1998 nostalgia

[MadMatt]

Hey guys,

For me 1998 was the season I started watching F1 (with Melbourne, in fact). It was the time I started watching every qualifying and every race live, no matter what time I had to get up or go to bed. I have watched over the years countless times some races. I cannot express how I miss the cars, the atmosphere, the drivers, the tracks. It all looks great to me. Even the TV graphics with the yellow color (light blue for the qualifying gaps). The front tyres with 3 grooves, etc.

It looks less professional than now, but I love it. At the time it was the pinnacle, but now of course you have to laugh at some of the behavior or designs. Nonetheless it looks much more accessible than now. More human, even on a driving style point of view.

I miss watching these sleek cars (the McLaren was just looking so much better than the rest), these tracks with no asphalt run-offs, and the duel Häkkinen-Schumacher. I was watching the Monza qualifying the other day, and gosh it was electric. The very slim wings, damn it looked nice.

For sure the McLarens dominated the season, but Schumi heroically took the challenge down to Suzuka, it was immense. I remember being to sad when it was over.



So guys, am I the only one feeling nostalgia here?

Share your emotions!

[Manoah2u]

Oh no you're not the only one. To be honest, for me, nothing beats the early 90's, untill Senna passed away and even then it was still great up untill the mid to late 90's.
F1 changed for me when Senna died. He was - and still is - my ultimate F1 hero. The atmosphere and competition was overwhelming and F1 was in all it's glory.
The Schumacher-Senna battle era just started but it was halted to an abrupt end. It was depressing, especially since i was still very young.

I had a poster of a either 89 or 90 Camel Lotus (so either the 101 T or 102 T) above my bed we bought at Spa Francorchamps. I miss that poster and been looking ever since
if i can find a copy of it somewhere to no avail. I think the yellow Camel Lotus was one of the most striking, good looking F1 cars ever.

But as for the late 90's, yes, it was a great time allthough i must say i was a bit bored when Schumacher had his 'usual' win streaks. Not that it was less impressive, but there
was less excitement around imho. Hakkinen-Schumacher was great though. I personally didn't particularly like the Mclaren livery though. The lipstick nose annoyed me and the general livery to me was overly boring af. Matter of fact, most liveries were fairly bland and unexciting then iirc.

A mention though, Senna's death changing F1 to me does not equal that to me F1 died with Senna's death. A hero, an Icon died. in one of the most depressing weekends in F1 in history.
It's a miracle Barrichello didn't die that friday with his violent crash into the fences. Then Ratzenberger died, such potential. And then the unthinkable; Senna. It had so much impact on the sport and the direction it went. Partially for the good though, as Safety became more important.

But i keep being plagued in my mind; what if Senna did not crash or if the impact did not kill him there and then and he survived - intact. I think the 94 season was not going to be Senna's anyway due to the Benetton being so much better (due to the alledged TC cheating). But the 95 through 97 williams were great cars. But above all of that, Senna was to go to Ferrari in 1995 or 1996 anyway. Schumacher took/filled in that gap, but it was to be Senna to drive for Maranello. That yellow helmet in Ferrari, and then the idea of seeing Todt and Brawn there, paired to Senna.

I think it would have painted a vastly different picture in how it all went down. Senna would have been once again unbeatable, and we would have seen Schumacher in either the Williams but probably the Mclarens alongside Hakkinen. Imagine that. It would have been a strong and interesting pairing, Hakkinen and Schumacher in the same car, or F1 seasons between 1996 and 1998 where we would have had Senna @ Ferrari, Hakkinen @ Mclaren, and Schumacher @ Williams or Benetton still.

I think it is more than likely that Schumacher would then never ever have reached his Ferrari stint of absolute greatness (though the question remains if Senna didn't go to Ferrari, would Brawn and Todt be a pairing there, or would Schumacher have had that pairing alongside him anyway).

We might have had the battle of the titans all up to the 2000s with finally Senna retiring from F1, and Schumacher going on for half a decade to meet Alonso and the rest of the new generation of F1 greats.

We'll never know. it didn't go like that. But as great as F1 is today (again), the 90's were in a different league. And that's not just nostalgic. It WAS the absolute pinnacle of motorsport, with almost nothing held back.

