Our boys in 1997

Key: (#)=position, (R)=retired, (D)=disqualified

Damon Hill

Well it wasn't a very good weekend for our Damon. He got off to a reasonable start with a 13th place in Friday's qualifying, however, this form was not set to continue on Saturday. It was touch and go for a while and it nearly looked like the world champion was not going to even qualify. Luckily a last minute run was enough to get in the race. Unfortunately, the race didn't last long for him. A throttle problem caused him to retire on the parade lap. I hope this kind of thing is not set to continue for the rest of the season and Damon will still rise to the challenge to get this car competitive. A consolation was his team mate actually finished the race distance so the car is capable of getting to the end.
Better luck next time Damon.

Well it was a much better weekend all round for Damon. He qualified the Arrows in 9th place on the grid on Saturday and was the fastest of the British drivers. The 9th place on the grid placed him just behind Frentzen in the Williams. I'm sure if Damon had been in that car he would have been on the front row. It looked promising for a points finish. The start of the race didn't go quite as planned as a few cars left the track and Fisichella ran into Damon causing the Arrows mechanics a few frantic moments to fix the suspension before the restart. In the race Damon opted for a 1 stop strategy which seemed like a good one and he was running in the points. However, there were faster cars behind him and he was soon overtaken. Damon's car had an oil leak problem 4 laps from the end which caused him to retire although he was still classified as a race finisher. The Arrows has begun to show some promise after that terrible Australian race. The team will continue to sort out the little problems and I expect Damon to get those championship points at Argentina.

It was another difficult weekend for the Arrows team. They had been struggling to find a good setup with the car on a bumpy circuit. Damon's technical expertise helped make the most of things and he rung every ounce out of the car to qualify a fine 13th. He was doing well in the race and benefited from Schumacher and Barrichello's accident. He was running just a head of Alesi in 8th place when the Benetton tried it on and both the cars ended up spinning and losing a few places. Damon eventually had to retire the care with engine problems.
There's still a lot of encouragement to take back from the race and Damon clearly enjoyed the excitement of the mid-field tussles.

Poor old Damon. Things did not go too well again this weekend. On a speed circuit he found it difficult to much the pace of the top teams and only managed to qualify in 15th position. There was a possibility of a wet race come Sunday and Damon may have been quick with the Bridgestone wets. However, the rain held off and slicks were required. Damon had to start from the pit lane due to an oil seal failure. He was making places up during the race and was being held up Nakano. Damon got a little frustrated and tried to take him. It was not going to happen and they were both out of the race.

I feel sorry for Damon. The TWR Arrows is having trouble and it must be hard for the world champion to find himself in the middle of the grid all the time. Thirteenth is not too bad but on a circuit like Monaco you do really need to be higher. Still there's usually a few retirements and I was expecting Damon to get a podium finish in this race. It was also a bonus for the race that it was raining. Bridgestone tyres are thought to have an advantage in the wet. However, as usual in wet races there is always a few spinners and Damon was unfortunate to be involved in an escapade after David Coulthard had spun. He found himself with a Benetton in the way and Eddie Irvine and in the conditions he hit Eddie's Ferrari and ended up breaking the suspension. That's Monaco.
Damon is looking to his future and if things don't improve at Arrows he will be looking elsewhere. We'll have to hope that John Barnard joining the team will improve the car.

Once again there's not much we can say about Damon this weekend. It was always going to be difficult on this circuit with such a long straight and fast bends where engine power is key. The Yamaha engine is not showing much promise and this can't continue. Damon qualified in 15th place which is really not too bad. He got off to a good start in the race and was making up a lot of places. The first round of pit stops came and with Damon planning to make only two stops he was up into 5th place. Murray Walker in typical fashion was singing the praises of this only to see in the next shot Damon pulling off on the pit straight with an engine blowout. Let's hope that Damon get's to end of a race soon and when he does it may well be in the points.

The Canadian race was overshadowed by the terrible accident of Oliver Panis. Let's hope he has a speedy recovery and we see him in the car again next year.
Damon finished this race in 9th place but he was again having terrible problems with the cars set up. Let's hope that Yamaha have sorted the reliability problems and Damon can look forward to France and hopefully finish the race in much better circumstances.

