1999 Japanese GP

OSRN 1

Round 16 of the 1999 F1 season at Suzuka.

Transcript

00:00:00Welcome back to our Toyota pre-race coverage for the Grand Prix of Japan.

00:00:05The starts of Suzuki have not been without a lot of activity and action.

00:00:11Let's take a look one year ago, Derek.

00:00:13Yeah, well, we have the same cars in the front row, Hacken and the Schumacher on the front row,

00:00:16but Jarno truly pulled out of line when he actually jumped the start, so they had to abort the start.

00:00:21When they go for the restart, Michael Schumacher, well, he stalled his car,

00:00:25because it's a downhill start, so they moved Michael to the back of the grid.

00:00:28Can you believe that?

00:00:29So that was a real drama, and Michael then has to work his way through from the back of the field.

00:00:34Here he is. You can see the red car right at the back trying to work his way through the field,

00:00:37but that was the crisis within the World Championship.

00:00:40Here we see the start again as Michael works his way through that traffic.

00:00:43Let Mika Hacken in right off the hook.

00:00:47That was one year ago.

00:00:48The cars have just moved on to the track on the formation lap,

00:00:52then they'll line up for the start of this final round.

00:00:55Michael Schumacher, break a leg, may take on new meaning.

00:00:58Since his comeback, Schumacher's had two poles and gave away a victory to his Ferrari teammate.

00:01:03And, of course, Mika Hacken, well, he had the moment with John Alesi when maybe he would have got on pole.

00:01:08In row two, David Coulthard, reasonably happy with third.

00:01:12And Heinz are friends, and he must have been happy, but he's very strong.

00:01:15Super special engine from Mugen Honda.

00:01:17Eddie Irvine, the point leader, says, at least I'm on the clean side of the track.

00:01:21And Oliver Pianist, very happy with the Peugeot engine this week.

00:01:24As was his teammate, Jarno Trulli, the Proster six and seven.

00:01:27Johnny Hobart, still out-qualified, Barrichello, no grip, he said.

00:01:31Ralph Schumacher starts ninth.

00:01:33The push too hard and crashed on his first run, had to qualify the T-car.

00:01:36John Alesi said he was blocked by Hacken on his quickest lap.

00:01:39Jack Villeneuve is 11th.

00:01:41Now, he's only a tenth of a second behind sixth place, but he's way back in 11th.

00:01:46And Damon Hill in his final Grand Prix, very disappointed.

00:01:49Rubens Barrichello will be 13th, said he never got a clean lap.

00:01:54And, in fact, Fizzi Keller, he said the same, no grip either.

00:01:58Alexander Wurz, Fizzi's teammate, good balance, but no grip, he's 15th.

00:02:02And Zanardi, well, he over-adjusted the car and he had a bad last run.

00:02:0617th, Pedro Liz, oversteer in the fast corners for his Sauber.

00:02:10Then comes Riccardo Zonta, 18th.

00:02:1319th in his home Grand Prix is Tora Takagi.

00:02:16He is out-qualified, Marc Genet in the Minardi.

00:02:19His own teammate, Pedro de la Rosa, and Luca Badua in the Minardi.

00:02:2522 starters.

00:02:27Only the first six finishers will earn points.

00:02:30Here's how they stand.

00:02:31Eddie Irvine, Mika Hakkinen, four points back.

00:02:34One of them, at the end of the day, will be the world champion.

00:02:38At Suzuka, how these two have fared against each other.

00:02:4293, Hakkinen, finishing three spots ahead.

00:02:45Irvine bested him by two.

00:02:47Then it's been Hakkinen, Hakkinen, Irvine, third over Hakkinen's fourth.

00:02:51And last year, Mika won the race in the championship with Eddie second.

00:02:55You see that Eddie's finished in every points-paying position here, except first.

00:03:01Must just point out here, the grid is on a slope.

00:03:04So these guys sometimes have a job and they can roll forward, which of course penalizes them.

00:03:08There are sensors built into the track to detect any movement prior to the lights going out signaling a start.

00:03:16Well, this first turn is a really very critical corner.

00:03:20Look at Eddie Irvine, look in his mirrors there.

00:03:22He's all very anxious to see what's happening behind him.

00:03:24But he should more worry about what's happening in front.

00:03:26We're sitting with Heinz Harald Frentzen at the start of the final race of the year.

00:03:31All right, the Japanese Grand Prix.

00:03:32Who will be the world champion?

00:03:34Ferrari or McLaren?

00:03:36Mika Hakkinen or Eddie Irvine?

00:03:39We are about to find out.

00:03:42Here we go with the start of the Japanese Grand Prix.

00:03:49Look at the way Michael Schumacher pulls across, but he loses the lead.

00:03:54Mika Hakkinen out front, Schumacher, Eddie Irvine well back.

00:03:57What a start for Mika.

00:03:59A stunning start by Mika Hakkinen.

00:04:01Michael Schumacher just stunned those wheels.

00:04:03And this is not at all what Ferrari ordered.

00:04:05But my goodness, it will make an exciting race.

00:04:07Ferrari had really improved their start strategy.

00:04:09They devoted a lot of testing and practice to starts this year.

00:04:13But I'm very, very surprised to see Schumacher not get off the grid ahead of Mika.

00:04:18Yes, he really had an appalling start, I must admit.

00:04:21Eddie Irvine didn't have a bad start at all.

00:04:23They lost the Jordan car there.

00:04:26Look at him.

00:04:27He dropped back to sixth spot.

00:04:30Here we come into the hairpin.

00:04:32This is where the brakes of Ferrari.

00:04:33Let's just see.

00:04:34Very hard on braking.

00:04:35First gear as they work their way out.

00:04:36A lot of wheelspin if you're not careful.

00:04:38And this is what could destroy the TARS.

00:04:41So Mika Hakkinen out on point.

00:04:45Michael Schumacher second.

00:04:47There's Eddie Irvine.

00:04:49And there's Schumacher.

00:04:51And there's Mika Hakkinen.

00:04:53Eddie Irvine out on point.

00:04:56Michael Schumacher second.

00:04:58There's Eddie Irvine, the point leader.

00:05:00Eddie actually is in a very good place.

00:05:03Yeah, he's ahead of David Kulthar.

00:05:05Yeah, and also Frenzen, which of course...

00:05:06Oh, look at...

00:05:07This is Zanardi.

00:05:08I don't believe it.

00:05:09Alex Zanardi already off the road with a problem.

00:05:12That is tragic for Alex.

00:05:13He tries so hard.

00:05:15Why does it always seem to happen to him?

00:05:16But let's face it.

00:05:17Next year is another year.

00:05:19And for Zanardi, this will be the tenth race

00:05:22in which he is not classed as a finisher.

00:05:27This is a very tight Casio hairpin.

00:05:29None of the drivers like it.

00:05:30A lot of wheelspin coming up.

00:05:32Difficult to get the balance of the car right here

00:05:34because of these very fast sweepers.

00:05:36You have to change the direction in the S's

00:05:37and then you have to get real grip coming out of the tight ones.

00:05:40Now, both the Prost drivers have said

00:05:42what a tremendous engine they've got from Peugeot.

00:05:44And there is Penney, proof of it.

00:05:46He gets off the grid and up into third

00:05:49from sixth starting position.

00:05:51Yeah, well, of course, that was the shambles of Michael.

00:05:53He had such a lousy start,

00:05:54and I think he slowed the guys down a bit.

00:05:56Here we go again as we watch the start.

00:05:59Well, lower left is Schumacher,

00:06:01and you see the car just does not accelerate.

00:06:03It moved about the same instant,

00:06:05and look at Penney sweep right up the right side

00:06:08along the lane into third.

00:06:10Well, and of course, David calls out.

00:06:11He pulled across the block out the Jordan

00:06:12because, remember, the Jordan of Frensland

00:06:14is ahead of him in the points.

00:06:15So David Coulthard has to finish ahead of him

00:06:18to get third place.

00:06:20So that's David running his own race

00:06:23where he is battling Hyde-Searle-Frensland in the Jordan.

00:06:26But, boy, Penney just made a masterful start.

00:06:29His was as good, if not better, than Mika Häkkinen's.

00:06:32You may well read into the fact, of course,

00:06:34that, in fact, Penney, this is his last Grand Prix.

00:06:36It could well be ever,

00:06:37because he's going to be test driver at McLaren,

00:06:39we understand, next year,

00:06:40which could mean he might never get in a Grand Prix car again.

00:06:43Oh, I think he'll be back, Derek.

00:06:44He's too good a talent.

00:06:46He had a couple of offers to run in Formula 1 next year,

00:06:49but not with teams where he thought

00:06:52he could show off his own potential.

00:06:55So he's going to run German Touring Car

00:06:56and test for McLaren.

00:06:58I think he's absolutely right.

00:06:59I mean, he's absolutely right in what he's doing,

00:07:01but Eddie Irvine is over four seconds behind right now,

00:07:044.2 seconds behind Mika Häkkinen.

00:07:07Here's Schumacher.

00:07:09And then you'll see the blue frost of Olivier Penney.

00:07:13And then Eddie Irvine.

00:07:15Look at Häkkinen.

00:07:16My goodness, when he gets out in front

00:07:18and just closes his eyes in the mirrors

00:07:20and just drives straight,

00:07:21he really goes for it.

00:07:231.3 seconds ahead of Michael Schumacher

00:07:25at the end of lap two.

00:07:27Penney, what a drive from this guy here.

00:07:29He's doing such a splendid job.

00:07:30There's the Jordan of Frentzen in sixth,

00:07:32and there's Ralf Schumacher in seventh.

00:07:35Yeah, Ralf's really come up very, very well indeed.

00:07:38The Ralf qualified ninth.

00:07:41Some long faces from John Totten, I must add,

00:07:44at that point there.

00:07:45Not working out the way they wanted,

00:07:47and this is really not the way Ferrari wanted at all.

00:07:50And Michael doesn't seem to be able to do anything

00:07:52about the flying fin at all.

00:07:54Now, there will be two pit stops,

00:07:56at least two, perhaps three for Schumacher,

00:07:58but at least two pit stops,

00:08:00and that will greatly affect the running

00:08:02and the outcome of this race.

00:08:04Eddie just has to get up there.

00:08:06He has to get up there as far as he can,

00:08:08so when they have the pit stop,

00:08:09which I'm sure they'll be, too,

00:08:11he has that chance, maybe with a bit of

00:08:14ham-fistedness in the pits,

00:08:15that he can make that bit of difference.

00:08:17That is, if you're a Ferrari, an Eddie Irvine fan.

00:08:19Well, right now, with Håkonen leading,

00:08:22he would be world champion.

00:08:24If Schumacher passes Håkonen

00:08:26in the order in which they're running,

00:08:28Eddie Irvine would be world champion.

00:08:30It all hinges on who's in first and who's in second.

00:08:38Look at the way these two guys have pulled away,

00:08:40my goodness me.

00:08:41It just shows that when you get Michael out there

00:08:44with Mika Häkkinen,

00:08:45you do get a tremendous bit of dicing going on,

00:08:48and these two are really going for it.

00:08:49Remember, Michael has got to conserve the tyres

00:08:51as much as he can.

00:08:52If he gets too close behind

00:08:54the McLaren, he will find that he will get

00:08:56a little bit of understeer or push

00:08:58in the disturbed air,

00:08:59and, of course, that will destroy his front tyres.

00:09:02Well, it appeared from the replay

00:09:04that Michael Schumacher got off the line

00:09:06at the same instant as Mika Häkkinen.

00:09:09The question is, what happened to Schumacher

00:09:12that his car just would not accelerate?

00:09:14Well, he actually noticed that there didn't seem

00:09:16to be smoke pouring off his tyres,

00:09:18so he didn't look like he might have spun his wheels too much.

00:09:23There's the gap, first to second.

00:09:26And there, Irvine is right in the clutches

00:09:29of David Coulthard.

00:09:30Well, that really would fix it

00:09:31if Coulthard went by Eddie.

00:09:34But Eddie's really got to get up there behind Penny

00:09:36and he's got to get by him somehow.

00:09:38He's got to get closer to Michael Schumacher

00:09:40to take advantage of it,

00:09:41but the lap times he's doing at the moment

00:09:43aren't going to get in there

00:09:44because he's actually lapping

00:09:45a second, nearly two seconds a lap slower

00:09:48last lap than Mika Häkkinen,

00:09:50and that is a bundle.

00:09:54Well, if Eddie's on totally full tanks,

00:09:57and I would expect that he is,

00:09:59carrying a heavier fuel load,

00:10:01Ferrari has done that

00:10:02at a number of occasions this year

00:10:04so that they can vary their race strategy

00:10:07and when to make their pit stops

00:10:10based on traffic conditions around the track.

00:10:12So it wouldn't surprise me

00:10:13that Eddie is on completely full tanks

00:10:16and then Ferrari can plan things as they go

00:10:19rather than starting with light tanks

00:10:21and being forced into a pit stop

00:10:23when conditions might not be advantageous

00:10:25as far as where Irvine would have traffic

00:10:28on the track and catch traffic

00:10:30coming out of the pits.

00:10:31This is what Ferrari wanted, exactly,

00:10:33is to be ahead of Coulthard

00:10:34so that they're within striking distance of Häkkinen

00:10:36but they're not actually within

00:10:37striking distance in my opinion.