[Jolle]

The first time I was taken by the magic of F1 was in 1984. Prost vs Lauda in those fat, fast and epic MP4/2's. They looked like animals while the rest of the cars just looked dated. My dad bought me the season overview/preview of 1983, with lots of tech detail. It were wonderful times with brands I never heard of (like Hart, TAG), lots of different concepts (Cosworths V8, L4, V6, turbo/non turbo), cars with and without a subframe, still the difference in aluminium and carbon chassis. Carbon in those days was something really from outer space. It was also the time that the space shuttle was hot and you could by shoes with "nasa technology"

Then the background of that fight, the young contender. Fast, flawless. Could lead the field by a lap and not having to change tires while everybody needed to come in for new rubber vs the old champion, scarred by a horrific accident. Also remember, no internet so no reruns of 1976. The battle between Hunt and Lauda was stuff already of legends back then.

I believe your perfect F1 car is the one you see when you watch F1 for the first time. So for me the mighty MP4/2.

[NathanOlder]

I think Senna would have won 94, if Hill was robbed by that move in Adelaide, surely Senna would have racked up more points than Hill over the season. And i think Senna would have stayed at Williams as the car was great . Schumacher went to Ferrari as they were huge compared to Benetton, Williams were big enough to keep Senna IMO. If that had happened would Senna have won 94, 95, 96 & 97 and then retired? 7 time champ and record holder ? If only they cancelled the race after Roland.

[Manoah2u]

Yes, it's the sad truth that we will never ever see. And it's even darn sadder to know that officially, after Roland, the race legally should have been cancelled (due to police investigation laws back then). It would have remained sufficiently sad that Roland passed away, but we would have been spared that of Senna. Even more, he should have not participated in the race. He didn't even want to but iirc there were politics involved. It was even like he knew what was coming.

If i am correct Senna actually had a pre-signed or atleast verbal agreement to go to Ferrari. I'm not sure whether that was as fast as 1995 or as 'late' as 1996 when Schumi stepped in.

I admit i mixed up the amount of point difference to which Schumacher won the 94 WDC, just 1 meager point, to that of 95. Yeah, Senna surely would have bagged that one in the end anyway.
I have no doubt for 1996, he would have bagged that and 1997 little doubt too, but i think by then he would have went to Ferrari. Di Montezemolo stated the wensday before his tragic death, they discussed their wishes for a move to Ferrari to 'finish' his F1 career there. Even though that may be wishful thinking, and people generally like to discredit that by Ferrari's non-winning streak for over a decade, the right people at the right time showed that would be overturned into a 5-win streak by somebody without any doubt absolutely great, but i will maintain Senna was the better of them.

Anyway, as for me, there will never be anyone a legend, and as best of F1 driver ever than Senna.
Schumacher was an absolute great, so was Prost, Piquet and Lauda, and in newer generations Alonso and Hamilton.
After that, guys like Vettel, Mansell, Hill, etc.

What i also like most about those older F1 days is that there was still the element of real honest F1 cars. Not driving jetfighter-style computers with operators instead of pure drivers (dont get me wrong, i'm not taking anything away from guys like Hamilton and co, but it's different). Balls to the wall racing, pure skill and setup abilities and daring things.

[Jolle]

In my 30+ years of following F1, there wasn't a season which was such a mess then the '94 one.

From the start the rules. Where '93 Formula one gave the world the most advanced machines ever, with active suspension, ABS, ESP, etc etc. Just geek-porn. It felt like a real step back. Then, one year after loosing Nigel Mansell also loosing Alain Prost, leaving Senna as only (former) world champion.

At the first two GP's it was clear Williams wasn't the car from 91-93 and McLaren made the wrong choice with Peugeot and (for the day) not the best drivers. Brundle and wild man Hakkinen (you think verstappen is bad, watch old vids of him!). On top of that, Senna expressed right away that the Benneton was illegal and was furious. Some people also give this as one of the reasons for his crash. He tuned his car so low to the ground that it stalled over the bumps. Remember also that the car was designed with the knowledge of active ride hight and suspension, not the old style springs and dampers.

Senna's whole career he drove against Prost. That was his main focus. what he hated most and sucked all ambition out of him was fighting the FIA. He lost to Prost in 89 because of them and it looked like (from his perspective) that he had to fight them again to be able to fight the Benneton on equal grounds.

Then the horrific weekend happend. In the months before, F1 already escaped a few times. JJ broke his neck, Brundle was almost decapitated at the first GP and Barichello was also lucky just to break his arm and not his neck.