Once again Damon was having a terrible time in qualifying and was only able to manage a 17th place on the grid as his car stopped out on the circuit. Damon was praying for rain for the race, however, this only came in the late stages of the race. Damon was not helped by coming together at the back of the field that caused him to come into the pits for a new nose cone. Still it's a little consolation that he once again managed to get to the end of the race.
It's Silverstone next and we'll all be hoping for a better grid position and continued reliability.

Well it was the British Grand Prix and what a treat us spectators were in for. There was huge support for Damon and he managed to qualify an excellent 12th place just behind Alesi. There was a bit of rain for the mornings warm-up and Damon was fastest. Things were looking great for the race and Damon was probably hoping for a bit more rain. Alas the rain stayed away but that didn't stop Damon running extremely well throughout the race and he gradually moved up the field. There was 2 laps left and Damon was in 7th and it was looking like the first point would be elusive. Unluckily for Nakano, his engine went, and the crowd went berserk as they knew the world champion would be getting his first championship points. It was as if he had won and lets hope that this is a sign of further things to come.

Well after the excitement of Damon getting his first points it was back to reality at Arrows. They have a poor engine and Hockenheim needs a powerful engine. Nevertheless, Damon still performed well in qualifying and put the car in 13th place just ahead of Johnny Herbert. In the race Damon elected for a two stop. He was able to keep the car going and managed to bring it home in 8th place. It seems that Yamaha have now got the reliability sorted they just need to work on the power output now.

What an outstanding weekend from the world champion. Qualifying on Saturday was going well and was looking like a fine 7th place was in order, then with seconds remaining he stunned everybody and went third on the grid. Unbelievable! This set things up for an interesting race. I expected that Damon may get swallowed up on the grid. However he made a quite brilliant start to get ahead of Villeneuve and go 2nd behind Michael Schumacher. He soon caught the Ferrari and was past him at the end of the straight in a quite brave manoeuvre. He was pulling away and after briefly losing the lead in amongst the pit stops he was back in front and leading by 30 seconds. He outdrove Williams, he outdrove Michael Schumacher and it looked like a more than deserved win was on the cards. Alas, luck was not on his side and he developed throttle problems 2 laps from home. He struggled with the car but the gap was not big enough to stop Villeneuve going past his Arrows. At least he did make it to end and scored a brilliant second. This race has to be the highlight of the season and let's hope we see some more superb driving like this before the season is out. Well done Damon.

Everyone was hoping for Damon to repeat his stunning performance from Hungary, but realistically we all knew that it would be difficult. However, Qualifying went reasonably well with a fine 8th place and the top British driver on the grid. His team-mate gave a good performance too to qualify ahead of Damon in 7th place. This shows that the Arrows is getting there in terms of performance. The race was unpredictable with the weather and after starting in very we conditions we saw Damon come in for intermediate tyres as the track was drying. This was a brave decision and could have paid off but unluckily Damon was hit by the weather and a slick choice would have better. The car again practically got to the end with Damon stopping on the last lap as he had wheel problems, but it seems the Yamaha reliability is now good. A disappointing end but things do seem to be looking up.

Damon got to Monza with a lot of gossip going on about where he will be next year. Damon would have liked a good result to help his negotiations for next year. However, we knew that would be difficult at the very fast Monza circuit. Damon qualified in 14th which maybe could have been better. Damon was making the most of a lacking engine and had managed to get up to 9th place. On lap 46 his engine blew in no uncertain terms and he was out. Austria is next and Damon will be hoping for a reliable engine.

Well the spotlight was on Damon this weekend after announcing his deal with Jordan for next year. The A1-ring was looking good for the Bridgestone runners and it was expected that Damon might do well. Qualifying went OK but with only 2 runs available Damon managed to get 7th on the grid. In the race Damon was driving hard but couldn't seem to make much impact on the leaders. He was up to 6th and looking like a point was on the cards. However there was a charging Michael Schumacher behind him and Damon was soon relegated to 7th. There's 3 races left and let's hope Damon gets some more points for Arrows before he leaves them.

Damon said he would like some more points for Arrows before he leaves and it was looking hopeful. Qualifying didn't go too and he was only 13th on the grid. In the race he was steadily making up places and it was looking like a points finish was on the cards. However in his pit stop Damon managed to stall the car and he lost a valuable 20 secs. He tried to get back in it but there were not enough laps left and and 8th place was the best he could do.