00:10:38No.

00:10:39And David is running down the back

00:10:41as you can see, of Eddie Irvine

00:10:42at this point here.

00:10:43Behind Sauer-Fremsen, of course,

00:10:44he is behind there

00:10:45and to get his third place in the championship

00:10:47he basically has to shadow David Coulthard.

00:10:51So right now it looks good for McLaren

00:10:54and not so good for Ferrari

00:10:56as David Coulthard fills up the mirrors

00:10:58of Eddie Irvine for fourth place.

00:11:02There's always the possibility

00:11:03that Olivier Pagny could be on a three-stop strategy.

00:11:10The way they're running right now,

00:11:11Häkkinen would be the driver's champion,

00:11:13Ferrari by one point

00:11:14would be the manufacturer's champion.

00:11:16Looks like one of the minorities is off.

00:11:18We will be right back.

00:11:19You're watching Formula One on Fox Sportsnet.

00:11:25Welcome back live at Suzuka,

00:11:27the Grand Prix of Japan on Fox Sportsnet.

00:11:29Ferrari and McLaren

00:11:30will decide the World Driving Championship today

00:11:33and Manufacturer's Championship.

00:11:35Let's ride with Tora Takagi on board his Arrows.

00:11:49Well, that's what it's like

00:11:50to be with the 18th place man on the race,

00:11:53Tora Takagi.

00:11:54And the reason we're riding with him

00:11:55probably is because he's from Japan.

00:11:57The guy has got talent,

00:11:58but he obviously is in a car that doesn't run that well.

00:12:01They've had a lurid season in that team,

00:12:03hoping for greater things next year.

00:12:05What he's hoping for today mostly is a finish.

00:12:07As you said, Arrows,

00:12:08T-minus, that company Prince Malik started,

00:12:11is off the car.

00:12:12Prince Malik is gone from the Arrows team.

00:12:14Not much has gone well for poor Tora,

00:12:16who has only been classed as a finisher

00:12:18in four races this year.

00:12:20But since our world feed is provided

00:12:22by Japanese television,

00:12:24I expect we'll see a lot of him today.

00:12:25Let's ride again.

00:12:30Down into the chicane.

00:12:32Casio Triangle, as it's called.

00:12:35Trying to get traction coming out.

00:12:48190 miles an hour.

00:12:51Fifth gear.

00:12:53Third gear.

00:12:58Fourth.

00:13:05Well, there you go.

00:13:06That's what the gear shifts are like.

00:13:07Takes two, three one-thousandths of a second.

00:13:10Look at the difference in those lap times

00:13:12between a Hacken and an Irvine.

00:13:13Eddie is still two seconds off the pace.

00:13:15Now, has Eddie got a full load of fuel

00:13:17as opposed to Mika got a lighter fuel load?

00:13:19We just don't know.

00:13:21That's what we'd expect with that big a gap,

00:13:23that Irvine is carrying more fuel

00:13:25as a consequence has a heavier car.

00:13:28As you saw Takagi fighting the oversteer

00:13:31on his Arrows.

00:13:34I think the reason we're riding with Takagi

00:13:36is because he doesn't always last that long

00:13:38because the engine's not that reliable,

00:13:39so they want to get their in-car in

00:13:41while they can in the local Arrow.

00:13:42Well, his great hope was to finish today's race.

00:13:45It would be only his fifth finish of the year.

00:13:48Mika Hakkinen has now completed seven laps.

00:13:51Last lap in a minute, 42.034.

00:13:54Michael Schumacher could well be running

00:13:56a heavy fuel load

00:13:59and conserving the tires.

00:14:01Mika Hakkinen knew that he really had to go for it

00:14:03and get out front,

00:14:04which he's doing a very good job of doing.

00:14:06Let's ride again with Takagi up towards the chicane.

00:14:19Boy, that looks slow through there, Derek.

00:14:21Yeah, and look at the wheel spin he gets as he comes out.

00:14:24Look at that gap, 15.9.

00:14:36On the flat top of that steering wheel,

00:14:38do you ever drive a race car with that type of wheel?

00:14:40Yeah.

00:14:41Is it odd?

00:14:42It's not odd at all, no.

00:14:44It's very good, actually,

00:14:45because it helps you when you're going fast.

00:14:47We, of course, have driver changes.

00:14:49There's a very close battle for third now

00:14:51with Pani, Irvine, and Coulthard.

00:14:53They're overall second,

00:14:54handled by three seconds there.

00:14:56All right, let's show you

00:14:57where our championship contenders are running.

00:15:00Pani Irvine in fourth.

00:15:02That's worth only three points.

00:15:03Mika Hakkinen could pick up ten points for first

00:15:06and the championship.

00:15:07Heinz-Harald Frentzen is sixth,

00:15:08David Coulthard in fifth,

00:15:09Michael Schumacher in second,

00:15:11and just barely out of the points

00:15:13is Michael's younger brother, Ralph.

00:15:15What a good job Ralph is doing today, let me tell you,

00:15:18because he went off in qualifying

00:15:20and had a bad time there.

00:15:22Car not running at all well during practice,

00:15:24but this morning he was quick in warm-up.

00:15:26He was actually fourth quickest and doing 41s,

00:15:29and he's now out there doing a very, very good

00:15:31doing 44s, nevertheless,

00:15:33but, of course, on a heavy fuel load.

00:15:35Do you know there's only two drivers in Formula 1

00:15:37that have finished more races?

00:15:39That has been classed as an official finisher

00:15:41more times than Ralph Schumacher.

00:15:43Eddie Irvine has finished 14 of 15 races,

00:15:46Heinz-Harald Frentzen has finished 12,

00:15:48then comes Ralph with 11,

00:15:50and tied with ten are Mika Hakkinen,

00:15:53Olivier Penney, Rubens Barrichello,

00:15:55and, believe it, Marc Genet.

00:15:58And here is Mika Hakkinen working his way up

00:16:00to the Dania curve,

00:16:02and he's just going to pass any second now

00:16:04underneath the figure eight,

00:16:06the other part of the circuit that goes up

00:16:08the main straight at 190 miles an hour.

00:16:10He's working his way down to the hairpin.

00:16:12This is where Eddie Irvine went off yesterday

00:16:14when he locked up a rear brake.

00:16:16Beautifully smooth, a beautiful line through there.

00:16:18That's where you need good traction,

00:16:20Michael Schumacher following him in.

00:16:23Schumacher puts the power down

00:16:25to come out of that hairpin corner.

00:16:28Schumacher, who thoroughly dominated in Malaysia,

00:16:31sitting on pole, taking the lead at will,

00:16:33giving it away not once but twice

00:16:36in a tremendous comeback performance,

00:16:39sitting on pole for this race,

00:16:41and inexplicably not accelerating off the line

00:16:44at the start.

00:16:46That's how Mika Hakkinen snatched the lead,

00:16:48and that's how we run,

00:16:50with Hakkinen ahead of Schumacher,

00:16:52Olivier Penney, and a tremendous farewell drive

00:16:54to Prost,

00:16:56and a little acrimony in that farewell,

00:16:58as Peter told us during pre-race.

00:17:00Penney lies third.

00:17:02Irvine fourth, Bultard fifth,

00:17:04Prentz in sixth, then Ralph Schumacher,

00:17:06Jean Alessi, Johnny Herbert,

00:17:08and Jacques Villeneuve.

00:17:10The top ten.

00:17:11At this rate, with only eight laps gone,

00:17:13and if they're on a two-stop strategy,

00:17:15they'll be going in after lap 18.

00:17:17Eddie Irvine is going to be losing a complete pit stop

00:17:20to Mika Hakkinen at the speed that they're going.

00:17:22By the way, the car that we saw out of the race,

00:17:24pulling off to the side as we went to brake,

00:17:26was not one of the minorities.

00:17:28It was the Prost of Jarno Trulli.

00:17:31Tough race for Trulli,

00:17:33who had a great qualifying start of this race in seventh.

00:17:36Giancarlo Fisichella also went off the rope,

00:17:38and he's back on the track, so he kept the engine going.

00:17:41And this is where they are

00:17:43working their way up the hill now, up through the esses.

00:17:45Irvine is the red car in silver and black,

00:17:48is David Coulthard, and the Jordan in yellow,

00:17:51that is Heinz-Harald Frenzel.

00:17:53Both these cars running about just over 820 horsepower

00:17:56as they try to feed it on going up the hill.

00:17:59The Jordan very close behind there of Heinz-Harald Frenzel,

00:18:02and all he has to do is shadow David Coulthard

00:18:04in the position he's in, and he will retain

00:18:06his third place in the world championship.

00:18:08Something that's very vital to Eddie Jordan.

00:18:11Zanardi apparently thought Alex, he had an electrical problem,

00:18:15so that's what put him out of the race.

00:18:17Well, in the paddock, as Peter found,

00:18:20if you could vote the world champion,

00:18:22and look at Eddie Irvine, 19.5 seconds off pace

00:18:25as we watch Penney.

00:18:26If you could vote the world champion,

00:18:28there's a lot of sentiment in the paddock for Heinz-Harald Frenzel.

00:18:31This has truly been his breakthrough season.

00:18:33Oh, he's had a magnificent year,

00:18:35but just look at Penney, the way he's driving today.

00:18:38He's really doing an excellent job.

00:18:40It's something that drivers do, they get, say,

00:18:42I'm going to show everybody that I'm really worthwhile,

00:18:44and it's better than just to think that I should drive for Arrows next year.

00:18:47I deserve more.

00:18:48But during the year, he just hasn't run that well.

00:18:50The thing you saw flying through the air

00:18:52was one of his tear-off strips off his visor.

00:18:54He thought he would get oil and smear on it,

00:18:56which he probably did at the start,

00:18:58so now he wants to clear a bit of road ahead of him

00:19:00so he can try and keep ahead of these guys.

00:19:03Mike Hockenna now with a six-second lead on Michael Schumacher.

00:19:08He's really going for it.

00:19:09Look, he's using that curb as he goes up there.

00:19:12But the one thing, Derek, he can't afford,

00:19:14and that would be a mistake.

00:19:15Hockenna needs to at least finish well in front of Eddie Irvine

00:19:19to clinch his second world championship,

00:19:22and Hockenna has not had a mistake-free season as a driver,

00:19:27but today he must absolutely finish this race

00:19:31and then see where Eddie Irvine ends up

00:19:33if he's to have a hope of being champion again.

00:19:35Some people would say,

00:19:36well, why is he going so hard?

00:19:38Why does he take it easier?

00:19:39But the fact is, with these cars,

00:19:41hard and easy makes no difference whatsoever to the car.

00:19:43You drive them to the limit.

00:19:44That's what they're designed to do,

00:19:46and if something's going to break, electrical failure,

00:19:48it's going to happen at whatever speed you do.

00:19:55I'd imagine that driving a car like this

00:19:58is a little like driving a boat

00:20:00in a sense that until you get it up on plane,

00:20:03it doesn't work very well at all,

00:20:04but once you get it up on plane and up to speed,

00:20:06then everything comes in and works,

00:20:08and that's really where you have to run it,

00:20:10is at its limit.

00:20:11You have to drive at the limit all the time

00:20:13for everything to work at its maximum,

00:20:14and when he's traveling down here now,

00:20:16as he goes through that curve there,

00:20:17he's actually pulling about three or four times

00:20:20the weight of the car,

00:20:213,000 kilograms of downloading on the car.

00:20:24That is an absolutely amazing amount of downforce on that car.

00:20:28Here they're braking for the Casio Triangle,

00:20:30the little chicane before the pit straight.

00:20:38I'm sure there's some method in this madness

00:20:39with Michael Schumacher and Ross Brawn,

00:20:41but yet I can't quite see it,

00:20:42not with Eddie Irvine so far back.

00:20:44Michael can do nothing at all about helping Eddie today.

00:20:48And we heard Schumacher's strategy after qualifying.

00:20:50He said to win the race,

00:20:53to get out front and to win the race,

00:20:55Schumacher said to the press after this morning's warm-up,

00:20:58he says this race could well be decided at the first corner.

00:21:02I don't think this was the way he had it planned.

00:21:05No, I don't think it was either,

00:21:06but you never know just what he'll be doing.

00:21:08I cannot believe he's going for a one-stop.

00:21:11And I can't believe that he would have

00:21:14given up the first corner to Håkonen

00:21:15and run second and sit now some 5.9 seconds back.

00:21:1922 seconds between Häkkinen and Irvine.

00:21:22That is about 25, 26 seconds, I believe,

00:21:24is the total time of a pit stop.

00:21:26That's from entering the pit lane to exiting.

00:21:28And again, in these positions,

00:21:30Mika Häkkinen would win the Drivers' Championship

00:21:33for the second year in a row,

00:21:35and by one point, Ferrari would win

00:21:38the Constructors' Championship.

00:21:42And this is Takagi battling.

00:21:45Fizzy Kellett.

00:21:47Passing him after Fizzy was off the course,

00:21:51got back on and is now trying to work his way

00:21:53back up through.

00:21:55He advances to 18th position.

00:21:57Mika Häkkinen leads Michael Schumacher

00:21:59by 6.3 seconds.

00:22:01You're watching Formula One on Fox Sportsnet.

00:22:10Welcome back to Fox Sportsnet coverage

00:22:11of the Grand Prix of Japan.