Then there was no Senna anymore. No star, no world champion. There was a very good german racing driver but he was (allegedly) driving in an illegal car, just winning all the races. Then the real bullshit went down, what to do??? finally a bit of a star, so he can't be disqualified, that would kill a business in crisis. He also can't win everything, there must be some kind of competition.
They changed rules mid season, with the introduction of the plank, holes in the airbox. race bans for the black flag in silverstone to keep Schumacher in reach of Hill, getting Mansell back for a few races and finally, the last race.....

So... if Senna survived the crash, they probably disqualified Benneton. If they wouldn't have done that, I think Senna would have left F1. He didn't want to loose to the FIA and there was no Prost anymore. If he stayed and Benneton would have had a real big slap on their wrist, good chance Schumacher would have returned to Mercedes and would have been unbeatable during the post-senna years.

'94 was a real real mess....

[notsofast]

I believe your perfect F1 car is the one you see when you watch F1 for the first time.

You're probably right.

My favourite bit of 1998 nostalgia is the race at Spa.

[Jolle]

I believe your perfect F1 car is the one you see when you watch F1 for the first time.

You're probably right.

My favourite bit of 1998 nostalgia is the race at Spa.

Oh yes, I remember watching that one live, just the “I can’t believe it” the whole race. Not just the start but they just kept crashing... bit like when they all ran out of fuel, “and another one!!!”

Plus I was a bit of a Hill fan back then...

[proteus]

Oh yes, 98 season was somewhere i started to watch the F1 for real as well. I must say that i was amazed by the cars, so fast, so agile and jet so fragile and completely helpless when getting off on the gravel. Blown engines and hearts broken trough the races, it was intence trough whole race since u never knew when the engine of youre driver and team may give away. 2001 season was the one that was most frustrating for me, due to Mclarens having engine explosions all the time and that retirement in the last lap was painfull as well, but i must say F1 back then was 10 times more interesting than now. Every team was something special right to the bottom of the grid. Besides being a dedicated Mclaren fan, i allways liked Arrows team as well (their cars are in my backrounds of my laptop and mobile phones for almost a decade now). For me, everything took a downturn after 2002 season, Arrows collapsed, Jordan became a pale shadow of itself and manufacturers started to spoil the sport, not to mention rapid rule changes season after season.

Back then F1 was very very popular in my country, people even talked about in the church during the mass in Sunday morning at 7.00 about what happened at the race that started at 4.00 (Australia). Callendars and posters were golden items and a must have.

Now practically nobody talks about the F1. People are all about football, whole TV program is only about football, we lost the TV coverage (and before they shutted it down they usually interupted the race with volleyball and canu and things like that...). And its not that people stopped watching motorsport, because MotoGP became very popular here trough the years, surpassing the F1 completely, its just the way the F1 became that people are not interested in it anymore.

[OneAlex]

I believe your perfect F1 car is the one you see when you watch F1 for the first time.

You're probably right.

My favourite bit of 1998 nostalgia is the race at Spa.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o02s_g5AUUE

This is the race that started turning me into a Jordan fan, and the year that turned me into an F1 fan proper. I was only a small kid at the time and had previously sort-of followed Damon through his Williams years and battles with Michael but I was still too young to regularly watch it (and too young to remember Senna).

1998 was the year for me though, the joy of Hill's Jordan win and first since leaving Williams, entertainment of lots of cars crashing for a small child, the championship battle between Häkkinen and Schumacher (and the joy of Mika and McLaren winning it)... after that I began to follow the sport much more seriously.

For me personally the sport really peaked between 1998 and 2001 in terms of teams, liveries, interest etc. After 2002 I'd began to get bored of Schumacher winning everything and even in the more exciting years since the field has never quite had the same combined lustre.

If I think of the 2010's especially I just think... Ugly noses, backmarker teams folding, Bernie chasing oil money... and Alonso's heart breaking.

[FrukostScones]

1998 rule changes were horrible.
But 1998 season was fine, and Japan GP was a great race, despite Ferrari losing the WDC.
A very special morning.

[Vasconia]

1998 rule changes were horrible.
But 1998 season was fine, and Japan GP was a great race, despite Ferrari losing the WDC.
A very special morning.

Some special memories, I only slept three hours just to follow the hole race, as I MSC fan it was a very fustrating end. Firstly, the problem in the start and then the damn tyre . I almost threw a ceramic figure against the TV . It was epic and tragic but what a season!!