Well it was a pretty lacklustre performance for Damon in Japan. Perhaps he's a little fed up and looking forward to Jordan next year. Qualifying was a poor 17th place behind his team mate. The race didn't go much better and Damon struggled to get 12th place. Oh well Damon it's only one more race and you can look forward to having a nice Jordan next year.

OK, so the championship went down to the wire and at least Damon was reigning World Champion for the whole season. Damon is moving to Jordan but wanted to leave Arrows on a high note. Qualifying went very well indeed and Damon managed to get the car 4th on the grid a gnat's whisker from pole with Schuey, Villeneuve, and Frentzen having exactly the same time in the three places above him. It was hoped that the race would go well and Damon would be spoil the fun between Schuey and Villeneuve. Alas, there were problems with the car and his race balance wasn't as good. Damon dropped back and was in 9th place when he lost hydraulics. Damon gave a sigh and said good ridence to the Arrows. OK Damon, a nicer car next year so make the most of it.

Johnny Herbert

Johnny looked particularly good in qualifying over the weekend. He was in a fine 5th position until a last minute dash by a couple of drivers that pushed him down the grid to 7th. Nevertheless, it was fine effort and it looks like the Sauber with the Petronas Ferrari engine are going to be a team to reckon with this year. However, for Johnny the race was over before he knew it. Eddie took leave of his senses at the start and made a silly dash down the inside. There was no chance of braking and he ended up crashing into Villeneuve who in turn nudged Johnny and they were both off.
Well done in qualifying Johnny and look out for silly Irishmen in Brazil!

Johnny Herbert looked like he was going to be in for a good race. He was 4th fastest on the Friday free practice and a high qualifying position looked on the cards. Unfortunately, qualifying didn't go as well and Johnny could only get the car 13th on the grid. Warm up, again showed Johnny to be on the pace. He was able to get the car to the finish but was just out of the points in 7th. At least Johnny was able to avoid a first lap collision and Argentina will hopefully see a better qualifying position.

Well it was a good weekend for Johnny. He qualified with a reasonable 8th place and was looking particularly good in the race. There were hopes of a podium finish but he had tough competition to maintain his 4th position from Mika Hakkinen and Gerhard Berger. It was disappointing that the Argentinean TV coverage didn't show this battle but, understandably kept with the Eddie/Jacques battle. At the end of the race there was only a second covering places 4 to 6.
It's looking like Johnny will be a regular points finisher this season.

Johnny was looking like having a good weekend for his 100th Grand Prix. Qualifying went well and he was 7th on the grid. The race was looking to go well for him and he was running well in fourth when he was forced to retire with mechanical problems. A bit of bad luck this weekend and hopefully he will have the good luck when he gets home to Monaco.

I was amazed to see Johnny topping the times from Thursdays free practice ahead of Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve. Johnny's Sauber seems to be going very well and he qualified well in 7th following an exciting session. The race could have gone very well for Johnny, however the slippery wet conditions caught him out and he ended up in the barriers on lap 10 from 5th place. Again, such is Monaco.

Johnny was running well all weekend with the Petronas engine giving the car the power it needed. Qualifying was sound in 10th place. Johnny was making his way through the field during the race and he had a fantastic battle with David Coulthard who was suffering from tyre problems. It wasn't until the last lap that Johnny managed to make his way past and it was unfortunate the TV director didn't capture this moment. 5th position and 2 more points well deserved and I reckon that Johnny will end up in the points in the remaining races if his car makes it.

In what ended up in being a sad end to the race, Johnny came in with some points for 5th place. I'm sure Johnny would have been higher up and maybe on the podium had the race gone the full distance and he wasn't forced to take a 10 second penalty for pit lane speeding. Let's hope France is a better race and Johnny can get some more well deserved points.

Johnny was also having trouble getting the car set up for the French GP. He was able to get the car to 13th on the grid but should have been higher on past form. The race went a little better but with a one-stop strategy he was a little off the pace. A well timed pit stop for wets allowed Johnny to come home in 8th place.
It's the home Grand Prix next and Johnny will be hoping for a repeat of his 1995 performance where he found himself top of the podium.

The last British man to win at Silverstone was Johnny. He was able to qualify fairly well in 9th place and we were looking forward to see Johnny charge through the field. Charge he did and on the start he was able to get 5th place. He was going very well and keeping a good pace. Eddie Irvine was giving him some pressure from behind but Johnny was holding on well and keeping 3rd place. However, Johnny's gearbox began playing up and he was forced to make some stops to see if this could be fixed. It wasn't to be and he retired.