00:22:13Mike Joy with Eric Bell and Peter Windsor.

00:22:1513 laps in the book, no change in the running order.

00:22:19You'll get all the day's scores,

00:22:20highlights and breaking stories

00:22:22on Fox Sports News Primetime,

00:22:24nightly at 10.

00:22:26Check your local listings.

00:22:28Eddie Irvine is still being hounded there

00:22:31by David Coulthard.

00:22:32David can't do much about going by

00:22:33and he isn't about to make a mistake.

00:22:35As far as David's concerned,

00:22:36he is more worried of getting third place

00:22:38in the championship, possibly,

00:22:39than he is more worried about

00:22:41getting ahead of Eddie Irvine

00:22:43to help his teammate Mika Häkkinen.

00:22:45He must have split loyalties there.

00:22:47Well, as far as what the championship is worth,

00:22:50certainly to be world champion,

00:22:51endorsement opportunities open up

00:22:53and the money starts pouring in.

00:22:55Eddie Irvine's been promised

00:22:57if he wins this championship for Ferrari,

00:22:59they'll give him a million and a half dollars.

00:23:02But what about down the line, Derek?

00:23:03Third place versus fourth.

00:23:05What is the value of that to a driver?

00:23:07It's just the prestige, the kudos

00:23:09of finishing third in the world.

00:23:10As Ron Dennis, the team boss of McLaren,

00:23:14has been very much in the news

00:23:15since the shambles, if I might say, of Malaysia

00:23:18and the court case.

00:23:19And there's Jon Toth in a similar position,

00:23:21the manager of Ferrari.

00:23:23Now, but for the manufacturers, though,

00:23:25for the constructors,

00:23:26such as Stewart and Williams

00:23:28battling for fourth and fifth,

00:23:30now there is more than pride at stake there

00:23:33among the constructors.

00:23:34Very, very much so.

00:23:36It's vital to win that,

00:23:37to be constructors champion.

00:23:39And, of course, it means a lot in travel money.

00:23:41There we are.

00:23:42Yeah, there's a look at the lineup,

00:23:44the number of points you score

00:23:46helps determine your payout

00:23:48from Formula One's travel fund.

00:23:50And believe me, getting all of this paraphernalia

00:23:53all around the world to run 16 races

00:23:55is a staggering cost.

00:23:57Also, paddock space and paddock position

00:24:00is doled out by where you finish

00:24:02in the world championship.

00:24:03So there is a lot at stake.

00:24:05The exact monetary payouts

00:24:07are not released to the press.

00:24:09That's why you never see purse figures

00:24:11for a Formula One race,

00:24:12as you do for CART, IRL, or NASCAR

00:24:15in the States.

00:24:16It's more than you and I own, let me tell you.

00:24:18Yeah, it is. It's a lot.

00:24:28Well, let's just see if Mika Hakkinen

00:24:29can keep his concentration going.

00:24:31Remember, he has lost a few Grand Prixs this year,

00:24:34three to four of them.

00:24:35He's lost through lack of concentration

00:24:37and errors.

00:24:38Not good at all.

00:24:39This race, he's got to keep his concentration going.

00:24:42Not an easy thing to do.

00:24:43He's trying to drive away from Michael Schumacher

00:24:45and the rest.

00:24:46And doing a mighty good job,

00:24:47let me tell you, at the moment.

00:24:48This is the long spoon curve.

00:24:51Leads on to the back straightaway.

00:24:53Michael Schumacher coming in there.

00:24:55He doesn't seem particularly perturbed

00:24:57about Mika getting away.

00:24:58But at the moment, there is just

00:25:00a six and a half second difference.

00:25:02There hasn't been much more

00:25:03over the past four or five laps.

00:25:05Michael retaining that gap.

00:25:07And it remains to be seen about whether...

00:25:10what strategy is being employed

00:25:12and whether or not Schumacher is on full tanks

00:25:15or Haakonen.

00:25:16We'll get an indication of that

00:25:17when we see the length and the timing

00:25:19of their pit stops.

00:25:20Now, next year, Malaysia is scheduled

00:25:23to be the final Grand Prix.

00:25:25Not Japan.

00:25:26The two tracks differ greatly.

00:25:28The Malaysian track is brand new.

00:25:30And, Peter, the amenities and space,

00:25:32they're very different from here.

00:25:34Well, of course, big differences,

00:25:35not only in the way of life in Malaysia and Japan,

00:25:37but for the teams,

00:25:38a massive difference in the amount of space

00:25:41in which they have to work in Malaysia

00:25:43compared with Japan.

00:25:44Just to give one example,

00:25:45at the back of the garages in Japan,

00:25:47there are pack horses,

00:25:48there are boxers everywhere,

00:25:49and the teams have to shuffle those around

00:25:51to make a dining area and a meeting area.

00:25:53It's not good.

00:25:54In Malaysia, of course,

00:25:55air-conditioned, glass-fronted hospitality units.

00:25:58Also, the garage areas,

00:25:59teams like McLaren and Ferrari

00:26:01running four cars here.

00:26:03Lots of space to do that in Malaysia.

00:26:05Much more cramped here in Japan.

00:26:07Thanks, Peter.

00:26:08Well, Peter, as you certainly couldn't see

00:26:10from your position,

00:26:11Damon Hill had a long slide off the track,

00:26:14but managed to keep his Jordan running

00:26:16and get it back on.

00:26:17That would have been a sad end

00:26:19to what has been a tremendous career.

00:26:21Now, Hill dropped, I believe,

00:26:23about four places.

00:26:24He was 13th quickest,

00:26:26so he's dropped way down after that.

00:26:28Well, probably not way,

00:26:29probably a couple of positions.

00:26:30He's actually dropped to 19th.

00:26:32Not a nice thing to be.

00:26:33He's got all that luck to go by.

00:26:35Not a very pleasant way for Damon to finish.

00:26:37Here's a replay.

00:26:38Gets out on that dirt.

00:26:39See the dust behind him?

00:26:40And now he just wants to keep it going.

00:26:41He's got those wheels spinning.

00:26:42He's got a blast,

00:26:43and he wants to get on that grass.

00:26:45Not knowing what it's...

00:26:46Whoa!

00:26:47Not knowing how it's going to...

00:26:48how narrow it's going to get further along.

00:26:51A pit stop.

00:26:53Damon's come in after that long slide.

00:26:56They're replacing some bodywork.

00:26:57Of course, four fresh tires and fuel.

00:27:01It may have damaged the car slightly

00:27:03as he spends 14 seconds in the pit.

00:27:0720 pulls, 22 victories,

00:27:09and a world championship for Damon Hill.

00:27:11It's pretty good, you know.

00:27:1222 wins is very, very good out of 122 starts.

00:27:15Pretty fantastic.

00:27:16115 starts.

00:27:18Eddie Jordan is team owner.

00:27:21A bit upset by that, no doubt,

00:27:23because he'd like...

00:27:24I think he'd like to see Damon finish on a high note.

00:27:26Good for the whole morale of the team,

00:27:28not to have him finish way back

00:27:29where he obviously is going to finish now.

00:27:31But this race does have a lot of attrition in it.

00:27:33Historically, there's always a lot of pit stops.

00:27:36We've dealt with problems with the car as well.

00:27:38The cross comes in.

00:27:39And he's coming in from third place.

00:27:41Very, very early pit stop for him at lap...

00:27:43Probably, what's it, lap 16?

00:27:45Yes, and the cross all season have stopped early,

00:27:49so this may be a scheduled stop for Pini.

00:27:52Yeah, quick one, too.

00:27:536.8 seconds, but he was running a very low fuel load,

00:27:55as you can see.

00:27:56That was why he did such an exceptional job.

00:27:58But I think what he's proven to people,

00:27:59and Peugeot would have wanted this,

00:28:01they're the people that supply the engines,

00:28:03that they want to prove that that Peugeot engine

00:28:05at last produced some form.

00:28:06And I believe it really has,

00:28:07because they were both, both he and Trulli,

00:28:09were side-by-side on the grid there.

00:28:11And it may well have been that

00:28:13that Prost sent Pini out with a nickel rocket

00:28:15with a very light fuel load.

00:28:17Take off, see what you can do with it.

00:28:19And he did.

00:28:20He got the car up into third place

00:28:22and a very good first run to his pit stop.

00:28:25Yeah, Damon Hill, in fact, just changed the nose cone.

00:28:27He must have knocked some of the end plates off

00:28:29as he danced across the sand.

00:28:31But this dice still going on here

00:28:33between Eddie Irvine, David Coulthard,

00:28:37Heinz R. Frenzel, and of course behind him,

00:28:39there you saw Ralf Schumacher on the way in.

00:28:42Frenzel coming for a stop.

00:28:47And pit stops, this first round of stops will continue.

00:28:50Mika Hakkinen leads Michael Schumacher

00:28:52by 7.4 seconds in the Grand Prix of Japan

00:28:55live on Fox Sportsnet.

00:28:58Welcome back to the Grand Prix of Japan

00:29:00live on Fox Sportsnet.

00:29:02While we were away,

00:29:04Jean Alesi, Pedro de la Rosa,

00:29:06Johnny Herbert, and Jack Villeneuve

00:29:08all made pit stops.

00:29:10Alexander Virt stopped just as we went to break

00:29:12with the Benetton.

00:29:14And Damon Hill stopped at lap 15

00:29:16after damaging the nose of his Jordan.

00:29:21That's de la Rosa just in front of one of the Ferrari's.

00:29:24That's de la Rosa just in front of one of the Ferrari's.

00:29:27After coming out and he gives way

00:29:29and Michael gets through.

00:29:34My goodness, look at the gap.

00:29:36Eight seconds, Michael's ahead of Irvine.

00:29:39Right now, Irvine is at a full pit stop

00:29:42behind McLaren.

00:29:44And that's the McLaren team setting up

00:29:47for either Mika Hakkinen or David Coulthard.

00:29:50Coulthard now up to fourth.

00:29:52Irvine moves up to third

00:29:54with Olivier Penny's pit stop.

00:29:56I would have to think it must be Mika Hakkinen.

00:29:58Whoops!

00:29:59I have to smoke this. Mika's in.

00:30:01I was going to say it had to be for Mika Hakkinen, that pit stop.

00:30:03And you can see he was catching up those two cars,

00:30:05the Minardi and the Arrows of Takagi.

00:30:07And rather than leave Mika out on track

00:30:10behind those two cars and have to deal with them,

00:30:12they pull him in and pit him now.

00:30:14Yes, it was a good move, that was.

00:30:16They read that very well indeed.

00:30:22Nine poles, eight wins last year.

00:30:25Eleven poles, four wins this year.

00:30:27Not a very good statistic, in fact.

00:30:29So Irvine just goes past.

00:30:31You saw Irvine going past as Hakkinen comes out.

00:30:34Sixty kilos of fuel, we're told, were measured.

00:30:39That was surreptitiously learned

00:30:41along the pit lane.

00:30:45For Mika Hakkinen, who's now on his out lap,

00:30:47hitting at lap 18.

00:30:49Jean Alessi is also in.

00:30:54Michael Schumacher, of course, in first position,

00:30:56having not done a pit stop yet.

00:30:58Now, in the next few laps we'll see

00:31:00whether he stayed out for good reason.

00:31:02And that would be Heinz Sauer-Frenzel in his pit stop.

00:31:04Fresh tyres and fuel, 8.1 seconds.

00:31:06Pretty normal stuff for a two-stop strategy.

00:31:09And just coming in behind him, I believe that was Denis.

00:31:11Alessi was in at lap 16,

00:31:13so this would be Pedro Denis for Sauer.

00:31:20So different to a year or two ago,

00:31:22and Ferraris were always the first ones in

00:31:24because the engines were so thirsty.

00:31:26They've really got their engine management down.

00:31:28Oh dear, look at the Prost coming in very, very soon.

00:31:30I think that's truly...

00:31:31And he's going to hold up Zonta as he comes in.

00:31:35Pulled very wisely, pulled out of the way.

00:31:37That's what you don't need in the pit lane.

00:31:38Now, that's Panini.

00:31:39Oh, it's Panini, I'm sorry.

00:31:40I just saw the white helmet.

00:31:41It might be the white front.

00:31:43That's sad. He was going so well.

00:31:46So Zonta's in at lap 19.

00:31:48And Panini coasts in after a wonderful drive off the start.

00:31:56There's Takagi coming along the pit lane and Ralf Schumacher.

00:32:03Arrows had a very poor stop with Pedro de la Rosa.

00:32:06The refueling rig would not disconnect from the car.

00:32:10They use a dry-brake refuel rig.

00:32:13It's a very positive attachment.

00:32:15The fuel flow stops when any part of it is released.

00:32:18And Takagi has a much better stop than his teammate, 10.9 seconds.

00:32:24And the Prost of Panini has been retired.

00:32:27Well, that engine worked for a while.

00:32:29One assumes it was the engine, but it could well have been electronic, of course.

00:32:34Sad, but nonetheless, he did show how well he could go

00:32:37and how well that engine, the Peugeot engine, did perform

00:32:40at the final race of the year.

00:32:42We won't see, as we said, we won't see Panini in Formula 1 next year.

00:32:46He will probably be test driver at McLaren.

00:32:48Ralf Schumacher in the pits in the Williams.

