To close to call. Too good to wait for...:
with Murray Walker.
F1 Racing October 1998.

I'm sitting here in the commentary box at Monza, looking down at a seething mass of tifosi And I can hardly believe what
I've been talking about. After a start to the season which looked as if it was going to be a 1988 McLaren benefit revisited, there's everything to play for in both championships with just two races to go. Tough indeed on McLaren, who looked to have it in the bag, but the best thing possible for Formula 1 and Ferrari, who more than ever deserve their success after patiently building a winning team at enormous cost.

So, to the Nurburgring - which, I remind you, is Schumacher-land and close to Michael's birthplace. With Ferraris which have reliability on their side, compared with McLarens which have been suffering a surprising succession of failures, the pendulum is clearly swinging Maranello's way. If - and I know it's a very big word! - Schumacher hadn't misjudged his closing speed at Belgium, he'd be 10 points ahead of Hakkinen right now. And with points equal after Monza, the pressure is well and truly on Mika. Schumacher has been there and done that already - championships, plus the nail-biting agony of Jerez '97 - whereas Mika hasn't. With two weeks to churn it all over again and again for the Luxembourg Grand Prix, is Mika going to be able to put it all together in terms of winning races? And are McLaren going to be able to equal Ferrari's ability to finish them? Even if they can, they've still got to overcome the Schumacher factor!

One thing's for sure: the competition in Germany in front of Schumi's army will be wondrous to behold!

-End of Article--

_______________________________________________________________________________________________