Johnny was having a difficult time getting the car sorted out on an ultra low downforce circuit. He had the power but he was only able to get the car to 14th place in qualifying just behind Damon. The race was going reasonably and there was a nice scrap between him and Damon. However, Damon's team mate Diniz left his breaking way too late coming in to the chicane and he hit the back of poor old Johnny. Johnny doesn't seem to be having the luck and he will be hoping things improve in Hungary.

As seems to be usual for Sauber qualifying was not impressive. Johnny managed to secure 11th place. The Sauber race set up is a lot better and Johnny was able to move up the field through well-timed pit stops. He was running more or less on his own in fourth place for much of the race. Johnny benefitted from the late retirement of David Coulthard and he ended up on the podium for the first time this season. Well deserved as his luck this season has not been good.

Johnny was again making the most of a car that doesn't seem to run well in qualifying. 11th place wasn't too bad but really should be better. Johnny was lucky with his tyre choices and he was soon running in the points. It looked like a good finish was on the cards and there was with a 5th place. A little more speed in qualifying and Johnny would have been on the podium again. Let's hope that Sauber get the qualifying set up sorted soon.

Johnny qualified in 12th which is still not that great from the Sauber team. Johnny would need to make a lot of places up in the race to get into the points. This he was doing, but there was a Schumacher behind him in a much faster Jordan. Ralf went past but still thought it necessary to squeeze Johnny so he had nowhere to go. They touched and Johnny was spinning into the tyre wall at 200 mph. Johnny later commented 'Um we were going a bit quick'. A very silly move from the German and he was lucky it was not worse.

Johnny started the weekend knowing that Jean Alesi would be his team-mate next year. The Sauber never seemed to get going in Austria. Johnny struggled to qualify the car in 12th place. We didn't see much of Johnny in the race either. He managed to keep the car going and avoid any prangs and eventually finished the race in 8th place.

Once again the Sauber was not the best of cars in qualifying. Johnny was only 16th on the grid and he would need to drive well to get in the points. In the race Johnny was making up places and towards the end of the race he was having a good battle with Pedro Diniz for that point for 6th place. Amazingly Pedro was too much for Johnny and he couldn't get past. So Johnny had to settle for 7th place. Let's hope the Sauber is much better next year so Johnny can show his mettle.

Well the Sauber was running OK in Japan and Johnny did quite well in qualifying to get 8th place less than a second behind pole. However that seemed to be the problem the car was just OK. A couple of times in the race Johnny was up to 4th through the pit stops, however, when this all panned out Johnny found himself still in 7th place outside the points. However, Villeneuve withdrew his appeal and Johnny has now found himself a point richer in 6th place. Better than nothing.

Johnny has had a mixed season in the Sauber. The Sauber never seemed to be good in qualifying and Spain was no exception with Johnny down in 14th place. The Sauber has been reasonable in race setup and you could rely on Johnny to make up the places. He did this again in Europe and found himself in 8th place at the end. Hopefully Sauber can sort out their car for next year and we see Johnny starting higher up the grid.

David Coulthard

Congratulations to David. He gave the British the win they deserve. He drove a spectacular race and never put a foot wrong. Well done to McLaren and Mercedes too for finally getting together what seems to be a very competitive package. It was nice to see the silver livery McLaren taking the checkered flag and hopefully this will happen a bit more during the season. Mika Hakkinen put the other one in a fine 3rd too. It will be interesting to see how Brazil goes as I'm sure the Williams will be back there at the front and we can see some nice scraps between McLaren, Williams, and Ferrari.

The weekend was not so good for David. Great things were expected from the Australian race winner, however, they were never able to get the car set up correctly. Mika was on better form in the other McLaren and qualified a fine 4th compared to David's 12th. David finished the race in 10th. Hopefully this was a one off race for the team and they will be back to podium finishes at the next race.

It was not a very good weekend for McLaren. Hopes have been high since David's win in Australia but they have been struggling since. The car was not working for them on the bumpy circuit and it was a good effort for David to get the car on to 10th on the grid. David's race was run on the first lap as he was caught up in an accident between Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello and was forced to retire with only 3 wheels.
Let's hope the season picks up again now the cars return to Europe.

