with an hour left on the clock as the Ferrari team checked his F300 chassis for damage.

Benson & Hedges Jordan Peugeot driver Alessandro Zanardi was sixth fastest, beating McLaren test driver Patrick Carpentier - who was in his first appearance for the Woking team and got his first experience of F1 machinery. Carpentier was one of a handful of drivers to improve in the afternoon session, as he got to grips with McLaren's MP4/13 car, which had just won its first race courtesy of Dario Franchitti - who sat out the test.

Jean Alesi was eighth fastest for the Red Bull Sauber Petronas team, clear of Jordan test driver Jorg Muller, while Benetton reserve Tarso Marques completed the top 10.

Imola collective test standings

1. Jacques Villeneuve (Williams-Mecachrome) - 1m22.143s
2. Greg Moore (McLaren-Mercedes) - +0.214s
3. Luca Badoer (Ferrari) - +0.349s
4. Jos Verstappen (Benetton-Playlife) - +0.483s
5. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ferrari) - +0.587s
6. Alessandro Zanardi (Jordan-Peugeot) - +0.700s
7. Patrick Carpentier (McLaren-Mercedes) - +0.827s
8. Jean Alesi (Sauber-Petronas) - +0.899s
9. Jorg Muller (Jordan-Peugeot) - +1.011s
10. Tarso Marques (Benetton-Playlife) - +1.085s
11. Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams-Mecachrome) +1.158s
12. Esteban Tuero (Stewart-Ford) - +1.487s
13. Ralf Schumacher (Stewart-Ford) - +1.776s
14. Stephane Sarrazin (Prost-Mugen Honda) - +2.224
15. Max Wilson (Arrows) - +2.501s
16. Laurent Redon (Sauber-Petronas) - +2.573s
17. Toranosuke Takagi (Lola-Ford) - +2.917s
18. Pedro de la Rosa (Arrows) - +2.927s
19. Franck Lagorce (Prost-Mugen Honda) - +3.162s
20. Juichi Wakisaka (Dome-Mugen Honda) - +3.347s
21. Norberto Fontana (Dome-Mugen Honda) - +3.400s
22. Vincenzo Sospiri (Minardi-Ford) - +3.870s
23. Emmanuel Collard (Lola-Ford) - +3.990s
24. Ricardo Rosset (Minardi-Ford) - +4.027s

[Ataxia]

Arrows to take it to the Max?

Now that Arrows has handed two starts each to rookie drivers Tom Coronel and Max Wilson, rumour has suggested that the Leafield squad will renege on its initial decision to hand Coronel the default "number two" seat and instead put Wilson alongside Pedro de la Rosa for the rest of 1998. Reigning Japanese F3 champ Coronel has struggled to get to grips with F1 so far, and while Arrows' in-house engine project has been horrendously unreliable so far, Wilson has shown far better results in qualifying and even outpaced de la Rosa in the post-Imola test. As ever with Tom Walkinshaw, there's a deal to be made somewhere...

Trulli, Morbidelli, deeply?

Following the undeserved disappearances of both Jarno Trulli and Gianni Morbidelli from the F1 grid over the off-season, it appears that both drivers are lobbying Italian companies to throw their weight behind them in negotiations for next season. Starlet Trulli was shuffled out of a dead-cert Prost deal after Mugen insisted Shinji Nakano stayed another year, while Morbidelli's confidence was knocked by two testing shunts at Sauber last year and left him on the sidelines twice with injury. Rumour has it that Mugen may decide to switch Nakano to the fledgling Dome squad for 1999, and Alain Prost would be keen to have Trulli back in the fold after impressing while substituting for Olivier Panis last year. Morbidelli, meanwhile, has been linked with Minardi - although current incumbents Vincenzo Sospiri and Ricardo Zonta seem to be going well.

Who will walk into the BAR next year?

As Tyrrell is primed to morph into the British American Racing team next season, it remains to be seen who will form the BAT-backed squad's line-up for 1999. Jacques Villeneuve is heavily linked with the team, given BAR's incoming team principal Craig Pollock is his manager, and if the Canadian signs then it would be uncertain whether BAT wishes to fork out for two ex-champions in the squad, as Damon Hill currently drives for Tyrrell. Hill, having endured a trying season so far, is believed to be considering retirement, while Olivier Panis could be another option to lead the team after his season at Lola getting back to full strength.