00:32:51And Rubens Barrichello is in for Stewart.

00:32:53Remember that next year, Ralf Schumacher will have the BMW engine in the team.

00:32:57They've been developing this engine quite successfully

00:33:00and it's going to have a run in the full Williams Formula 1 chassis

00:33:04later in November.

00:33:07It makes you wonder, when are Schumacher and Irvine going to pit?

00:33:13Michael is lapping some two seconds quicker than the Irvine.

00:33:21And David Coulthard also has not stopped for McLaren.

00:33:25Derek, I'll raise the question, it may be academic,

00:33:27but can you run this race on one pit stop?

00:33:30I think, I believe you can run this race on one pit stop,

00:33:33but nobody thought they'd go for two.

00:33:36But why should Ross Brawn give us their strategy?

00:33:40Michael Schumacher, certainly not.

00:33:41We saw in Malaysia how they could make it run.

00:33:44Remember, they're not running the same soft tyres here,

00:33:46so they don't have the same problems,

00:33:48as long as the tyres don't degrade so much that they're undriveable.

00:33:51In the last race in Malaysia, the tyres became better,

00:33:55as you heard from Peter earlier.

00:33:56In this race, they wouldn't be quite such an advantage.

00:34:03Well, that, of course, is Hackerman.

00:34:05Right.

00:34:06There, behind the Jordan.

00:34:11And things are...

00:34:12That's Damon Hill. He's, I think, pulling over to let him by.

00:34:15Right. Things are pretty jumbled up with this round of pit stops.

00:34:19Not quite completed.

00:34:21We're still looking for Fisichella, Coulthard, Schumacher, Irvine

00:34:26to make pit stops.

00:34:28Out of the race, at 20 laps,

00:34:31Alex Zanardi, electrical problems,

00:34:33Jarno Trulli, engine trouble,

00:34:35and it's Gearbox for Olivier Penny.

00:34:38So both the crosses are out.

00:34:40And there's activity in the Ferrari pit.

00:34:42Hackerman is 9.5 seconds behind Schumacher.

00:34:46Now, will this be Eddie or will it be Michael?

00:34:49I would have thought it would have been Eddie Irvine

00:34:52that they would bring in at this point,

00:34:54because maybe a fresh set of tyres would lighten him up a little bit

00:34:57as far as speed's concerned.

00:34:58He'd be able to get on and go for it,

00:35:00because he certainly hasn't been going for it so far,

00:35:02and he doesn't look like a champion at the moment.

00:35:05Well, Michael Schumacher leads Hackerman

00:35:08by some 9.5 seconds.

00:35:10Remember, Hackerman has stopped. Schumacher has not.

00:35:13But now here's McLaren quickly setting up for Coulthard

00:35:16in case Ferrari brings Irvine in.

00:35:19Here he goes. Michael's coming in.

00:35:25So Schumacher will surrender the lead at lap 21.

00:35:29Over the line.

00:35:31That's the deceleration line, speed limit.

00:35:42Only 6 seconds.

00:35:436.3 seconds. My goodness me, that was electronics.

00:35:47It makes you wonder just how much fuel they put in.

00:35:50Well, it couldn't have been a lot.

00:35:52And it confirms that Schumacher will have to make a second stop.

00:35:57Now Coulthard is in.

00:36:10And this quick one as well, 7 seconds.

00:36:13That's a good stop too. A very good stop there.

00:36:16Michael Schumacher's stop was 2 seconds faster than Mika Hackerman's.

00:36:21And David Coulthard's was the same as Michael Schumacher's.

00:36:24Oh, look at the way he pulls in front there.

00:36:26Sorry, Claude, I'm not letting you through.

00:36:28He comes out in the head of Heinz or Frenzel,

00:36:32which is really how they were lying before.

00:36:34Right. Almost nose to tail.

00:36:37Sorry, Ferrari still set up. This time for Eddie Irvine.

00:36:44And I didn't note Fisichella pitting.

00:36:46Aside from him, Irvine would be the last to pit.

00:36:54Well, the Ferraris are being totally outrun at the moment.

00:36:57Hill is out of the race. Damon Hill out of his final Grand Prix.

00:37:01He came into the garage and parked.

00:37:03You saw him pull over and let Mika Hackerman go by just a few moments ago.

00:37:09And there's a look at the renewed running order now with Schumacher's pit stop

00:37:13that turns the lead back to Mika Hackerman.

00:37:16Look at Barry Keller, though, back in 10th place.

00:37:18I can't believe he's lost the entire race.

00:37:20Barry Keller, though, back in 10th place.

00:37:22I can't believe he's lost interest in driving for the Stewart team

00:37:25because he's such a genuine man and I believe he's put everything into it.

00:37:27But since he announced he's going to Ferrari, he really hasn't.

00:37:30Here comes Eddie Irvine in for his pit stop.

00:37:36So Irvine to the pit lane, four points ahead of Hackerman in the Driver Championship.

00:37:40And he's going to really need a good stop here

00:37:44to have a chance to stay within a couple of positions of Mika

00:37:47and nail down this championship.

00:37:51Oh!

00:37:56Good pit stop from Ferrari.

00:37:58Not quite as quick as Michael's, but my goodness, it was nonetheless a good stop,

00:38:01like David Coulthard's.

00:38:03Now remember that Irvine is not driving the car.

00:38:06Sorry, he already comes just behind.

00:38:08Whoa!

00:38:09Behind David there, I assume.

00:38:11Right.

00:38:12David Coulthard got ahead. That's not what Eddie Irvine wanted.

00:38:14It must have been a very good lap from David Coulthard, that lap.

00:38:17No, but at least he was able to split Coulthard and Frentzen.

00:38:20Well, that is true.

00:38:22So there's some consolation for Eddie there.

00:38:25The car that Eddie brought here, he crashed in qualifying,

00:38:28ripped both front wheels off it

00:38:30when the car got away from him under braking for the hairpin.

00:38:34The car that he then climbed into is the car that he is racing.

00:38:39And they rebuilt another chassis that they had brought for a spare.

00:38:44Well, everyone has made their first pit stop.

00:38:48Mika Hakkinen now leads for Michael Schumacher by 7.5 seconds

00:38:52in the Grand Prix of Japan on Fox Sportsnet.

00:39:00Welcome back to the Grand Prix of Japan live on Fox Sportsnet.

00:39:03Mika Hakkinen leading for Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard,

00:39:06and Eddie Irvine at Suzuka Japan.

00:39:10Chris Myers quarterbacks NFL this morning on Fox Sportsnet

00:39:14with two-time coach of the year Marv Levy,

00:39:16Chris Spielman, a four-time All-Pro,

00:39:18and Jackie Slater, a seven-time All-Pro.

00:39:21Preview the day's slate of NFL action

00:39:23that's followed by NFL Sunday on your local Fox Sportsnet affiliate.

00:39:27Check your local listing.

00:39:29Michael Schumacher just got the quickest lap, which we saw,

00:39:31but I was just about to say he is catching Mika Hakkinen.

00:39:33He's pulled a second and a half back since the pit stop.

00:39:36He's down to six and a half seconds.

00:39:38Six and a half seconds from eight seconds after the pit stop.

00:39:41So maybe he's, oh, how wide he was going into the hairpin.

00:39:45It was really wide there.

00:39:46Didn't get it at all into the apex.

00:39:51So here are the point leaders coming into the race,

00:39:54and on the right side of the graphic is where they stand right now.

00:39:57Irvine is in third, Hakkinen in first,

00:40:01Frentzen in fifth, Coulthard fourth,

00:40:03and the Schumacher brothers second and sixth.

00:40:06So Hakkinen in the lead,

00:40:08in position that would give him the world championship.

00:40:12He and Eddie Irvine would be tied on points,

00:40:14but on the number of wins, which is the first tiebreaker,

00:40:19Mika would come out ahead and be a double world champion.

00:40:22But still much to go here.

00:40:25A pit stop, a pit stop, and 28 laps to go.

00:40:30It's a long way to go.

00:40:32There's Mika Hakkinen, I believe,

00:40:33and there is Michael Schumacher, two cars back.

00:40:35See if Michael's going to make any inroads this time at all on Mika Hakkinen.

00:40:40He's got to start putting some pressure.

00:40:42I'm surprised he hasn't done it before.

00:40:44The only thing we didn't know before this race,

00:40:46nobody wanted to let us know exactly what tires were on.

00:40:48We heard that they were on the softer of the hard tires,

00:40:52and therefore they'd have to make two stops.

00:40:54We didn't know this for sure,

00:40:55but it's pretty obvious that they're all running the same tire setup.

00:40:58There's always that possibility, don't you think, Mike,

00:41:01that, in fact, that Schumacher could have come in,

00:41:03filled up with fuel, chopped his tank off,

00:41:05and have enough to go to the end.

00:41:07They don't often seem to do that,

00:41:08but they had that possibility to do it the last race.

00:41:11Well, right, and that's the interesting point about the fuel window

00:41:14is not so much when it opens, you know, but when it closes.

00:41:19What's the earliest point in the race at which a driver could stop,

00:41:22and how much fuel would he have to add to go the distance?

00:41:25Back marker moves aside.

00:41:27One of the Ferraris, that's the Minardi.

00:41:29Michael goes by him.

00:41:33And so, and we don't know.

00:41:35In fact, the press, there's really no way for us to find out

00:41:39exactly how much of a fuel load each car starts the race with,

00:41:43but it is not necessarily a full load.

00:41:45In the case of Schumacher and Irvine, we suspect it is.

00:41:48But since Michael's stop was only six seconds,

00:41:53I sort of doubt that he could go the distance.

00:41:56I'd be happy to be wrong,

00:41:57because that would certainly improve his chances.

00:42:00But I think I would look for another Ferrari stop.

00:42:04I guess it's Michael's chances what I'm interested in, really.

00:42:06It's whether Mika can win the race and therefore the championship,

00:42:09and Eddie Irvine can't do anything about it.

00:42:11Eddie is certainly not doing anything about it.

00:42:13It must be the most galling situation,

00:42:15and I guess all racing drivers have incurred this

00:42:17at some point during their career,

00:42:18when they can do nothing about the championship at all.

00:42:21He can't even get close enough to take him off.

00:42:23Right.

00:42:24So here's what Haakonen must do today to win the championship.

00:42:28Either win the race or finish second if Irvine is fifth or worse,

00:42:32or finish third if Irvine is seventh or worse.

00:42:36That's because the points are paid ten to win,

00:42:39six for second, four for third,

00:42:41three to one for fourth, fifth, and sixth place.

00:42:45Well, we heard Damon Hill got out of the car.

00:42:47He's walked away, and he won't talk to anybody.

00:42:50It must be a very emotional moment for him, out of thought.

00:42:52Very disappointed because I'm sure he really, really wanted to finish his last race.

00:42:56When you're a racer, you love racing cars,

00:42:58and it's a very, very bitter moment when you have to stop racing

00:43:01or you decide that the time is up.

00:43:05Well, it's possible that he could move into team ownership somewhere down the line,

00:43:09but deciding to retire is one thing,

00:43:13and actually stepping out of that car for the last time, I'm sure, is quite another.

00:43:17Seeing Michael Schumacher there reminds me that Michael very nearly retired.

00:43:21He was considering retiring after his accident.

00:43:24He found that he spent more time with his family,

00:43:26he lost a lot of interest in the racing,

00:43:28and his wife was sort of encouraging it.

00:43:30Blue flag out there for him to overtake, one of the two BARs.

00:43:35And as he goes by, but Michael went out testing,

00:43:38and his wife Corinna said he came back from that day when he went testing,

00:43:41and when he went out and went so quick, and he came back grinning from ear to ear,

00:43:44and I knew he had to continue.

00:43:46And I think all drivers know that when they've experienced that sort of drama of accidents.

00:43:52Well, Schumacher has had the kind of season where, if he'd been healthy the length of it,

00:43:56and if the Ferrari had stayed under him, he could well be world champion.

00:44:00In fact, this could have been decided before now.

00:44:03Schumacher is arguably the world's best driver,

00:44:05and the Ferrari this season has arguably been the world's most reliable Formula 1 car.

00:44:12But for Schumacher's crash in Britain, and the nearly eight-week recovery period,

00:44:18it could be Schumacher we're honoring as world champion,

00:44:21instead of either his teammate Eddie Irvine or McLaren Mercedes driver Mika Hakkinen.

00:44:29In fact, if you look back on the events of this season,

00:44:31each of the driver in contention has taken several opportunities to give the championship away.

00:44:39Hakkinen with a missed shift, spin and stall, with driving off the track and into the barrier.

00:44:44Eddie Irvine has had his moments as well.

00:44:47In fact, there was one race I thought the pace car, the safety car, had a good shot to win.

00:44:51Yes, none of them wanted to win the European Grand Prix, that is for sure.

00:44:56Look at that distance, the difference in times.

00:44:59Two to three seconds a lap slower is Irvine than Hakkinen.

00:45:02Also, Eddie Irvine has now caught up David Coulthard.

00:45:05They're just a couple of car lengths apart in their battle for third.

00:45:10And Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Ralf Schumacher are just two seconds behind the Coulthard-Irvine battle,

00:45:17and they are nose to tail as well.

00:45:25We get a lot of email at Fox Sportsnet,

00:45:27and we've got quite a bit in the last two weeks about the Malaysian Grand Prix,

00:45:31and we want our viewers to understand that we record each race or transmit each race live.