David had a difficult qualifying time and had to use his spare after a heavy crash in the mornings warm up. He managed to get the car up to 10th on the grid and was looking to make up a few places in the race. He was running well in fourth place and was taking a one stop strategy which may have been a good one. There was a close battle with Irvine and Fisichella but his engine went on lap 38. David needs some good luck for the next race.

The McLaren was going well in Monaco and it needed to following the disappointing races since Australia. David got the car up into very good 5th position on the grid. It was looking like at least a podium finish was on the cards. His race was over quickly though as he spun the car coming out of the tunnel and was forced to retire. His spin caused some grief for some other drivers and his team mate Mika was out and also Damon was involved. Monaco is always a bit of a lottery and David's numbers didn't come up this time.

McLaren seemed to come good again in Spain. The characteristics of the circuit suit the Mercedes engine and with a new engine installed for qualifying, David put the car up there in 3rd place. In the race Coulthard was having a battle with Michael Schumacher. The Ferrari was holding up a gaggle of cars up and it was some time before David could get by. When he did he was quickly pulling away. However the tyres were wearing considerably and pit stops were required in quick succession. David came off worse in a battle with Johnny on the last lap and he had to settle for 6th place and 1 point.

Well McLaren seem to be doing well again now they have an improved Mercedes engine. David seemed to have the race in the bag until the nightmare pitstop and Olivier Panis's terrible accident. It just goes to show that Formula One is unpredictable and anything can happen. David was driving an outstanding race and it was a sad moment to see all his hard work go to pot in that stop. I'm sure David will be forgetting Canada and looking forward to a good result in France. It's sad that Olivier will not be racing in his home Grand Prix.

David Coulthard was unable to get his McLaren higher than 9th on the grid which was slightly disappointing after his fine performance in Canada. The race was also going well and he was up into 4th place when the rain begun to come down. A pit stop for wets gave him the grip he needed however Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher were able to find a way past. A touch from Jean Alesi caused David to spin and he was out on the last lap. Rightly so, David was not too impressed with Alesi and it was a shame not to see David score any points.
The McLaren does seem to have power and reliability and this is what you need at Silverstone so I expect David will find himself on podium for the British GP.

David was probably best placed to get that British win the Silverstone fans would be wanting. He qualified reasonably well in 6th place but was slightly overshadowed by his team mate who very nearly got pole. David made a great start and he was in 3rd place. It appeared that he was holding up some faster cars behind and Villeneuve and Schumacher began to pull away. David kept on at it and he was running well despite tyre problems. The pit stops didn't work out too well for David and he found himself having to fight back into the points. Through retirements David was up to 4th which he kept despite pressure form Ralf Schumacher towards the end.

David was struggling with his car all the weekend. The Mercedes engine is very powerful and we were expecting good results. We only managed to see an 8th place in qualifying and team-mate Mika was doing better. The race was over very quickly and we were not treated to a fight up the field.

Again David seemed to struggle slightly in his McLaren for qualifying. He ended up 8th but may well have been higher had he not had a spin on his last flying run. The race went a lot better and David soon found himself in a points position. He continued to make up places and towards the end he was harrying Villeneuve for second place. He may well have gone faster than Villeneuve if he had been able to get past the Canadian. It was not to be and on lap 65 the McLaren decided it had had enough and he was out.

David was hoping for a change of fortune in Belgium but it was not looking good at all. Qualifying was again disappointing with only 10th place behind Damon. The engine is good and really we should see David in the top 6 at least. The race was over for him rather quickly again retiring on lap 11 with mechanical problems.

A great weekend for David. The Mercedes was going well on this power circuit and it looked like a good qualifying position was on the cards. It was pretty close but David managed a 6th place on the grid. In the race David made a superb start and was up to 3rd place on the first lap. There he stayed in close contention with Frentzen and Alesi and it was up to the pit stops. David timed it well and came in at the same time as Alesi. He was faster and was past Alesi into the lead. He stayed there and drove a superb race to finish top on the podium. Well done David.

David was aiming to make it 2 wins in a row in Austria. The McLaren was very quick with team-mate Mika Hakkinen narrowly missing out on pole. David wasn't able to get the best out of his 2 runs and qualified 10th. The race was going well. He made a good start and the team had excellent pit stop strategy, which allowed David come out in 6th place. There was then a spate of retirements and David found himself in 2nd place closly pursued by Heinz-Harald Frentzen. They were catching the race leader but didn't have enough laps left to make an impression. A well deserved 2nd place.

