Formula 1 Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The Ferrari F300 was a car that the Ferrari team competed in the 1998 Formula One season. It was driven by Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine.

The F300 was the car which gave rivals McLaren and their MP4/13 a big challenge during the season. Schumacher won a total of six races, meanwhile Irvine did not win any in his third season with the team.

Ferrari lost out to McLaren in the Constructors' Championship, as McLaren had already became the Constructors' Champions at the Luxembourg Grand Prix. Schumacher lost the title to his rival Mika Häkkinen at the final race of the season in Japan.


History[]

Design[]

The Ferrari F300 was the first design work for Ferrari by Ross Brawn (technical director) and Rory Byrne (chief designer). It was also the first Ferrari car that had its engine and chassis department working under a single roof. The new car was powered by a new Ferrari V10 engine, designed by Paolo Martinelli.

Ross Brawn believed the car would be three seconds slower than its predecessor due to the change in regulations that mandated reduced grip through narrower cars and grooved tyres.

Testing[]

The car began its testing before Christmas 1997, however its first serious tests came in January 1998. It was evident that the car was having serious reliability concerns with the gearbox. The electronic gearbox was proving unreliable in that it would continually select the neutral gear. Michael Schumacher conducted the car's first days of testing at Fiorano, however when he had to fly to a promotional event in South Africa, Nicola Larini took over the testing duties of the car.

Larini had been replaced as test driver by Luca Badoer, however as the younger Badoer did not have any experience in the electronics of the gearbox, Larini was given the responsibility of testing duties. He completed a weekend of testing before the car was sent to the Circuit de Catalunya for the first major test of the year. The test proved disastrous, Schumacher managed only eight laps as the gearbox continued to work havoc.

The test was then cut short as Schumacher had to attend promotional events in Hamburg and then the Marlboro ski event at the Madonna di Campiglio. Despite its reliability problems, Schumacher commented "I like it very much. It is amusing to drive."

In February, the problems with the car were identified in that the rear of the car was overheating the electronic systems of the car. Ferrari therefore had to make the radical decision to redesign the rear of the F300 and accommodate it with the 1997 suspension. Commenting on the changes, Jean Todt noted "fitting the old suspension system will penalize us a little on aerodynamic performance, but we are working on a new overall aerodynamic package for Melbourne."

Race Victories[]

Year Event Driver Notes
1998 Argentine Grand Prix Germany Michael Schumacher
Canadian Grand Prix Fastest Lap obtained
French Grand Prix
British Grand Prix Fastest Lap obtained
Hungarian Grand Prix Fastest Lap obtained
Italian Grand Prix Pole Position obtained

Complete Formula One Results[]

Complete Formula One Results
Car Tyre Driver 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Pts. Pos.
1998 Flag of Australia Flag of Brazil Flag of Argentina Flag of San Marino Flag of Spain Flag of Monaco Flag of Canada Flag of France Flag of Great Britain Flag of Austria Flag of Germany Flag of Hungary Flag of Belgium Flag of Italy Flag of Luxembourg Flag of Japan (1870–1999)
F300 G Germany Michael Schumacher Ret 3rd 1st 2nd 3rd 10th 1st 1st 1st 3rd 5th 1st Ret 1stP 2ndP RetP 133 2nd
United Kingdom Eddie Irvine 4th 8th 3rd 3rd Ret 3rd 3rd 2nd 3rd 4th 8th Ret Ret 2nd 4th 2nd
Key
Symbol Meaning Symbol Meaning
1st Winner Ret Retired
2nd Podium finish DSQ Disqualified
3rd DNQ Did not qualify
5th Points finish DNPQ Did not pre-qualify
14th Non-points finish TD Test driver
Italics Scored point(s) for Fastest Lap DNS Did not start
18th Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance) NC Non-classified finish (<90% race distance)
4thP Qualified for pole position [+] More Symbols

Notes[]

Succession
FerrariLogo Ferrari cars
Predecessor
Ferrari F310
Ferrari F300 Successor
Ferrari F399
V T E FerrariLogo Scuderia Ferrari
Drivers
16. Monaco Charles Leclerc · 55. Spain Carlos Sainz, Jr.
Test Drivers
Israel Robert Shwartzman
Personnel
Sergio Marchionne · Maurizio Arrivabene · James Allison · Jock Clear
World Champions
Italy Alberto Ascari (1952, 1953) · Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio (1956) · United Kingdom Mike Hawthorn (1958) · United States Phil Hill (1961) · United Kingdom John Surtees (1964) · Austria Niki Lauda (1975, 1977) · South Africa Jody Scheckter (1979) · Germany Michael Schumacher (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004) · Finland Kimi Räikkönen (2007)
Cars
125 · 166F2-50 · 166S · 212 · 275 · 375 · 375 TW · 375 Indy · 500 · 553 · 553 Squalo · 555 · 625 · D50 · 801 · Dino 156 F2 · Dino 246 · Dino 246P · 156 · 156/63 · 156 Aero · 158 · 1512 · 246 F1-66 · 312 · 312/67 · 312/68 · 312/69 · 312B · 312B2 · 312B3 · 312B3-74 · 312T · 312T2 · 312T2B · 312T3 · 312T4 · 312T5 · 126CK · 126C2 · 126C2B · 126C3 · 126C4 · 156/85 · F186 · F1/87 · F1/87/88C · 640 · 641 · 641/2 · 642 · 643 · F92A · F92AT · F93A · 412T1 · 412T1B · 412T2 · F310 · F310B · F300 · F399 · F1-2000 · F2001 · F2002 · F2003-GA · F2004 · F2004M · F2005 · 248 F1 · F2007 · F2008 · F60 · F10 · 150° Italia · F2012 · F138 · F14 T · SF15-T · SF16-H · SF70H · SF71H · SF90 · SF1000 · SF21 · F1-75 · SF-23
V T E 1998 Formula One Season
Teams Williams • Ferrari • Benetton • McLaren • Jordan • Prost • Sauber • Arrows • Stewart • Tyrrell • Minardi
Engines Arrows • Ferrari • Ford • Mecachrome • Mercedes • Mugen-Honda • Petronas • Peugeot • Playlife
Drivers Villeneuve • 2 Frentzen • 3 M. Schumacher • 4 Irvine • 5 Fisichella • 6 Wurz • 7 Coulthard • 8 Häkkinen • 9 Hill • 10 R. Schumacher • 11 Panis • 12 Trulli • 14 Alesi • 15 Herbert • 16 Diniz • 17 Salo • 18 Barrichello • 19 Magnussen • 19 Verstappen • 20 Rosset • 21 Takagi • 22 Nakano • 23 Tuero
Other Drivers Badoer • De la Rosa • Heidfeld • Kristensen • Montoya • Zonta
Cars Williams FW20 • Ferrari F300 • Benetton B198 • McLaren MP4/13 • Jordan 198 • Prost AP01 • Sauber C17 • Arrows A19 • Stewart SF02 • Tyrrell 026 • Minardi M198
Tyres Goodyear • Bridgestone
Races Australia • Brazil • Argentina • San Marino • Spain • Monaco • Canada • France • Britain • Austria • Germany • Hungary • Belgium • Italy • Luxembourg • Japan
See also 1997 Formula One Season • 1999 Formula One Season • Category
Advertisement