Ferrari F300
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The Ferrari F300 was a
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
car that the
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
team competed with for the
1998 Formula One World Championship The 1998 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 52nd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1998 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1998 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contest ...
. The chassis was designed by
Rory Byrne Rory Byrne (born 10 January 1944) is a South African semi-retired engineer and car designer, most famous for being the chief designer at the Benetton and Scuderia Ferrari teams of Formula One. Byrne-designed cars have won ninety-nine Grands P ...
,
Giorgio Ascanelli Giorgio Ascanelli (born 23 February 1959) is an Italian automotive engineer who has worked for several years in Formula 1. He is currently the technical head of Brembo, a supplier of Formula 1 brakes. Career Ascanelli began his sporting career ...
,
Aldo Costa Aldo Costa (born 5 June 1961) is an Italian engineer and the Chief Technical Officer at Dallara. With 14 constructors' championships and 12 drivers' titles working for Ferrari and Mercedes, Costa is one of the most successful engineers and desig ...
,
Willem Toet Willem Hendrik Toet (born 29 March 1952) is a Dutch-born Australian–British Formula One aerodynamicist. He is currently the Senior Sales Manager and Aerodynamics consultant for Sauber Aerodynamics and Alfa Romeo Racing. He was previously the h ...
, and
Nikolas Tombazis Nikolas Tombazis (; born 22 April 1968 in) is a racing car designer who has worked in Formula One since 1992 for the Benetton Formula, Benetton, McLaren, and Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari teams. Career Born in Athens, Greece, Tombazis graduated w ...
, with
Ross Brawn Ross James Brawn (born 23 November 1954) is a British Formula One managing director, motor sports and technical director. He is a former motorsport engineer and Formula One team principal, and has worked for a number of Formula One teams. Teams ...
playing a vital role in leading the production of the car as the team's technical director and Paolo Martinelli assisted by Giles Simon leading the engine design and operations. It was powered by the 3-litre Ferrari ''Tipo 047''
V10 engine A V10 engine is a ten- cylinder piston engine where two banks of five cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V10 engines are much less common than V8 and V12 engines. Several V10 diesel engines have been pro ...
and designed around a narrower track as mandated by the FIA in a series of regulation changes for that season.


Overview

Strongly resembling the previous season's Ferrari F310B, albeit with a narrower track and redesigned sidepods, the F300 was a competitive and reliable car; however, it was still aerodynamically inferior to the McLaren MP4/13. Despite this,
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...
battled his way to second place in the world championship behind
Mika Häkkinen Mika Pauli Häkkinen (; born 28 September 1968) is a Finnish former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Flying Finn", Häkkinen won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with M ...
. Ferrari also finished as runners-up in the Constructors' Championship. The car was an excellent base for the dominance that Ferrari would achieve in the following seasons. Schumacher battled back from a large deficit to be on the same point total as Häkkinen following his sixth win of the season at Monza, but having been beaten narrowly by Häkkinen at Nürburgring in the penultimate round, the championship title was no longer in Schumacher's own destiny. Stalling the car on the grid in the finale at Suzuka definitely made sure the title was lost, compounded by a puncture following a fightback that might have landed a podium. Even a podium would have been in vain as Häkkinen also won that race. Häkkinen finished with 100 points compared with 86 for Schumacher.
Eddie Irvine Edmund "Eddie" Irvine Jr. (; born 10 November 1965) is a former racing driver from Northern Ireland, who competed Formula One drivers from the United Kingdom, under the British flag in Formula One from to . Irvine was runner-up in the Formula ...
finished fourth in the championship, being the second-placed finisher in both 1-2's Ferrari scored in France and Italy. Schumacher won six races but Irvine once again did not record a single win. A fourth was his highest championship finish to that date though and he collected many podium finishes over the course of the campaign. As with all Formula 1 cars, the F300 was heavily and consistently revised during the 1998 season. At the
Argentine Grand Prix The Argentine Grand Prix (Spanish: ''Gran Premio de Argentina'') was a round of the Formula One championship, held intermittently from to , at the Autódromo Oscar y Juan Gálvez in the Argentine national capital of Buenos Aires. Origins and ...
, a wider front tyre from Goodyear was introduced which significantly improved the handling of the car. "X-wings" were introduced at the
San Marino Grand Prix The San Marino Grand Prix () was a Formula One championship race which was run at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in the town of Imola, near the Apennine Mountains, Apennine mountains in Italy, between 1981 and 2006. It was nam ...
, but were later banned before the
Spanish Grand Prix The Spanish Grand Prix (, ) is a Formula One motor racing event currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating its centenary in 2013. The race had modest beginnings ...
due to safety reasons. A longer wheelbase version of the car was introduced for the
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and Belgian Grands Prix, and a new spec engine was also designed for the title-deciding
Japanese Grand Prix The Japanese Grand Prix () is a motor racing event in the calendar of the Formula One World Championship. Historically, Japan has been one of the last races of the season, and as such the Japanese Grand Prix has been the venue for many title-de ...
. The most significant upgrade to the car was introduced at the
Canadian Grand Prix The Canadian Grand Prix () is an annual motor racing event held since 1961. It has been part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, as a sports car event, before alterna ...
, where it received a new diffuser, new rear body panels, a new delta-shaped front wing, and top-exiting exhausts, the latter of which improved cooling and aerodynamics of the car which was so effective that many other teams copied the design. This overhaul coincided with a hat trick of wins for Schumacher. During testing in May of that season, the F300 was rumoured to have been fitted with
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tyres, possibly as a prelude to switching tyre suppliers before Goodyear withdrew from F1 at the end of the season. Schumacher played down the rumours.


Livery

Ferrari used
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logos, except at the French, British and German Grands Prix. At the
Belgian Grand Prix The Belgian Grand Prix (; ; ) is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship. The first national race of Belgium was held in 1925 at the Spa region's race course, an area of the country that had been associated ...
, Ferrari celebrated their 600th Grand Prix and their cars carried a logo celebrating the achievement behind the seat and sidepods.


Complete Formula One results

( key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)


References

*'' Autocourse 1998-99'', Henry, Alan (ed.), Hazleton Publishing Ltd. (1998) {{F1 cars 1998 F300 1998 Formula One season cars