The McLaren team were looking good at the Nurburgring and Mika Hakkinen found a good set up that secured pole position. David didn't fair quite as well and qualified in 6th place. At the start David was sensational once again and he was able to fit into 2nd place behind team-mate Mika. The race was looking like a fine one-two for the team but fate was not on their side. Mika and David went out on the same lap with engine problems. It was a real shame and certainly not deserved. Even David was sad that Mika was not able to win after such a fine performance. If Mercedes can sort the reliability I'm sure we can expect wins in the remaining races.

David didn't seem to happy with his setup in Japan and as a result he only managed to qualify in 11th place. Not what you expect from the powerful Mercedes engine. The race didn't go much better and a strange pit stop strategy didn't work out. David was unable to improve on his grid position of 11th and finished where he started. But at least he did finish

McLaren were certainly looking to finish the season on a high and they certainly did that. The two cars were fast and looking good for the race. David qualified 6th and would have been hoping for his usual quick start. Not bad making a place up on Damon to 5th place. The two McLarens were up there in 4th and 5th and keeping out of the way of the championship shnanagons hoping to pick up the pieces. After Schuey through it away they were able to catch up with Villeneuve. David let his team mate past probably under orders from the team and on the last lap they easily went past Villeneuve to make it a McLaren 1-2. Was there some wheeling and dealing going on? Who knows but it was nice to see Mika get that well-deserved first win.

Eddie Irvine

Stupid boy, enough said!!

Well everybody was hoping that Eddie wouldn't leave his braking too late again forcing any retirements. However, he was involved in an accident on the first start and was forced to use the spare car for the restart. This car had been set up for Michael and he was obviously uncomfortable with the seat belts. A long pitstop to rearrange the belts caused him to run at the back of the field. He eventually finished 16th and 2 laps down. A better performance is required at the next race.

Well Eddie was the highlight of the race and this time for the right reasons. After qualifying a good 7th place he benefited from the retirements of a few people ahead of him and was running 3rd when Panis unfortunately came to a standstill. Then following pit stops he was actually leading the race for a few laps. Jacques Villeneuve made his last stop and had been quick enough to keep the car ahead of Eddie when he came out. Eddie caught the sniff of a victory and pressed Jacques very hard. Sadly the Williams, despite it's tyre problems, was still just quick enough to keep the Ferrari at bay.
Eddie has now redeemed himself from the events in the last two races and will hopefully provide us with similar edge of the seat performances in the races to come. Well done Eddie!

Eddie was looking to capitalise on his fine performance in Argentina. He qualified a little disappointingly in 9th place as he had been putting some very good times in the warm up on Friday. The race went fairly smoothly with a little scrap between Fisichella and Coulthard. Following retirements Eddie found himself in a podium finish for 3rd. However, he was a very long way behind Michael Schumacher in the other Ferrari. It looks like the Ferrari is reliable and the speed is improving. I would expect another good performance in Monaco.

Once again Eddie was left to keep up the British interest in the race. Eddie qualified in a very poor 15th position and it was looking like a race out of the points on the hard to overtake twisty circuit. Fortunately the rain came on Sunday and this helps to turn the race into an interesting one. Eddie managed to keep the car on the track and avoid any incidents with other cars. The Ferrari has the power and following many retirements Eddie found himself in 3rd position. It's looking increasingly likely that Eddie is going to finish the championship the top Briton and at the moment his in a great third place.

Eddie seemed to have a poor weekend here in Spain. The Ferrari is clearly not suited to this circuit and it was taking someone of Michael Schumacher's calibre to get the car high up on the grid. However, Eddie managed to come home 3rd from 15th at the last race and so a points finish was not out of the question. However Eddie was being difficult in the race when being lapped by Panis and Alesi and he was brought in for a 10 second penalty and this effectively ended his quest for points.

Eddie Irvine was not having the weekend that team mate Michael was having. Another poor qualifying position for Eddie. In the race Eddie was involved in an accident with Hakkinen and Panis but I'm sure that Eddie will be wishing Panis well for a speedy recovery. Eddie can put this one down to bad luck and let's hope Eddie can put on a good show in France.