00:45:39And our Fox Sportsnet affiliates will tape the race and replay it at a designated hour.

00:45:45And the events following the Malaysian Grand Prix were not known to us when we went off the air

00:45:50and when our taping was completed and could not be updated in time for the initial airing on Sunday.

00:45:56If you did see the Malaysian Grand Prix later in the week on the subsequent re-airs,

00:46:00an updated version did detail the Ferrari disqualification,

00:46:04and as we all know, at the appeals court in Paris, the Ferraris were later reinstated.

00:46:11But we're glad you're with us tonight watching the final round of the World Championship live on Fox Sportsnet.

00:46:1730 of 53 laps complete.

00:46:19Mika Häkkinen, who has led from the start,

00:46:22surrendered the lead to Michael Schumacher when he made his pit stop,

00:46:26now back out front by 6.8 seconds.

00:46:28Now here's the battle.

00:46:29Coulthard, the silver McLaren, the red Ferrari of Irvine,

00:46:32the yellow Jordan of Frentzen,

00:46:34and the white and red Williams of Ralf Schumacher.

00:46:38Well, back in Maranello, as they were years before, the last couple of years,

00:46:4220,000 people are in the streets of Maranello watching this race in the middle of the night, let me tell you.

00:46:48The time there now is actually, well, it's 7 in the morning now,

00:46:52so it was the middle of the night when it started, and they're watching the race live.

00:46:56Which means it's now officially Derek Bell's birthday.

00:46:59Oh, yes.

00:47:00Oh, happy birthday.

00:47:01Thank you very much.

00:47:02There's the gap, 6.6 seconds as we're looking at this great battle for third place.

00:47:07I wonder if these positions will change prior to the second pit stop as they stay in close contact.

00:47:1529 laps complete.

00:47:17There are the points-paying positions and the drivers in them.

00:47:21As we close down the 1999 Formula 1 season, you're watching Formula 1 on Fox Sportsnet.

00:47:31Welcome back to Suzuka. Michael Schumacher is pouring it on.

00:47:35He has just set the fastest lap of the race, 1 minute, 41.319 seconds,

00:47:40but he sits 6.2 seconds behind Mika Hakkinen,

00:47:44and has got to close in if Ferrari's going to have a chance at either the driver or constructor's championship.

00:47:52Heinz-Harald Frentzen is in for his second stop.

00:47:56For much of the season, the Jordan had been the last car to stop, but he's in very early for his second stop.

00:48:01Well, of course, he was in traffic, so they want to get him out with a clear bit of road

00:48:05so that he can make the benefit of new tires and not be held up,

00:48:08as, of course, he was being held up there by Eddie Irvine and David Coulthard.

00:48:11Very good move. Now he's going to see him run to the end of the race.

00:48:15One assumes he's not going to come in for another splash and dash at the end, as Ferrari are prepared as well.

00:48:19Well, and this kind of tips the pit window question, Derek,

00:48:22because, obviously, this would be the second and last pit stop

00:48:25so that they can get 23 laps out of a tank full,

00:48:28and we believe they're set up for Eddie Irvine,

00:48:31the man who would be champion and currently lies in fourth place.

00:48:35Well, Michael Schumacher's got a clear bit of road, and he's missed the Pedenson entrance,

00:48:39so he's obviously not for him.

00:48:41And there's Eddie in that group, and they need Eddie to get away from Coulthard.

00:48:44The only way is to bring him in, top him up, and get him out.

00:48:47Look at Ralph Schumacher. You see, Coulthard is actually holding Eddie up

00:48:50and doing quite a good job of it, I have to admit.

00:48:52Well, that's exactly what Michael did to Mika at the last race.

00:48:55Exactly. No surprise, because Michael did it all day to Mika Häkkinen two weeks ago in Malaysia.

00:49:02David Coulthard is holding Eddie Irvine back, so they'll give Eddie his second pit stop.

00:49:07Now, this is completely legal.

00:49:09After a very well-publicized and controversial incident last year in Australia,

00:49:14the FIA has decided that if it is in the best interest of the team,

00:49:18it's legal to run at, let's say, less than ten tenths.

00:49:24Eddie in.

00:49:25And here's Eddie.

00:49:26He can't get up.

00:49:28And they're really being held up, of course, by Takagi there.

00:49:31Ralph Schumacher is in as well.

00:49:36Only 13 laps on this tank full for Ralph.

00:49:39Well, Ralph came in for exactly the same reason.

00:49:41He was being held up by Eddie.

00:49:42And now we'll just see how quick Ralph's pit stop can be.

00:49:45Is he going to get out?

00:49:46That was a quick stop, Eddie.

00:49:47Six seconds now.

00:49:48Is he going to be held up by Ralph?

00:49:49Ralph's still in.

00:49:50So Ralph's going for a longer stop, so that gives Eddie a break.

00:49:53Now we're going to see if he can turn it on for a couple laps.

00:49:55Oh, what a group he's coming out with.

00:49:57Oh, what a group.

00:50:009.1-second stop for Ralph Schumacher,

00:50:02and he'll be at the back of that Conga line of traffic.

00:50:05It was a car off to the side at turn one.

00:50:07They look white, a bit rather like a Ford to me,

00:50:09but we'll have to wait and see.

00:50:10Remember, this is the last race.

00:50:11You're going to see the Stewarts in the Ford white.

00:50:13They're going to be in green for Jaguars next year.

00:50:16Jackie Stewart's team and Eddie Irvine, of course,

00:50:19will be running for them.

00:50:20Is Zonta, or is that...

00:50:21Oh, I can't even tell you who that is,

00:50:23over to let Mika go by.

00:50:25Anyway, it's a B.A.R.

00:50:27Mark Junaid in pit.

00:50:29Making his last stop.

00:50:33Here's a look at your top half dozen.

00:50:34Johnny Herbert for Stewart,

00:50:36climbs up into fourth with the second round of pit stops.

00:50:41Mika Hakkinen, now 5.8 seconds ahead of Michael Schumacher,

00:50:45who continues to be in the lead.

00:50:47He's got a good lead.

00:50:48He's got a good lead.

00:50:49He's got a good lead.

00:50:50He's got a good lead.

00:50:51He's got a good lead.

00:50:52He's got a good lead.

00:50:53He's got a good lead.

00:50:54He's got a good lead.

00:50:55Michael Schumacher, who continues to run right on about a minute 41.4 pace.

00:50:59Hakkinen a couple of tenths off of that.

00:51:03Barry Keller, of course, still running in tenth place.

00:51:05It wasn't a Ford we saw parked there,

00:51:07but it certainly looked like a white car from the angle we had.

00:51:10Michael Schumacher's hauled in with those fast laps,

00:51:13hauled in Mika Hakkinen somewhat.

00:51:16He needs to be really close,

00:51:17if he's going to make the benefit of when they do their pit stops,

00:51:20if he can only ease out in front.

00:51:22Because doing a pit stop quicker than Mika isn't going to get him out there.

00:51:32And Eddie got past that little group.

00:51:34He's got Johnny Herbert just ahead.

00:51:36Rubens Barrichello is in for his second stop.

00:51:40And Alex Virts.

00:51:41And you'd assume that Herbert would go in fairly soon,

00:51:43so that they probably won't hold up Eddie Irvine that much.

00:51:52Mika Hakkinen going into the little chicane,

00:51:55that nasty chicane with those high kerbs.

00:51:57It's the only corner they really ride the high kerbs,

00:52:00is that one there.

00:52:06Mika Hakkinen must be wondering just what.

00:52:07He's got one more pit stop to make.

00:52:10Is his car going to stand up to it?

00:52:11Is he going to have an electrical problem like David Coulthard had at the last race?

00:52:14You just cannot think about these things at all.

00:52:17But now Derek Mika is on a fairly light fuel load.

00:52:20He stopped at lap 18.

00:52:22Schumacher, we've got to assume, after that stop, is on a heavier fuel load.

00:52:25Oh, look!

00:52:26Oh!

00:52:27Is that DC off?

00:52:28Yes, Coulthard.

00:52:30And back on.

00:52:31Oh dear, he didn't need that.

00:52:33That was working his way up the hill for the...

00:52:35He's lost the front nose.

00:52:36He's lost his front wings.

00:52:37That's going to slow him down.

00:52:39I mean, it's pretty damn obvious.

00:52:41But he's going to have to go...

00:52:42It's going to slow him down as well.

00:52:44And he's got a whole lap to complete.

00:52:46They're ready with the new nose and obviously the front wing.

00:52:49And they're going to do his tires at the same time and top him up.

00:52:52But he's got a whole lap to go.

00:52:54He is in third place in the race.

00:52:57And this stop will likely drop him.

00:52:59This stop could drop him all the way to seventh or eighth.

00:53:02Oh, he lost it big time.

00:53:04Oh my goodness.

00:53:05He was lucky he didn't take the wheels off.

00:53:07He's coming out towards the hairpin bend he was coming up to then.

00:53:13And that he didn't stall the car in the spin.

00:53:16Absolutely stunning.

00:53:18He's coming down from the hairpin towards the spoon curve.

00:53:22Both are in.

00:53:23That was exactly what Eddie Irvine did yesterday.

00:53:26Except for the different corner.

00:53:28But the same sort of thing.

00:53:29Came out and just took the front off the car.

00:53:31Now he's hoping he didn't do any further damage.

00:53:33Well, of course, you always wonder where the locator pins might get damaged.

00:53:36And when they go to put the new nose on, they don't fit in the same place.

00:53:38And now they're jacking it up, checking it out.

00:53:40Folks, to have that done down at your local Jiffy Fix,

00:53:43that front nose cone and wing is about $20,000 to start.

00:53:49Well, that's nothing, is it really?

00:53:51Not in this sport.

00:53:53Compared to the rest of the car when you consider the other prices of the bits and pieces on the car.

00:53:57Here's another look, Derek.

00:53:58Let's see.

00:53:59Here he comes.

00:54:00You can't even see him behind the sand there.

00:54:01Here he is around the corner.

00:54:02He just missed that front with his wheels as he came around.

00:54:05You just can't imagine.

00:54:07He was a very lucky boy.

00:54:08There was enough runoff area there for him.

00:54:13Now, back at the front, what I was saying when Coulthard went off

00:54:16was that Michael Schumacher, on a heavier fuel load than Mika Håkonen,

00:54:22is continuing to eat into Håkonen's lead.

00:54:25It was 6.3, dropped to 6.1, to 5.8, 5.5, and now it's 5.3.

00:54:31Michael is taking two to three-tenths of a second off of Mika Håkonen every lap.

00:54:39This is Eddie Irvine behind David Coulthard.

00:54:42Oh, and Johnny Herbert.

00:54:43This is Johnny Herbert, because Johnny Herbert, David,

00:54:46Eddie has just got by Eddie.

00:54:47Oh, look.

00:54:48What's happened to the Ferrari?

00:54:49He's got no speed at all.

00:54:50Well, and Herbert...

00:54:51Actually, in fact, that is Michael Schumacher, let me tell you.

00:54:55And he's just going by David Coulthard.

00:54:59And Herbert's on light fuel.

00:55:00It's been a while since he's stopped as well.

00:55:07David Coulthard, very good of him to get out of the way of those two

00:55:09because he knew that he's actually driven himself out of contention.

00:55:13David Coulthard has made some unfortunate moves this year,

00:55:16but also had his fair share of bad luck.

00:55:19But you shouldn't be doing that sort of thing, David, going off the road,

00:55:22because he was contending for third place in the championship.

00:55:25Not anymore.

00:55:26And that cost him just about exactly a lap.

00:55:29He comes back on track behind.

00:55:30This is Håkonen.

00:55:31Coulthard comes back on track behind Schumacher.

00:55:33Now, here's the gap from Håkonen looking back for Michael Schumacher.

00:55:39There's the distance.

00:55:40Now it's back up to 6.2 seconds.

00:55:42Well, he was obviously held up somewhat by that move with David just now,

00:55:45and also he had the time with Johnny Herbert.

00:55:48Right, that cost him a second.

00:55:51And when you're trying to eat away at the leader,

00:55:55look at Schumacher that last lap, a minute 45.2.

00:55:58That's how much slower traffic can really hurt you.

00:56:01And when you're only gaining on the leader at 2 to 3 tenths of a second a lap

00:56:04to lose a full second, that's disastrous for Michael.

00:56:07Exceptionally bad lap for him.

00:56:10We have 36 laps now complete by Mika Håkonen.

00:56:14We'll be back.

00:56:15You're watching the Grand Prix of Japan live on Fox Sportsnet.

00:56:22Welcome back to Suzuka.

00:56:23Activity in the McLaren Mercedes pit one lap ago while we were away.

00:56:27Michael Schumacher stopped for 7.5 seconds for fuel and tires.

00:56:32I thought perhaps McLaren might leave Mika out longer

00:56:35because there's clear track in front of him.

00:56:37Here's a look at Michael's stop.

00:56:38Yes, it was a good stop, not as quick as his first one.

00:56:41It seemed that the fuel was the thing that took the extra time to get in.

00:56:44That's the criteria in this.

00:56:47And here's Mika.

00:56:48Comes Håkonen.

00:56:52Now I'm surprised they brought him right in one lap later, Derek.