David Coulthard has also been linked with a return to F1. Currently racing for the KOOL-backed Team Green team in CART, BAT (which holds the distribution rights for KOOL cigarettes outside of the US) would presumably be happy fund a move for Coulthard.

[Kinnikuniverse]

Rebuild Time coming near for williams?

with renault leaving F1 officially after 1997, many pundits and fans were wondering where would reigning champions Williams go from there. while sir frank's season so far has had a pretty decent start, what with reigning champion jacques villeneuve scoring two podiums and heinz-harald frentzen scoring points, they were far off the pace of the ferraris of michael schumacher and giancarlo fisichella, the rapidly improving mclarens and even mika hakkinen in his benetton. part of the reason is that the rebadged mechachrome engine is simply not on par with the ferrari and mercedes engines in terms of horsepower, and the last two rounds saw the team falling further back withDNFs and only 6th place finishes. after spending the whole decade dominating F1, it appears that williams must now face a potential rebuild.

With or Without Villeneuve?

And not only must sir frank williams feel that it is time to rebuild, it feels like he has to kickstart it pretty soon, what with the ongoing takeover of Tyrell by craig pollock and the British American Tobacco company, with the former pulling out all the stops to bring his client jacques villeneuve to the team. despite the ever increasing probalities of seeing his star driver leave his team, sir frank is confident in his chances of keeping the french canadian.

''Right now, Jacques is dedicated to defend his championship with us.'' the 56-year old team owner from south shields commented. '' he is still young, he is comfortable in our environnement and he has a championship caliber team around him, which, honestly, i doubt that tyrell would be able to offer him that, even with british american tobacco's money. that said, we won't be surprised if he decides to follow craig, but we will do anything to build our retool around jacques. because that is what it is, really, a retool. any talks of rebuild are simply exagerations.''

however, if villeneuve does indeed leave, it won't be the end of the world, as there are some quality drivers out there in the market, with david coulthard, himself also linked with tyrell due to racing for CART's team green sponsored by BAT's KOOL Brand, also interested in returning to the team that kickstarted his Top level career. another option could be test driver juan pablo montoya,who is also having a really good season in F3000 Along with his testing duties for the team.

BMW To the rescue?

with villeneuve or not, williams definitely needs to find a new powerplant that would allow them to challenge the ferrari and mclarens in the next 5 years or so. the most likely option being mugen honda, who powered the prost team to some really impressive showings last season and could've scored even better result if it wasn't for prost's less than stellar chassis so far this season.

''it's sad that we couldn't get mugen engines this season.'' sir Frank said, refering to williams losing out on the japanese powerplant in this offseason. ''those engines powering a good chassis can challenge for the title, as proven by prost with panis before his injury in montreal. we are still satisfied overall so far with the mecachrome engine, though, and jacques finished first in the imola test, so it is showing some improvement. let's hope it translates to more competitive showings against the ferraris and mclarens.''

the most interesting option, though, would be teaming up with german manufacturer BMW. ever since williams announced their new partnership with the bavarian company for the developpement of their new V12 le mans prototype,rumors are circulating that BMW could return to formula 1 for the first time since the 80s as soon as next year if the rule change that makes V10 engines mandatory doesn't pass, as rumor says that they might join F1 with their own V12 engine, just like what japanese company toyota are supposedly doing.

''we've discussed the possibility of partnering with BMW in F1...'' williams said. ''...though, of course, we're still in the early stages of our partnership, but yes, it could be a possibility in the future.''

Ace in the deck for frentzen

if BMW ever decides to return to F1 to power williams, they would most likely want the team to employ a german driver. This could potentially play into heinz-harald Frentzen's hands, especially if villeneuve does indeed join craig pollock at tyrell next year, as the german driver is making it clear that he would like to be a no.1 driver again, just like he used to be at sauber. ralf schumacher could also be an option, as the german driver is reportedly less than enthusiastic with the car that stewart provides this year.

whatever sir frank's gonna do, it will significantly impact williams's future heading into the new millenium.