Eddie had a great weekend in France. He was not able to quite match Michael's pace but still managed a fine qualifying position in 5th place. Eddie kept up the performance in the race where he made a brilliant start to get 3rd place. He stayed there for the race despite the rain and a late charge from Villeneuve. A podium place for Eddie was just what he needed.
Silverstone next and let's hope things go as well, if not better, at his home Grand Prix.

The Ferrari seems to be going extremely well this year and Eddie was hoping for a great result in Britain. He qualified well in 7th place. The race was going very well and he was harrying Johnny for that 3rd place. It was looking like the pit stops would see him in front. Johnny's retirement meant that Eddie was in second place and only a few seconds behind Villeneuve. However, he came in for his stop and found that on his way out the wheel bearing had failed and he had to retire. It was a shame to see all that hard work go to waste and Ferrari will need to look at the problem seeing as Schumacher retired with the same problem.

Eddie qualified the Ferrari in 10th place. Not the ideal of results but a good race would see him improve. That's what he did too. A flying start saw gain places to 5th place. Unfortunately for Eddie there was a silly German behind him who thought it would be nice to let one of his tyres down! A drive back to the pits for a new tyre saw too much damage sustained to his car and he was forced to retire. I'm sure that escape will not get Frentzen into Eddie's good books.

It was looking like Eddie was going to have a good race for once. He managed to qualify well in 5th place and it was looking like a podium finish would not be out of the question. Unfortunately, in the race he was having tyre problems and he was forced to pit very early. This messed up the race strategy and although he was in 4th place for a time he was forced to make another stop and he was in 6th. A late spin saw him in the gravel and he was eventually classified 9th. It seems as if the new Ferrari chassis is an improvement and better things will be expected in Spa.

Very disappointingly Eddie only managed to qualify 17th. We knew he would make up places but with a start behind the pace car there was not chance of passing a lot on the grid and he was up against it for sure. We saw him get up to 9th place but again he had a last minute mishap on the last lap. Luckily he was still classified as finishing. The Monza crowd will require a better performance.

Monza, home of Ferrari. The pressure is on to do well. Strangely, despite lots of testing the Ferrari was off the pace. Eddie could only get it to 10th on the grid and even Michael was only just ahead of him in 9th. The race was not looking good and pit stops included Eddie was struggling. He finally managed to get the car home in 8th place and much to the disappointment of the Ferrari fans.

The A1-Ring was new to all the teams and Goodyears didn't seem to be the better tyre. Eddie made the most of his qualifying runs and was able to pip Michael to 8th place on the grid. Eddie chose soft tyres in an effort to help Michael maximise his points for the world championship. However this didn't pay off and Eddie was struggling in the race. That wasn't helped by Jean Alesi trying an overtaking maneovre and taking them both out. I'm sure Eddie would have had a few words with Jean after the race.

The Ferrari seems to be losing it a little and Eddie was struggling with the car. He qualified 14th and it was not looking good for the race. He was pushing the car and retired on lap 22 with mechanical problems. Forget this weekend Eddie.

Well what a stunning race for Eddie. He knew he had to help out Michael Schumacher but that didn't stop him showing his metal. The masterplan started in qualifying with Eddie qualifying well and in the right place 3rd behind Michael. The start of the race went nearly to plan but Hakkinen slipped past Eddie. Villeneuve was determined to keep Michael behind him and was consequently holding everyone up. OK Ferrari thought and they planned it so Eddie was able to get past Hakkinen and Michael in one easy swoop. That done, next stop Villeneuve and Eddie seemed to make light of getting past him. That achieved Eddie shot off at warp speed and pulled out a 12 second lead. OK then pit stops took place and Michael as usual was able to get past Villeneuve in the pits. Looking good. Eddie then slowed and allowed Michael through and still kept Villeneuve behind. Ace maneovre! Micheal was in the lead and looking good for max points. Eddie made his stop and unfortunately Frentzen got past. Still it was a great plan and the main priority was achieved. A fine 3rd place for Eddie but it would have been really interesting to see how he would have done if team orders didn't need to be adhered to. My money would have been on Eddie getting his first win.

After the stunning Ferrari team work display in the last race, Schumacher would have been hoping for a repeat performance. However, Eddie was not able to get high enough up on the grid and he qualified 7th place a way back from the championship fight. There was probably little Eddie could have done to help. In the race Eddie pressed on and managed to get the car home in 5th place after a good battle with Frentzen and Berger.