Michael Schumacher clinched his third Drivers’ Championship title — the first for Ferrari since Jody Scheckter in 1979 — with a steady drive to win a mostly uneventful Japanese Grand Prix.
Schumacher started from the pole and swept across the track to try to block Mika Hakkinen’s McLaren but the manoeuvre did not work and Hakkinen took the lead going into the first corner. Hakkinen kept the lead with Schumacher shadowing him a few seconds behind for most of the race until Schumacher turned a couple of quick laps when Hakkinen made his second pitstop and then returned to the track in first place after his own second stop.
There had been occasional spots of rain throughout the race and it started to rain a little harder around the time that Schumacher took the lead but it was too light to make much difference to any of the drivers.
Hakkinen followed Schumacher home in second place with his McLaren teammate David Coulthard in third. The second Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello was fourth ahead of Jenson Button (Williams) in fifth. Jacques Villeneuve scored a single point for BAR in sixth place to move them ahead of rivals Jordan in the Constructors’ Championship.
The Jaguar teammates Johnny Herbert and Eddie Irvine finished seventh and eighth which must have pleased their new boss Bobby Rahal who was present at the race.
Ricardo Zonta (BAR) was ninth followed by the Saubers of Mika Salo and Pedro Diniz.