[F1 Livery Histories]

There's been a lot of talk around the Maranello factory as of late in regards to offering a contract to Jarno for 1999.

[FortiWinks]

Sauber targeting works deal for 2000

Quick after reports of a link between Williams and BMW rumours have linked Sauber with a potential move to a factory deal with Audi for the turn of the century with team officials having met with Wolfgang Ullrich about developing a new V10 engine for the new regulations.

A decision has yet to be made with the German manufacturer also evaluating an LMP project which could also play into the Swiss team’s hands, who have considerable experience in sportscar racing, if they were to follow the Williams model of running both programs simultaneously.

Redon ready for F1?

After promising signs at Imola testing there has been speculation over whether Sauber test driver Laurent Redon could be in the mix for an F1 start within the next few months on loan from the main team.

Redon himself reported he was “comfortable” with driving the C17 and the team said that he was providing “good feedback” for the major upgrades planned to be rolled out during the European season.

PR removed

[TomWazzleshaw]

TWR Arrows will stick with Coronel for the time being. However, rumour has it Tom Walkinshaw is looking at giving Wilson another crack in the near future, potentially at Canada...

Make of that what you will

[Salamander]

McLaren pursuing Gordon for 1999?

Following a disappointing beginning to Players McLaren Mercedes' 1998 campaign, Don Rennis has hinted that the team is already pursuing a change in drivers for next season. Displeased with Greg Moore's pointless opening to the season, Rennis has not ruled out a replacement of the Canadian rookie in favour of 2-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon. Speaking to Autosport, Rennis is quoted as saying:

"Ehhhh, Dario has-a been doing great this season, it 'as been a difficult challenge for-a him, no? But he won-a in San-a Marino, izza gradissimo drive, yes? So we are 'appy to keep him for the next season and beyond. But Greg... oof, marone, is-a difficult to say we should keep him when he is not-a scoring the points, no? Is a long season though, so plenty of time for him to start scoring again, but if not... well, we had good talks with the NASCAR guy, Jeff Gordon. Is-a brilliant racing driver, wonderful boy, would be bravo in F1, I am sure."

When it was mentioned to Rennis by Autosport that there are other F1 drivers who would surely be interested in a McLaren drive, such as Mika Hakkinen or Jacques Villeneuve, Rennis scoffed at the suggestion.

"Ah, 'oo are these nobodies? Never heard of 'akkinen or Villeneuve. No, McLaren is-a for winners only. Never mention-a these losers to my face again, yes?"

The whereabouts of Ron Dennis remain unknown.

[Ataxia]

Round 5 - Spanish Grand Prix - 10 May, 1998

Qualifying


Race
Greg Moore converted a front row start into his maiden Formula 1 victory at the Spanish Grand Prix, as McLaren continues to atone for a disappointing start to the season.

Moore looked to have been put in the shade by Fisichella at the start of the race, and the polesitting Italian driver made a phenomenal getaway and began to stretch his legs over the Canadian by almost 10 seconds in the opening third of the race.

But Moore began to hit back, and flexed his McLaren's pace by eroding away at Fisichella's lead.

After a fortuitous pit phase decreased the gap between the two, Moore then overhauled Fisichella at middle distance to streak into the lead.

Fisichella ran wide shortly after, picking up a puncture and had to make an unscheduled stop.

McLaren seemed set for a one-two finish, but an ill-timed engine failure for Dario Franchitti elevated Jos Verstappen into second place, having edged ahead of Fisichella after the Italian's final pitstop.

Michael Schumacher falls another point behind Fisichella in the title standings after finishing fourth, while the Williams duo Jacques Villeneuve and Heinz-Harald Frentzen completed the top six - Frentzen squeaking into sixth after Ralf Schumacher retired late on.

Schumacher was set to secure Stewart's first point of the year, but further unreliability nixed the German's hopes.

[Dom_Wings]

Wakisaka to make F1 debut at home GP

Dome have announced that test driver Juichi Wakisaka will replace Norberto Fontana at the season finale at Suzuka. The Japanese driver, who turns 26 years old in July, currently races for ARTA in Formula Nippon.