00:56:54With all the clear track he had out in front of him,

00:56:57that they might not leave Håkonen out for a while.

00:56:59His first stop, though, was at lap 18.

00:57:02So this 7.4 stop at lap 37.

00:57:0619 laps later.

00:57:09I just pray and hope that McLaren is totally legal

00:57:13and Mika doesn't make a mistake like speeding in the pit lane or something.

00:57:16It just crossed my mind.

00:57:17It would be tragic if there was another furor after this one.

00:57:25So Eddie Irvine now lies third.

00:57:28Johnny Herbert stopped at lap 36.

00:57:32So that will take Herbert down the leaderboard

00:57:34and move up Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Ralf Schumacher.

00:57:37John Lacy has also made a pit stop.

00:57:40He was seventh.

00:57:43Then Barrichello, Villeneuve, Coulthard after losing a lap

00:57:46with his stop and off-course excursion.

00:57:49Denis, Burt, Zonta, Fisichella, De La Rosa.

00:57:53Takagi just made a pit stop.

00:57:55Badawer and Genet.

00:57:57Look at this lot Mika Häkkinen is catching up in front.

00:58:01Michael Schumacher somewhere behind him.

00:58:03Some six or eight seconds.

00:58:05Oh, 11 seconds.

00:58:06OK, I apologize for that one.

00:58:07It just shows you how that bit of traffic did Michael no good at all

00:58:11when he lost that four seconds in about one lap.

00:58:13Just what Mika liked because now he's got a cushion there

00:58:16to be right with Tora Takagi who's having quite an interesting time

00:58:19trying to keep it on the island at the Spoon.

00:58:22He looked like the Earl of Oversteer right there.

00:58:26Whoa, he just lets one of the Stuarts go by.

00:58:30That is when as a driver you get very nervous.

00:58:33Overtaking.

00:58:34He's coming into the chicane.

00:58:42Whoa, got real good traction out of that Arrows.

00:58:45Bit of work to do in the winter, boys.

00:58:48He's entertaining to watch to say the least.

00:58:51How much of the road does he need?

00:58:54Mika's working his way through the traffic.

00:58:59Here we go again.

00:59:15He doesn't like the back of that car at all.

00:59:17Nope.

00:59:18And look at all of these.

00:59:21Car is a horror, isn't it?

00:59:23Just a horror.

00:59:24But he's got a new designer for next year,

00:59:26technical director.

00:59:27He's taken from Jordan since Tom Walken short Arrows

00:59:29so he's hoping for better things next year.

00:59:31Now this could not be quite...

00:59:32Maybe...

00:59:33Here we go.

00:59:34The Ford pulls over.

00:59:35Let Mika go through.

00:59:36Oh, here we go again.

00:59:37As we ride again.

00:59:38The way this thing's running,

00:59:39they need to change the name of that team

00:59:41from Arrows to Anvils.

00:59:43There he comes down into the spoon curve.

00:59:45This is the double apex corner.

00:59:46He leaves onto the back straightaway.

00:59:48The road falls away here.

00:59:50He is about to fall away but

00:59:51he had a bit of opposite lock last time.

00:59:54There's a Hackeman going by the traffic there.

00:59:55He's got another Ford in front of him.

01:00:08Now, here we go again.

01:00:10forward in front of him.

01:00:14I don't know if this has helped Michael Schumacher catch up at

01:00:16all, but I don't think Michael is particularly bothered about

01:00:19it, or at least if he is, he can't do much about Mika if he

01:00:21caught him up.

01:00:23And whatever Michael did, it's not going to help Eddie Irvine.

01:00:26Unless Michael was to nudge, he'd hack him off the road.

01:00:29And I think that's the last thing on his mind.

01:00:31Yeah, you see now it's Mika who is opening up the gap on

01:00:34Michael by 3 tenths of a second per lap.

01:00:3839 complete, 14 laps to go in the final round of the World

01:00:42Championship for 1999.

01:00:45Mika Håkonen leading this race and would be world champion

01:00:49for the second year in a row, with Eddie Irvine

01:00:52now sitting third.

01:00:53Håkonen would win the championship by two points.

01:00:59Now David Coulthard is back in the pits and out of the race.

01:01:04And apparently Michael Schumacher was waving his

01:01:06fist at him just now, so he can't be too happy.

01:01:07I guess David held him up a bit to do a bit of the work

01:01:10that Michael had done at the previous race.

01:01:13It's wet behind that car.

01:01:15Can't be good news.

01:01:16And now for McLaren Mercedes.

01:01:19For the Constructors' Championship, this means that

01:01:22only Mika Håkonen is left to score points, because unlike

01:01:26the Drivers' Championship, of course, the Constructors gain

01:01:29points for both their cars' finishes.

01:01:31So Ferrari right now, in second and third,

01:01:34that's 10 points.

01:01:36McLaren would get 10 points.

01:01:38If Håkonen wins this race, Ferrari would be the

01:01:40Constructors' Champion.

01:01:41And there's a lot to do with that.

01:01:44And strange enough, that's exactly what some of the

01:01:47people said before the race, that Patrick Head said of

01:01:51Williams, he said, I think Ferrari will win the

01:01:52championship, McLaren will win the race.

01:01:57There's Mika Håkonen there, going to that extremely fast

01:02:01185 mile an hour, 130-yard corner,

01:02:04breaking into the chicane.

01:02:0612 laps to go.

01:02:22Down past the pits, Mika Håkonen, a little bit bumpy

01:02:23as they enter the first round, down to fifth gear, then down

01:02:27to third gear for the second part, then work your way up

01:02:29through the S's.

01:02:30Again, you use the exit, the apex and the exit, and then

01:02:33after that, you don't use all the X's of the road.

01:02:35You try and keep the car in there, so you get a good sweep

01:02:38uphill through the Dania curve, which is very, very fast.

01:02:41I should know, I went off there in a Porsche one day.

01:02:43So he's got to be very cautious as he works his way up.

01:02:48Ron Dennis, the head of McLaren, as I said before,

01:02:51must be beginning to feel that World Championship is coming

01:02:53his way.

01:02:56Well, they can win the Drivers' Championship, but as

01:02:58long as the two Ferraris stay on track, it's going to be

01:03:02difficult for McLaren to repeat as

01:03:03Instructors' Championship champions.

01:03:0641 laps complete.

01:03:08Håkonen, Schumacher, Irvine.

01:03:10The way they're running, Frentzen, Ralph Schumacher,

01:03:12and John Alesi for Sauber, his final drive for Sauber, in

01:03:18sixth and looking to score one championship point.

01:03:21Mika Håkonen led from the start, turned over the lead to

01:03:24Michael Schumacher on pit stops, but otherwise,

01:03:27Håkonen's day has been flawless as he tries to repeat

01:03:30as World Champion.

01:03:31Eddie Irvine has had a workman-like day and

01:03:34currently lies third in the race, which would only give

01:03:39him the Drivers' Championship if Håkonen loses the lead.

01:03:46Which doesn't look like it's about to happen, but strange

01:03:48things have happened.

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01:04:08Michael Schumacher working his way past the pits as he comes

01:04:11up behind one of the BARs, pulls over to let Michael go

01:04:14through, gives him plenty of room.

01:04:15Michael taps the brakes, down to fifth, grabs him again, down

01:04:18to third, and then works his way up through the S's.

01:04:22If style points were awarded, the BAR would

01:04:25win none this year.

01:04:26Their contention with the FIA and with Bernie Ecclestone over

01:04:30the livery of their cars, forcing them to run this one

01:04:34side white, one side blue paint scheme, we're assured

01:04:36for next year that the BARs will be tasteful.

01:04:41Well, I heard it could well be chrome.

01:04:43Ooh.

01:04:45Now, whether that's reflective chrome, I don't know.

01:04:47But it could look a bit like the Mercedes, that's the only

01:04:49problem.

01:04:51And we're told that Williams next year, which loses its

01:04:53cigarette sponsorship.

01:04:54That was a condition of BMW coming on board as engine

01:04:57supplier and financer.

01:04:59The BMW roundel will be the basis of those cars designed.

01:05:03BMW has raced some beautiful, what they call art cars in the

01:05:06past, and it'll be very interesting to see what they

01:05:09come up with for colors for the year 2000.

01:05:1342 laps complete, 11 to go.

01:05:16Mika Haakonen leading Michael Schumacher

01:05:18and Eddie Irvine.

01:05:19You're watching Formula One live on Fox Sports Net.

01:05:25Welcome back live on Fox Sports Net.

01:05:27Mike Joy with Derek Bell and Peter Windsor.

01:05:29We're watching the battle for fourth place.

01:05:31Heinz-Harald Frentzen in the yellow Jordan, the red and

01:05:34white Williams.

01:05:34That is Ralph Schumacher.

01:05:36They're separated by just about 7 tenths of a second.

01:05:39Let's have another look at the start, what we thought was a

01:05:42very strange start, and see if it looks like, yep, Schumacher

01:05:47got off the grid at the exact instant as did Mika Haakonen.

01:05:49But the car just did not accelerate.

01:05:51He weaved around a fair amount.

01:05:52You have to admit that.

01:05:53But what a wonderful start by Mika, but

01:05:56also by Olivier Panis.

01:05:58Now this is really the dice.

01:05:59Let's ride with Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

01:06:15What a contrast to Takagi.

01:06:16Down into the spoon.

01:06:19Drops down a gear.

01:06:21Gets the power on.

01:06:22Watch the car fall away a little bit.

01:06:23A little bit of correction as he comes out of there, onto

01:06:25that back straight.

01:06:36Just a little bit of back off.

01:06:37There's Eddie Jordan, the team owner, watching his

01:06:39man going around.

01:06:41Knowing that they've secured third

01:06:43place in the championship.

01:06:44But isn't it great to see those two young men?

01:06:45They, to me, are the two drivers of the year.

01:06:49Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Ralf Schumacher.

01:06:50I think they've done an outstanding job this season.

01:06:52Yes, Heinz is being tipped by many, and I would agree, as

01:06:56the next potential world champion.

01:06:58Let's ride again.

01:07:02Turn one.

01:07:03Down to fifth.

01:07:05Down to third.

01:07:12Through the S's uphill after the pit.

01:07:16Down a gear there.

01:07:21Through the very fast Dania curves.

01:07:27So Frentzen runs in fourth, one second ahead of Ralf

01:07:30Schumacher in fifth, trailing Mika Hakkinen, Michael

01:07:35Schumacher, and Eddie Irvine.

01:07:36Oh, Takagi going slowly, which is not terribly unusual, but

01:07:40extremely slowly at this moment.

01:07:41That's sad for him in front of his home crowd.

01:07:43It would have been nice to see him get a result in front of

01:07:46his home crowd.

01:07:47One has to admit, it's not his fault that they've had a

01:07:49lousy year.

01:07:50It's the team altogether lost their momentum totally, and

01:07:53also they lost a lot of backers, et cetera, during the

01:07:55year.

01:07:56But we're sure they'll be back next year.

01:07:58Yeah, Aeros came in as perhaps the seventh or, I'd say,

01:08:01seventh team on the rung of the Formula One ladder.

01:08:07And they will finish this season in a very, very good

01:08:10And they will finish this season, well, if not last,

01:08:14certainly challenging for it.

01:08:17Next year, well, Formula One takes on a new look, as there

01:08:21will be a race every other weekend, a two-week gap

01:08:25between every race, unlike what we've had in the past.

01:08:28We'll start traditionally in Australia, come to Brazil,

01:08:31back to Italy, San Marino, Great Britain in April, foggy

01:08:35weather, as Peter called it.

01:08:37In May, Grand Prix of Europe, then Monaco moves off Memorial

01:08:41Day weekend to June 4th, Canada June 18th.

01:08:46July starts with France, Austria, Germany,

01:08:51August, Hungary, and Belgium.

01:08:52There is Luca Badour out of the race.

01:08:55And then Italy, United States, Japan becomes the penultimate

01:09:00round, and Malaysia will be the final

01:09:02Grand Prix of the season.

01:09:03In 2000, the way the schedule is presently constituted.

01:09:08And of course, you'll see it all here on Fox Sportsnet.

01:09:12Yes, and we're all looking forward to that United States

01:09:14Grand Prix very much at Indianapolis.

01:09:16That's going to be the intriguing race of the year

01:09:18for my buying eye and my book.

01:09:20There's the new helmet that Takagi was sporting this

01:09:22weekend, the Arai helmet, Japanese helmet manufacturer.

01:09:26And I'm sure he was praying that he could just finish.

01:09:28This is 12th do-not-finish of the year.

01:09:31And once again, we point out that at each Grand Prix, the

01:09:34host broadcaster, as it would be Fox Sportsnet when we come

01:09:37to the United States, provides the world video feed.

01:09:41And so we do expect that local drivers or drivers from that

01:09:45country are going to be favored in the telecast.

01:09:48Why we're seeing probably as much of Tora Takagi today as

01:09:51we have in total all season long.

01:09:56So he had hoped to finish his home Grand Prix and will not

01:09:58be rewarded with a finish today.

01:10:0146 laps complete.

01:10:03Mika Hakkinen leads.

01:10:05And with a victory, would be the world driving champion for

01:10:08the second year in a row.

01:10:10The Ferraris run second and third and would score equal

01:10:13points to McLaren and Mercedes today.