[nokivasara]

I believe your perfect F1 car is the one you see when you watch F1 for the first time.

You're probably right.

My favourite bit of 1998 nostalgia is the race at Spa.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o02s_g5AUUE

This is the race that started turning me into a Jordan fan, and the year that turned me into an F1 fan proper. I was only a small kid at the time and had previously sort-of followed Damon through his Williams years and battles with Michael but I was still too young to regularly watch it (and too young to remember Senna).

1998 was the year for me though, the joy of Hill's Jordan win and first since leaving Williams, entertainment of lots of cars crashing for a small child, the championship battle between Häkkinen and Schumacher (and the joy of Mika and McLaren winning it)... after that I began to follow the sport much more seriously.

For me personally the sport really peaked between 1998 and 2001 in terms of teams, liveries, interest etc. After 2002 I'd began to get bored of Schumacher winning everything and even in the more exciting years since the field has never quite had the same combined lustre.

If I think of the 2010's especially I just think... Ugly noses, backmarker teams folding, Bernie chasing oil money... and Alonso's heart breaking.

I followed F1 during the Senna era but was too young to watch all the races, I had more important things to do
I was 14 when Senna died and I remember that weekend vividly, including Ratzenbergers horrific shunt on saturday.
I remember how narrow the cars looked in 1998 and with grooved tires at that! But as with all rule changes before and after it doesn't take long to get used to the looks of the era and start enjoying the racing! I don't mind high noses or shark fins, or even less the liveries. I'm in it for the racing.
1998-2000 were amazing, McLaren and Ferrari going at it neck to neck at every race. I was (and still am) a fan of Mika, he was a gentleman racer, always fair towards other drivers. When he took his "year off" (as we all thought at the time) Schumacher went on to win everything until Kimi and Fernando got up to speed.
Each era has it's ups and downs.

[Shrieker]

What a great topic. Everyone has contributed really well and I enjoyed reading every one of them very much!

First full season that I watched qualy and the races live was '97. I had watched live the last 3 or 4 races of the '96 season too(although not in full), and before that from weekly motorsport programs from tape. Was a Senna fan, I remember hearing it in the national news and telling my friends the next day at school.

Cheered for Hill and then Villeneuve after that - they 'inherited' the Williams car from Senna (kid logic ). Plus Schumacher just didn't cut it; yes he was super quick and ruthless, but just didn't have the charisma and style Senna had. It was particularly epic watching the '97 season as a die hard Villeneuve fan, especially the final : D So '98 for me was bit of a downer; the cars looked odd and you could tell they handled like sh!te. But watching Schumacher hustle his relatively inferior car to match or beat the Maccas was something to behold. Some of his crazy laps I recall vividly were Hungary where Ferrari decided to jump the Maccas with an extra pit stop, and he had to drive like a rabid dog, lap after lap. And his drive in Suzuka. You could tell he was wringing every ounce from the car, it was as if watching someone wring a wet piece of cloth out of every last drop, but with the cloth screaming for dear life. He was the Red Baron, and although his most prominent victories came after the turn of the millennium, I feel his best driving was between the '97-2000 years where season after season he clearly had the slower car. And he most certainly would've won the title in '99 if his legs hadn't broken.

One thing that made the sport a lot different back then of course was the possibility of shock wins/results. Things were less settled, nowadays surprises are rarer.

And that FW 19. What a beauty... It's like a swan.




Today's cars don't even come close.

[NathanOlder]

Talking of specific races in 98. For me , it was the Nurburgring (Luxembourg Grand Prix as it was known) What a race!!! For me it was the point that Hakkinen realised he could actually do it.

The race before in Monza Hakkinen had a great race but had brake issues and then Brake failure, which dropped him down the order. So on home soil Ferrari and Schumacher drew level on points in the WDC. So Hakkinen had lost his lead over the summer and were now equal on points to the Mighty Schumacher.

They then go to the Nurburgring , Ferrari lock out the front row, the start goes well for the red boys, then....... that magical moment, Mika decided NO! He is not going down this way, this brought on Mikas finest ever drive in my opinion. In Germany against Michael. He fought fought fought and got the job done to give him the advantage in Suzuka.

If you haven't seen the 1998 Luxembourg Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, please try and find it and watch it.

The 1 moment in that race was Schumacher getting it all crossed up as he see's Mika's Mclaren appearing in front after the pit stops.