After a strong performance in the Imola test which saw Wakisaka beat regular driver Fontana by 0.053s at an unfamiliar track, Mugen decided to install him alongside first driver Mika Salo for the Japanese Grand Prix on 1 November.

[CaptainGetz12]

Our team is going as best we can. Ford and our team are spending overtime trying to get the Zetec motor to finish the race. We got a top motor, we just need to get it to finish is all.

I'm not worried about being behind the other Ford-powered teams, it's just been bad luck on our part.

Ford to renew engine development effort on VJ Engine

After several grand prix where Stewart Grand Prix suffered mechanical failures Ford renewed its development program on their Ford VJ Zetec-R Engine, with a promise for a stronger budget this year and further testing programs over the course of the season and during test sessions.

A press release detailed out how the program will proceed, and emphasized that the company remains devoted to Stewart Grand Prix. Ford plans to have a new engine simulation program to be included with Stewart's upcoming test session, the last one scheduled this year for the team.

[Ataxia]

Round 6 - Monaco Grand Prix - 24 May, 1998

Qualifying


Race

Heinz-Harald Frentzen took an unlikely dominant victory in a wet Monaco Grand Prix, as the Williams driver lapped all but one of his Formula 1 rivals.

Frentzen remained on the back of polesitter Greg Moore throughout the race, as the two escaped down the road having both found balanced setups for the difficult conditions.

Moore then hit trouble, as the low-grip surface played havoc with a number of the cars' gearboxes throughout the race, and the McLaren driver became stuck in fourth gear.

Having been unable to get drive out of Casino Square, Moore pulled off down the slip road at Mirabeau and let the attacking Frentzen clear him.

Championship leader Giancarlo Fisichella was the only other car to finish on the lead lap, although Frentzen was within seconds of routing the entire field by a full tour of the circuit.



Drivers' standings
1. Giancarlo Fisichella - 32
2. Michael Schumacher - 23
3. Mika Hakkinen - 21
4. Dario Franchitti - 20
5. Heinz-Harald Frentzen - 15
6. Jacques Villeneuve - 11
7. Greg Moore - 10
8. Jos Verstappen - 10
9. Tom Kristensen - 6
10. Alessandro Zanardi - 3
11. Eddie Irvine - 3
12. Alexander Wurz - 1
13. Jean Alesi - 1

Teams' standings
1. Ferrari - 55
2. Benetton-Playlife - 31
3. McLaren-Mercedes - 30
4. Williams-Mecachrome - 26
5. Jordan-Peugeot - 9
6. Sauber-Petronas - 4
7. Prost-Mugen Honda - 1

[Kinnikuniverse]

....welp, this season is already better than Williams's real life 1998!

[F1 Livery Histories]

Oof. Schuey being more than a second off the pace in qualifying at Monaco is a bit of a worry.

[Ataxia]

Forgot to mention, as I'm trying to whizz through the season at a fairly solid rate, that the second test day will follow Round 8 - so feel free to post your plans now.

The third test day will be after Hockenheim, and I'll cancel the fourth one so we can start '99 signings around Hungary/Spa time.

[Peteroli34]

2nd test

Team Name: Benetton
Test fee: £750K
Drivers: Hakkinen and Marques

[Salamander]

Team Name: Player's McLaren Mercedes
Test fee: £1 million
Drivers: Patrick Carpentier & Dario Franchitti

[Kinnikuniverse]

Williams grand prix engineering
Test money: 500.000$
Heinz-harald Frentzen and Juan Pablo Montoya.

[Dom_Wings]

Team Name: Dome Co. Ltd
Price: $1m
Drivers: Juichi Wakisaka & Mika Salo

[Shawn040217]

Team: Jordan Racing Enterprises
Drivers: Alessandro Zanardi, Jorg Muller
Fee: $750k

[Ataxia]

Round 7 - Canadian Grand Prix - 7 June, 1998

Qualifying


Race

Greg Moore became the first Canadian to win his home grand prix in 20 years, beating McLaren Formula 1 team-mate Dario Franchitti to victory in Montreal.

Moore made an excellent start to the race to leapfrog front-row starter Giancarlo Fisichella, and began to push Franchitti in the opening laps of the race.