01:10:16And thus, Ferrari would be the constructors champion for the

01:10:19first time since 1983 for Ferrari.

01:10:25The last time Ferrari had a world driving champion, Jody

01:10:28Schecter, 1979.

01:10:30Well, there was another statistic which I was going to

01:10:32throw at you at one point, and that was in the 90s, the

01:10:35winner of the first Grand Prix, which was, well, in this

01:10:37case, Australia, he has won the world championship except

01:10:41in 94, instead of 97.

01:10:44Eddie Irvine was the man that won the Australian Grand Prix.

01:10:47And the other statistic is the winner of the Brazilian

01:10:51Grand Prix has gone on since 1994 to win the world

01:10:53championship as well.

01:10:54Last year, that was Mika Hakkinen, and of course, this

01:10:56year, Mika Hakkinen won Brazil.

01:10:58It looks like he's going to take that statistic with him.

01:11:05The two fours running very well in seventh and eighth

01:11:07position, Jack Villeneuve still not in the points, no

01:11:10points at all so far for the BAR team.

01:11:14But Jean Alessi's up in the points.

01:11:15He's up in sixth in his final drive for Sauber.

01:11:19Alessi, with a very, very big fan following in Japan, has

01:11:23just opened a restaurant, Amici, in Tokyo.

01:11:29Well, since the last race, between Malaysia and here,

01:11:33Heinz-Aurel Frenzel married Tanya Nige, his girlfriend of

01:11:37quite some time in Thailand.

01:11:38No family or friends with her, they just got married.

01:11:41Very nice for them.

01:11:41And of course, Jack Villeneuve as well, he got engaged to

01:11:44Danny Minogue, the Australian pop star now.

01:11:47She's a singer and actress?

01:11:49She was an actress and does a bit of singing as well.

01:11:51Apparently, they don't need each other then, absolutely

01:11:53no problem.

01:11:54She was an actress and does a bit of singing as well.

01:11:56Apparently, they don't need each other then, absolutely

01:11:59totally enamored with each other.

01:12:01So they should be if they get engaged.

01:12:02Wonderful.

01:12:03I wonder if she's sister to Kylie Minogue, who had a

01:12:05modest hit here in the States about five years ago.

01:12:08I would have said it was, but I honestly don't know.

01:12:10It seems an unusual name, not terribly Australian, but

01:12:13nonetheless Australian.

01:12:15Well, having a hit of his own right now is Mika Hakkinen.

01:12:18He has led all of this race but for his pit stops at 47

01:12:23laps complete.

01:12:24We'll be back for the finish of the 1999 Formula One season

01:12:28live on Fox Sportsnet after this.

01:12:33Welcome back to the Grand Prix of Japan on Fox Sportsnet.

01:12:36Mika Hakkinen has had it all his own way thus far, 48 of 53

01:12:39laps complete, five to go.

01:12:41He leads Michael Schumacher by 12.3 seconds.

01:12:46And Eddie Irvine lies third, Heinz-Harold Frentzen fourth,

01:12:51Ralph Schumacher, and John Alacey.

01:12:57Well, Eddie, oh.

01:12:57I thought I saw clouds of smoke coming

01:12:59there under the bridge.

01:13:02Benetton.

01:13:03Yeah, Benetton layout.

01:13:05That's Fisichella getting out.

01:13:06Oh, that did look.

01:13:07I saw a cloud of smoke, just that I thought it must be

01:13:11something to do with the picture we were getting.

01:13:13But I saw it coming up under the bridge there.

01:13:16Well, Fisichella, that is his seventh non-classified, or

01:13:20DNF, of the season.

01:13:24Well, that's take a bit of a while to clear.

01:13:26Even they're smiling at the Benetton pit.

01:13:28I think, well, what else can go wrong this season to really

01:13:30make it dramatically bad?

01:13:32Yeah, they were in the top five of Formula

01:13:35One teams a year ago.

01:13:36And Michael Schumacher won the championship with them five

01:13:39years ago, six maybe.

01:13:41It's a long, slow descent for Benetton.

01:13:45Hakkinen just cruising now.

01:13:47He hasn't got to rush at all.

01:13:49Minute 43.6, his last lap.

01:13:50So that's two seconds off fastest lap of the race pace.

01:13:55But he's getting the job done.

01:14:00Michael Schumacher's return.

01:14:03He was going to sit out the rest of the season after his

01:14:06injury at the Grand Prix of Britain.

01:14:07Felt good enough testing, he decided to come back.

01:14:09And I think certainly we can credit Schumacher with nailing

01:14:14down this Constructors' Championship for Ferrari.

01:14:17His just tremendous ability to set the car up on race

01:14:20weekends and provide input to aid not only the fortunes of

01:14:24his own car, but also that of Eddie Irvine have just been

01:14:27invaluable to Ferrari.

01:14:29Yes, we certainly noticed as the season progressed after

01:14:31Michael's incident how much Eddie started to fall away.

01:14:34Eddie might be a good test driver at the test track, but

01:14:37on the race circuit when they go for race weekend with very

01:14:39limited practice, Michael seems to be the one that can

01:14:42really get it back to being a competitive car.

01:14:47Well, Schumacher's two victories this season belie

01:14:49how much he has meant to the Ferrari team.

01:14:52Eddie Irvine, of course, started out

01:14:53with a win in Austria.

01:14:54He's had four.

01:14:55Mika Hakkinen's had four going into today.

01:14:59Two victories for Heinz-Harald Frenzen.

01:15:01What a great breakthrough season he's had.

01:15:03Two wins for David Coulthard on McLaren.

01:15:06Michael Schumacher's two victories.

01:15:08And Johnny Herbert, the winner at the Nürburgring in a race

01:15:12that didn't look like anybody wanted to win for a while.

01:15:14Everybody who got the lead either broke, crashed, or

01:15:17dropped out.

01:15:18And Herbert was the sole surviving leader, if you will.

01:15:24And he's done such a good job, Johnny, has since that win.

01:15:27And seems to have really outclassed

01:15:30Rubens Barry Keller.

01:15:30Albeit that they have actually, in fact, on the

01:15:33track together at this moment, one behind the other, and just

01:15:36like a second apart.

01:15:38But this is Rubens' last drive, of course, for Ford.

01:15:41He'll be leaving to go to Ferrari to join Michael

01:15:43Schumacher next year.

01:15:45Best battle on the racetrack is at fourth place, where

01:15:47Frenzen continues to lead Ralph Schumacher by just about

01:15:51two car lengths.

01:15:53Believe it or not, that's a shot of John

01:15:55Tot in there.

01:15:55The team manager of Ferrari wouldn't know it, but it is.

01:16:00Two laps to go.

01:16:04Derek with McLaren.

01:16:05If Håkonen stays out front, they'll win the

01:16:07driver's championship.

01:16:09But not the constructors.

01:16:11Will this be somewhat of a hollow victory for Ron Dennis

01:16:14and McLaren?

01:16:15No, I don't think so at all.

01:16:16And particularly after the happening since the last

01:16:19Grand Prix in Malaysia, I think Ron will be

01:16:21so happy for Mika.

01:16:23Mika is really his boy, although he's been very fair

01:16:26to David as well.

01:16:27But Mika's the one that, remember, he had that hideous

01:16:29crash in Melbourne a couple years ago, three years ago now.

01:16:32And Mika's come back from that, and then he's always

01:16:34been Ron Dennis' man.

01:16:35And he'll probably stay with McLaren until the end of his

01:16:38career now.

01:16:39And Ron Dennis is at most more smoke around.

01:16:44But he's certainly Ron Dennis' man.

01:16:46Ron will be over the moon about this victory.

01:16:5151 of 53 laps, and Håkonen has led them all, except when he

01:16:55pitted and handed the lead over to Michael Schumacher.

01:16:58And he leads Michael by 10.2 seconds, with

01:17:02Eddie Irvine well back.

01:17:03In fact, Frentzen and Schumacher are the only other

01:17:06cars that are still on the lead lap.

01:17:10Just makes you wonder just what is wrong with Eddie

01:17:12Irvine's car.

01:17:13Something probably will be a long time before we know, if

01:17:15we ever know, for why he couldn't hang it up there this

01:17:18weekend and do such a good job.

01:17:20And Michael Schumacher's announced pre-race strategy to

01:17:23start from pole and drive off into the sunset, deciding it

01:17:26right then and there.

01:17:28Went after glee, as Robert Burns wrote.

01:17:31Yeah, but in fact, of course, there's the gap between the

01:17:34two of them now, as you can see on the final lap.

01:17:36But of course, Michael would like to have done that in the

01:17:38perfect situation.

01:17:40Whether he believes it or not is another factor.

01:17:44Beautiful drive from Mika Hakkinen.

01:17:46Absolutely immaculate drive.

01:17:47And my goodness me, there go all the McLaren mechanics over

01:17:49to cheer their man.

01:17:50There's been so much pressure on them.

01:17:52They, in fact, lost the championship a few times

01:17:54during the year when they should have won it some races

01:17:57ago, through errors of their own, bad pit stops,

01:17:59mechanical problems, and Mika going off the road as well.

01:18:02It's not quite over, but it appears that both the McLaren

01:18:05and the Ferrari camps will have something to celebrate

01:18:07here in Japan.

01:18:09A world driving title, second consecutive one for Mika

01:18:12Hakkinen, the Constructors' Championship for Ferrari.

01:18:17And I have to say, Mike, that I believe that Hakkinen is more

01:18:20worthy than Eddie Irvine of being world champion.

01:18:22He's shown it.

01:18:23Eddie Irvine has never showed just how quick he really was.

01:18:27He's had the chance.

01:18:28He's had the best car right behind the McLaren, but he

01:18:31hasn't quite done it.

01:18:32And I think Hakkinen has proved just today just what a great

01:18:35driver he is.

01:18:36I think Ferrari needed to see a bit more from Eddie Irvine

01:18:39with Michael Schumacher recuperating.

01:18:42Irvine and Mika Salo did a very workmanlike job for

01:18:46Ferrari, but you can tell when Schumacher returned to that

01:18:50team that he is the spark that makes Ferrari run.

01:18:53So here's Hakkinen.

01:18:54He'll pile on a maximum 10 points today.

01:18:57Irvine will pick up four.

01:18:58Mika Hakkinen will be the world champion by two points.

01:19:03Very emotional for Mika Hakkinen, slowly coming around

01:19:06the chicane.

01:19:07This is it.

01:19:07Mika Hakkinen joins Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna,

01:19:11Alain Prost, Jack Brabham, Fangio, and Ascari as back to

01:19:15back world champions.

01:19:17Hakkinen is the champion of the world for the second year

01:19:20in a row.

01:19:21There is the Ferrari of Michael Schumacher.

01:19:23If Eddie Irvine comes across the line behind him in third

01:19:27place, Ferrari will be the constructors champion of 1999.

01:19:32And Michael Schumacher congratulating Mika Hakkinen,

01:19:34Ron Dennis congratulating the guys in his pit.

01:19:37Great moment for Ron Dennis after all the tension and

01:19:39pressure of this year.

01:19:43What he must be feeling right now.

01:19:45What a marvelous, marvelous moment for Mika Hakkinen as he

01:19:48cruises down.

01:19:49We're going to see, let's hope, some emotion at this

01:19:51driver's press conference after this today.

01:19:53Mika's usually very quiet in that Scandinavian way, but my

01:19:56goodness, there should be some fireworks for him when he gets

01:19:59there today.

01:20:00Still waiting on Eddie Irvine.

01:20:01Now Irvine must cross the line in third.

01:20:06Well, Ferrari will lock up this championship for the

01:20:08manufacturers as long as Irvine comes across.

01:20:11Well, he was a minute and a half behind.

01:20:12That's quite a long way.

01:20:15These two really drove away from the field, didn't they?

01:20:18Hakkinen and Schumacher.

01:20:20Eddie Irvine is a minute and a half behind them.

01:20:24And still completing his final lap, as are Frentzen and

01:20:27Schumacher still, Ralph Schumacher,

01:20:29still nose to tail.

01:20:30You saw John Alessi, who finished a lap down, but did

01:20:33pick up a point, finishing sixth.

01:20:35Well, Eddie Irvine's mom is apparently on the pit wall,

01:20:38about to wave her son through.

01:20:40Perhaps he's through the chicane on his way, but it's

01:20:43not going to be enough to win in that world championship.

01:20:45But he has contributed a lot to that constructors'

01:20:47championship for Ferrari.

01:20:49Here he comes.

01:20:50There's Irvine.

01:20:50And Eddie Irvine finishes third today and ensures Ferrari the

01:20:55constructors' championship, their first since, I believe,

01:20:581983.

01:21:01Mika Hakkinen, the world champion, will

01:21:03salute him on the podium.

01:21:04And hear from the podium finishers when we come back

01:21:07live to Japan.

01:21:13Welcome back to the Grand Prix of Japan on Fox Sports Net.

01:21:17Brought to you by MCI 10-10-220, $0.05 a minute every

01:21:22evening and all weekend long.

01:21:23And by sealed power engine parts, engineered to last.

01:21:27Mika Hakkinen, the winner in Japan and winner of the World

01:21:30Driving Championship.

01:21:31Michael Schumacher, Eddie Irvine, Heinz-Harald Frentz,

01:21:34and Ralph Schumacher, and a lap back, John Lacey, picks up

01:21:37the final point today.