Although Franchitti retained the lead after the first phase of stops, he was evidently slower than Moore, who dispatched the British driver at turn 1 at middle distance to claim the lead.

Flexing his advantage, Moore opened out a gap over Franchitti before regressing into management mode, holding his team-mate at arm's length to claim a second win of 1998.

Fisichella extended his lead in the standings, while Alessandro Zanardi bagged a second fourth place of the season after impressing for the Jordan team.

Jean Alesi added to Sauber's tally with fifth place, beating Rubens Barrichello - who was elevated into sixth place at the death after Jacques Villeneuve retired late on.



Drivers' standings
1. Giancarlo Fisichella - 36
2. Dario Franchitti - 26
3. Michael Schumacher - 23
4. Mika Hakkinen - 21
5. Greg Moore - 20
6. Heinz-Harald Frentzen - 16
7. Jacques Villeneuve - 10
8. Jos Verstappen - 10
9. Tom Kristensen - 6
10. Alessandro Zanardi - 6
11. Eddie Irvine - 3
12. Jean Alesi - 3
13. Alexander Wurz - 1
14. Rubens Barrichello - 1

Teams' standings
1. Ferrari - 59
2. McLaren-Mercedes - 46
3. Benetton-Playlife - 31
4. Williams-Mecachrome - 27
5. Jordan-Peugeot - 12
6. Sauber-Petronas - 6
7. Prost-Mugen Honda - 1
8. Stewart-Ford - 1

[Salamander]

Yes, that's more like it!

[CaptainGetz12]

TEST SCHEDULE UPDATED

Team Name: Stewart Grand Prix
Test fee: £1 Million
Drivers: Lamy and Tuero

[FortiWinks]

Seeing as our current budget doesn’t even allow us to do light running Sauber will forgo the next in season test.

[RedEyes504]

Minardi Testing - 750k
Rosset & Zonta driving

[F1 Livery Histories]

£1m heavy running at Imola please. Luca Badoer to pilot the car.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Team Name: TWR Arrows
Test fee: £1 million
Drivers: Tom Coronel & Max Wilson

[Bobby Doorknobs]

Team name: Lola
Test fee: £1 million
Drivers: Takagi & Collard

[Ataxia]

Round 8 - French Grand Prix - 28 June, 1998

Qualifying


Race

Michael Schumacher closed the gap to three points in the Formula 1 drivers' title standings with victory in an attritional French Grand Prix.

Schumacher began the race from pole position - his fifth of the season - and led the field away, although coming under pressure from team-mate and current championship leader Giancarlo Fisichella.

But in a race dominated by a number of high-profile technical issues, Fisichella was forced into an error by the chasing Greg Moore who was looking to strip the Ferrari driver of second.

With Moore in pursuit, Fisichella misjudged his line attempting to ward off the Canadian into the Nurburgring chicane, spinning off and careening into the gravel.

Schumacher was then rewarded with enough breathing space to keep his lead, and had an answer for every question Moore sent his way.

The McLaren driver, who won his home race at Montreal, had to be content with second as Schumacher cut a huge chunk out of Fisichella's championship lead.

Mika Hakkinen claimed his fifth podium of 1998, albeit almost 50s behind Schumacher, while Alexander Wurz clinched a good haul of points for Prost in the team's home race.

Tyrrell's Damon Hill benefitted from the attritional nature of the race to clinch fifth, claiming two points for engine suppliers Peugeot on home turf, while Olivier Panis added to the local celebrations with an improbable point for Lola in sixth - the last of the drivers left running at the end.



Drivers' standings
1. Giancarlo Fisichella - 36
2. Michael Schumacher - 33
3. Greg Moore - 26
4. Dario Franchitti - 26
5. Mika Hakkinen - 25
6. Heinz-Harald Frentzen - 16
7. Jacques Villeneuve - 10
8. Jos Verstappen - 10
9. Tom Kristensen - 6
10. Alessandro Zanardi - 6
11. Alexander Wurz - 4
12. Eddie Irvine - 3
13. Jean Alesi - 3
14. Damon Hill - 2
15. Rubens Barrichello - 1
16. Olivier Panis - 1

Teams' standings
1. Ferrari - 69
2. McLaren-Mercedes - 52
3. Benetton-Playlife - 35
4. Williams-Mecachrome - 27
5. Jordan-Peugeot - 12
6. Sauber-Petronas - 6
7. Prost-Mugen Honda - 4
8. Tyrrell-Peugeot - 2
9. Stewart-Ford - 1
10. Lola-Ford - 1

[F1 Livery Histories]

Really good stuff from both Ferrari drivers during the first half of this season. As Team Principal I am happy to announce that team orders will not come into use for the rest of the season.