01:21:39Then the stewards of Herbert and Barrichello, Jack Villeneuve,

01:21:42Alexander Wurz, Pedro Diniz, and Riccardo Zonta records a

01:21:46finish for VAR.

01:21:47Pedro De La Rosa and Giancarlo Fisichella, the final

01:21:50classified drivers.

01:21:52The cars are in Parc Fermet, what in the US we'd call

01:21:56impound, where they are brought and then turned over

01:21:59to the scrutineers for inspection.

01:22:03The drivers will each go on to the scale and be weighed and

01:22:06then go to the podium.

01:22:08And Mika Hakkinen has certainly taken his

01:22:10time coming around.

01:22:12Well, you don't often get that.

01:22:13The second time for him, you go around leading the World

01:22:16Championship, a magical moment.

01:22:17And he's got a great time.

01:22:19Second time for him, you go around leading the World

01:22:21Championship, a magical moment, very special moment

01:22:24for him, and he is pretty darn happy.

01:22:26Ron Dennis just now was patting Michael Schumacher on

01:22:29the back saying, well done, Michael.

01:22:30And they had a good old chat about things.

01:22:32Eddie Irvine came in not too happy.

01:22:34Look at Mika.

01:22:35He is very, very happy, but very, very special moment for

01:22:38any man to win the World Championship.

01:22:40I did not notice Ron Dennis going over to Eddie Irvine.

01:22:44No.

01:22:45I don't think Irvine was in any mood to be consoled.

01:22:48What could you congratulate him for?

01:22:50It's not what he wanted.

01:22:51No.

01:22:52Eddie talking to Mika, well done.

01:22:54That's a lovely move.

01:22:55Eddie's very happy for him.

01:22:57Good stuff.

01:23:00Mika really worked today.

01:23:02There's Ron and Mika.

01:23:05Very, very happy, as they should be.

01:23:08They worked hard and long.

01:23:0916 really tough, torturous races through the year.

01:23:12Incidents, mechanical failures, but Ron Dennis, he's

01:23:15happy, as is Mika today at this moment.

01:23:18Unlike three times this year, today Mika Hakkinen did

01:23:21absolutely everything right.

01:23:24A perfect race.

01:23:25He doesn't even look that tired.

01:23:26Remember, in Malaysia, he was exhausted.

01:23:29He said it was the hardest race of his life.

01:23:31But a wonderful job by him today.

01:23:33And Heinz-Harald Frentz congratulating him.

01:23:36Heinz-Harald, what a great drive from that young man.

01:23:38He will likely be World Champion someday.

01:23:41There are the constructor points right there.

01:23:44Ferrari four points up on McLaren Mercedes.

01:23:47And the driver points will look like this

01:23:49in the final tally.

01:23:50Mika Hakkinen is World Champion by two

01:23:52points over Eddie Irvine.

01:23:54Heinz-Harald Frentz in a solid third.

01:23:56David Coulthard holds off the Schumacher brothers for fourth.

01:24:04And Ferrari will best McLaren by four points.

01:24:08Jordan solidly in third.

01:24:10And by one point, Stewart Ford, which will be Jaguar next year

01:24:15ahead of Williams, Benetton sixth.

01:24:19I didn't know there were so many Finnish flags in Japan.

01:24:22Just shows you.

01:24:23They all go out there.

01:24:24There's a lot of following for motor racing.

01:24:26An amazing following for motorsport at this circuit.

01:24:29Absolutely astonishing.

01:24:30They all come from all over the country

01:24:32just to watch this Grand Prix and any big race we do there.

01:24:37These are the drivers who have won consecutive World

01:24:41Championships.

01:24:42Alberto Ascari, back when the world's titles were first

01:24:45tallied.

01:24:46Juan Manuel Fangio.

01:24:48Three in a row, Jack Brabham.

01:24:50Excuse me, four in a row for Fangio.

01:24:53Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher,

01:24:56and now Mika Hakkinen joins a very, very select group.

01:25:02A look at the finish and the intervals

01:25:04from Alessi on back a lap or more behind.

01:25:08Well, that was a bit of an anticlimax.

01:25:10I have to admit, at the end of it all,

01:25:12to see Mika coming through like that.

01:25:14We've been waiting so long to see just who

01:25:16would win that race.

01:25:17Well, one thing that we did see that was prophesized,

01:25:22Michael Schumacher said this morning,

01:25:24this race could be decided in the very first corner.

01:25:26And I'll bet right now he's very disappointed he was right.

01:25:29He was right.

01:25:30And I don't know, really, still don't know

01:25:32what happened at that start.

01:25:33But he still couldn't do much about Mika Hakkinen.

01:25:35He couldn't tell us what was going to happen.

01:25:37And he couldn't tell him.

01:25:38No.

01:25:38There was one point in the race where

01:25:40he was carving 3 tenths of a second a lap off of Hakkinen.

01:25:44Here they are.

01:25:47And here's the final podium celebration of 1999.

01:25:56What a great moment for this young man, as it was last year.

01:26:00But even better the second time, won before.

01:26:37The finish national anthem for Hakkinen, and now for McLaren.

01:27:37Fuji Television, Japan, the sponsor of today's race,

01:27:59Mr. Nihira, the president of the Japanese Automobile Federation,

01:28:04will present the trophy to Mika Hakkinen.

01:28:11Somewhere.

01:28:22Mr. Mitsui, the vice president of Fuji Television,

01:28:25will present the winning constructor's trophy

01:28:27to Ron Dennis of McLaren.

01:28:34Mr. Mitsui, the vice president of Fuji Television.

01:28:43And Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine

01:28:45looking rather reserved.

01:28:56You'd never believe that Michael Schumacher had a 12-inch plate

01:28:58still in his leg, which is so relaxed.

01:29:01And Mr. Fukatsu, the president of the Suzuka Circuit,

01:29:05presents the third place trophy to Eddie Irvine.

01:29:15Well, who's going to get it?

01:29:16Ron Dennis.

01:29:19And Mr. Mitsui, and the Fuji man as well.

01:29:23Well, that leaves two Ferrari drivers on the podium.

01:29:25Totally on their own up there, and they

01:29:27don't feel like it much.

01:29:30They're going to do something to Mika now.

01:29:31Oh, he got his in first.

01:29:40I think the boys want to take their champagne down

01:29:42for the mechanics, I would say.

01:29:43The Ferrari boys want to take it down for their mechanics

01:29:45to drink.

01:29:46And good sports there.

01:29:48There's your new world champion, Mika Hakkinen.

01:29:50We will hear from him, Michael Schumacher, and Eddie Irvine

01:29:55in the press conference when we return to Suzuka after this.

01:30:01Won over 16 races, but today won the world championship

01:30:03at the start of this Grand Prix.

01:30:05Talk us through it.

01:30:09Well, the start is normally difficult here in Suzuka

01:30:13because it's downhill, obviously.

01:30:15And I knew I can do well.

01:30:21And I was very confident in the start.

01:30:23And when the lights changed, I immediately

01:30:29realized I had an advantage for Michael.

01:30:33And the moment when we shift to second gear,

01:30:35I was already one car length lead.

01:30:38And I knew at that point, only what I had to do

01:30:42is to keep this position.

01:30:44And all the way through the race,

01:30:48I did not have any particular problem.

01:30:50I was able to build up some gap for Michael all the time

01:30:54if I wanted to.

01:30:55And at some point, of course, the back marker

01:30:58caused natural problems.

01:31:00So I always lost half a second sometimes

01:31:02because of overtaking them.

01:31:07Brilliant.

01:31:08Is the feeling of winning your second championship

01:31:11better than the feeling of winning your first?

01:31:13It's obviously different.

01:31:16First time is always a first time.

01:31:19And it is a different feeling, obviously.

01:31:26But this year was a very difficult year.

01:31:31All the way through the start of the season,

01:31:34we had slight problems that we weren't

01:31:37able to finish the races in the start of the year.

01:31:41We lost a lot of points.

01:31:43We all understand what problems we experienced during a year.

01:31:48So a very difficult year.

01:31:50And deciding the championship in the last Grand Prix,

01:31:53it's nerve-wracking.

01:31:54And I really don't recommend it to anybody that experienced.

01:31:59And I now experienced that with Michael last year,

01:32:02and now with Eddie this year.

01:32:05I hope it's enough already.

01:32:07Thank you, Michael.

01:32:08So he'll retire?

01:32:12Michael, congratulations.

01:32:13You've helped achieve Ferrari's first Constructors'

01:32:15Championships since 1983.

01:32:17But you, I suppose, lost the chance of the victory

01:32:19at the start.

01:32:20What happened to you?

01:32:23I'm not quite sure yet what actually has happened.

01:32:25I had a problem when I went off the grid, the green light.

01:32:28And I had a similar problem during the start then.

01:32:33Things weren't working normal.

01:32:35I don't want to get into detail, but we obviously

01:32:38have to analyze what was going on.

01:32:40Despite that, I just went into a wheel spin

01:32:43and just caused a mess out of the start,

01:32:45where Micke just caught a very good start

01:32:47without making a mistake.

01:32:50It's something we have to work hard on to get to their level.

01:32:55Obviously, things going very consistent for them,

01:32:58and that's something we have to improve.

01:33:02Now as you're going through the race,

01:33:03you began to get quite close to Micke.

01:33:05You got held up by David Coulthard.

01:33:06You seemed very annoyed when you went past him.

01:33:10Yes, I mean, Micke definitely is a great champion.

01:33:13Today, he made the championship by winning the race,

01:33:16so there's no reason why he shouldn't celebrate that 100%.

01:33:20But the team should wonder why they

01:33:22asked the drivers to do things like they have done.

01:33:26Because it's a different thing in Malaysia

01:33:27when I was racing actually for position and not being lapped

01:33:31and fighting for real position.

01:33:34You can play tactics, but if you are lapped,

01:33:37you should give space.

01:33:38And David passed many blue flags.

01:33:40He had a kind of problem, but he was really

01:33:42driving zigzagging.

01:33:43And actually, I'm not sure whether I

01:33:46should believe whether Spa wasn't really purposely

01:33:48the way he behaved today.

01:33:50Because I didn't expect him doing such a thing when

01:33:53it was clear he's out of the race, he's lapped.

01:33:56And I'm very disappointed seeing a maneuver

01:33:59from a guy which nobody expected this to see.

01:34:02Because I was really challenging Micke.

01:34:05I had a difficult first part of the race.

01:34:07We obviously had more fuel on board.

01:34:09Handling wasn't perfect.

01:34:10We adapted everything.

01:34:11And then I started catching Micke.

01:34:14I think I was up to four seconds or something like that.

01:34:17And it would have been a very close race towards the end.

01:34:20But I think it cost me about 10 seconds, this situation.

01:34:24So I'm very disappointed on that.

01:34:27Thank you, Michael.

01:34:28Eddie, obviously you're very disappointed not

01:34:29to emerge as world champion.

01:34:31But for the race today, third probably

01:34:32was the best you could do after the problems you had

01:34:35in qualifying and the accident, for example.

01:34:37Yeah, for sure.

01:34:38Qualifying didn't go the way we expected it to.

01:34:41I was fairly confident I could do reasonably well

01:34:44when I came to Japan.

01:34:45We got here and it didn't seem to be

01:34:46going as well as we thought.

01:34:48Saying that in qualifying, I thought,

01:34:50maybe I can actually get DC, which would have been nice.

01:34:53And on that quick lap, I lost the rear,

01:34:57which gave me a bit of a sore neck for today, which

01:34:59I was feeling towards the end because it was pretty boring,

01:35:02I have to say.

01:35:03I was just driving around wondering if anything

01:35:06was going to happen to Micke.

01:35:07Now, at the end of the race, you didn't

01:35:09seem too disappointed in the FIA way.

01:35:10In fact, you were having a chat with Michael.

01:35:12What were you talking about?

01:35:13Well, we won the constructors' championship,

01:35:18which is important.

01:35:20We didn't win the one I would like or for I would like,

01:35:23for sure, but we did get a consolation prize.

01:35:27Thanks, Eddie.

01:35:28Micke, only one driver, Juan Manuel Fangio,

01:35:30has ever won more than two championships back to back.

01:35:33Do you think you can achieve that in the year 2000?

01:35:38Well, it's obviously a question which

01:35:47is very difficult to answer with great confidence,

01:35:52too, because you never know what's

01:35:54going to happen next year.

01:35:56But certainly, I want to now enjoy about this result, what

01:36:00we are able to get this year, and let's

01:36:04talk about that subject close to next year.

01:36:08Well, in next year.

01:36:10For sure, it will be not as easy as this year.

01:36:13Thank you.

01:36:14But now from Micke and Michael, in your own language, please.

01:36:19So Micke Haakonen is world champion.

01:36:21Ferrari is world constructors' champion.

01:36:23We'll be back to Suzuka after this.

01:36:26You're watching Formula One on Fox Sportsnet.

01:36:32Welcome back to Fox Sportsnet coverage of Formula One.

01:36:35Today's Grand Prix of Japan, the final round of 1999.

01:36:39We look ahead to 2000 with results from today's race.

01:36:43Haakonen for McLaren, the Ferraris of Schumacher

01:36:46and Irvine, Frentzen's Jordan, Ralf Schumacher's, Williams

01:36:49and Giannulli's.

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