The Scuderia would also like to extend its congratulations to the Lola team for scoring their first point. We would be open to supplying the British team with an engine deal heading into 1999 should a deal come to pass.

[Ataxia]

Olivier's twist?
Having generally impressed with backmarkers Lola, Olivier Panis appears to have shaken off his leg break from last season and even managed to score a point in the attritional French Grand Prix. Sure, it helps when the entire field peels off for one reason or another - but as they say, you've got to be in it to win it. Panis' feedback has impressed the entire Lola setup - and word has it that Stewart is lining up the Grenoble-born racer to replace Ralf Schumacher, who has reportedly clashed with several figureheads at the team. We'll see how things pan out for Panis.

Is F1 set for a three-Pete?
Armed with a collection of Portuguese backers, ex-Minardi racer Pedro Lamy has been knocking on the doors of various F1 teams looking to make his return to the grid - having left at the end of 1996. Both Arrows and Dome are known to be dissatisfied with their current drivers, with Tom Coronel and Norberto Fontana both failing to capture the imaginations of team bosses Tom Walkinshaw and Tadashi Sasaki respectively, and Lamy's war-chest of escudos may get him onto the grid for the latter half of 1998. With backing from Galp and Portugal Telecom, Lamy is believed to be offering somewhere of around £1m for a seat for the second half of the year - and could join fellow Pedros Diniz and de la Rosa on the grid.

[TomWazzleshaw]

TWR Arrows would like to enquire about Lamy's services for the remainder of the 1998 season, replacing Tom Coronel. Failing that, we'd be interested in talking with Olivier Panis about the remainder of the 1998 season as well

[CaptainGetz12]

Stewart: "Ralf has had a bad run", Michael Protests, Offers Buyout of Brother's Contract

In response to speculaton regarding Ralf Schumacher's F1 struggles at Stewart team boss Jackie Stewart said that Ralf has had issues adjusting to the car. "Our car is unreliable, that is true, but we are making progress thanks to our three drivers. Ralf is doing fine for now, he's just had a bad run."

Despite the statement there are rumors that the team is seeking a replacement. Oliver Panis may be seeking to move from the Lola team, having just scored the team's first points for the season. Pedro Lamy is also shopping around as a pay-driver option, and the team has made clear it's shortage of funds.

Ralf's brother Michael was much harsher in regards to Stewart. "The team never gave my brother a chance. He's a good driver, and Jackie has run a terrible outfit. I will personally get my brother out of the contract if a better team opens up."

Stewart is interested in both Olivier Panis's and Pedro Lamy's offers, as well as any other drivers that wish to leave a team or join F1. The lucky driver will replace Ralf Schumacher.

[Dom_Wings]

Dome would also like to enquire about Pedro Lamy, replacing Fontana.

However, Juichi Wakisaka will still race in the Japanese Grand Prix.

[CaptainGetz12]

//LIVE OFFER// (If allowed by Ataxia)

In negotiations with Tom Walkinshaw (Wizzie), Arrows will buy out the remainder of Ralf Schumacher's contract (£1.5 Million) and switch to Arrows, and Stewart will offer Pedro Lamy an immediate seat for the rest of the 1998 season at Stewart, expecting him to pay the Stewart team £1 Million.

If Lamy turns down the offer Stewart will make the following offers to the following drivers for Ralf's seat:


Jean-Christophe Boullion (PD)
Hideki Noda (PD)
Esteban Tuero (Moves to Race Seat)

[FortiWinks]

Sauber are willing to offer you the option of Laurent Redon if you don’t get Lamy if you’d rather him than the three drivers you mentioned...

not that you’d probably want him, but still...