Michael Schumacher won the Italian GP in front of Ferrari fans at Monza and arrived at the Nurburgring with the same number of points as his only championship rival Mika Hakkinen who beat him ahead of season finale at Suzuka.
Both drivers had 80 points, two races before the end of the championship – Luxembourg Grand Prix at the Nurburgring and Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. McLaren led the constructors’ championship by ten points more than Ferrari.
McLaren drivers had problems with the setup of the car and Schumacher and Irvine secured the front row for Ferrari. Hakkinen was third, Fisichella in Benetton fourth and Coulthard just fifth.
Hakkinen has managed to beat Schumacher thanks to the long second stint and emerged four points ahead of German before the last race in Japan.
STARTING GRID
| 1 | 3 | M.Schumacher | Ferrari | 1:18.561 | – |
| 2 | 4 | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari | 1:18.907 | 0.346 |
| 3 | 8 | Mika Häkkinen | McLaren/Mercedes | 1:18.940 | 0.379 |
| 4 | 5 | G.Fisichella | Benetton/Playlife | 1:19.048 | 0.487 |
| 5 | 7 | David Coulthard | McLaren/Mercedes | 1:19.169 | 0.608 |
| 6 | 10 | Ralf Schumacher | Jordan/Mugen-Honda | 1:19.455 | 0.894 |
| 7 | 2 | H-H.Frentzen | Williams/Mecachrome | 1:19.522 | 0.961 |
| 8 | 6 | Alexander Wurz | Benetton/Playlife | 1:19.569 | 1.008 |
| 9 | 1 | J.Villeneuve | Williams/Mecachrome | 1:19.631 | 1.070 |
| 10 | 9 | Damon Hill | Jordan/Mugen-Honda | 1:19.807 | 1.246 |
| 11 | 14 | Jean Alesi | Sauber/Petronas | 1:20.493 | 1.932 |
| 12 | 18 | R.Barrichello | Stewart/Ford | 1:20.530 | 1.969 |
| 13 | 15 | Johnny Herbert | Sauber/Petronas | 1:20.650 | 2.089 |
| 14 | 12 | Jarno Trulli | Prost/Peugeot | 1:20.709 | 2.148 |
| 15 | 11 | Olivier Panis | Prost/Peugeot | 1:21.048 | 2.487 |
| 16 | 17 | Mika Salo | Arrows | 1:21.120 | 2.559 |
| 17 | 16 | Pedro Diniz | Arrows | 1:21.258 | 2.697 |
| 18 | 19 | Jos Verstappen | Stewart/Ford | 1:21.501 | 2.940 |
| 19 | 21 | T.Takagi | Tyrrell/Ford | 1:21.525 | 2.964 |
| 20 | 22 | Shinji Nakano | Minardi/Ford | 1:22.078 | 3.517 |
| 21 | 23 | Esteban Tuero | Minardi/Ford | 1:22.146 | 3.585 |
| 22 | 20 | Ricardo Rosset | Tyrrell/Ford | 1:22.822 | 4.261 |
RACE RESULTS
| 1 | 8 | Mika Häkkinen | McLaren/Mercedes | 67 | 1:32:14.789 | |
| 2 | 3 | M.Schumacher | Ferrari | 67 | 1:32:17.000 | 2.211 |
| 3 | 7 | David Coulthard | McLaren/Mercedes | 67 | 1:32:48.952 | 34.163 |
| 4 | 4 | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari | 67 | 1:33:12.971 | 58.182 |
| 5 | 2 | H-H.Frentzen | Williams/Mecachrome | 67 | 1:33:15.036 | 1:00.247 |
| 6 | 5 | G.Fisichella | Benetton/Playlife | 67 | 1:33:16.148 | 1:01.359 |
| 7 | 6 | Alexander Wurz | Benetton/Playlife | 67 | 1:33:19.578 | 1:04.789 |
| 8 | 1 | J.Villeneuve | Williams/Mecachrome | 66 | 1:32:20.752 | 1 lap |
| 9 | 9 | Damon Hill | Jordan/Mugen-Honda | 66 | 1:32:22.990 | 1 lap |
| 10 | 14 | Jean Alesi | Sauber/Petronas | 66 | 1:32:29.424 | 1 lap |
| 11 | 18 | R.Barrichello | Stewart/Ford | 65 | 1:32:28.610 | 2 laps |
| 12 | 11 | Olivier Panis | Prost/Peugeot | 65 | 1:32:29.872 | 2 laps |
| 13 | 19 | Jos Verstappen | Stewart/Ford | 65 | 1:32:52.806 | 2 laps |
| 14 | 17 | Mika Salo | Arrows | 65 | 1:32:53.413 | 2 laps |
| 15 | 22 | Shinji Nakano | Minardi/Ford | 65 | 1:32:56.589 | 2 laps |
| 16 | 21 | T.Takagi | Tyrrell/Ford | 65 | 1:32:57.269 | 2 laps |
| (17) | 23 | Esteban Tuero | Minardi/Ford | 56 | 1:32:50.967 | Engine |
| (14) | 10 | Ralf Schumacher | Jordan/Mugen-Honda | 53 | 1:15:58.955 | Brakes |
| (12) | 15 | Johnny Herbert | Sauber/Petronas | 37 | 52:02.308 | Engine |
| (19) | 20 | Ricardo Rosset | Tyrrell/Ford | 36 | 52:09.833 | Engine |
| (14) | 12 | Jarno Trulli | Prost/Peugeot | 6 | 8:44.955 | Transmission |
| (15) | 16 | Pedro Diniz | Arrows | 6 | 8:45.419 | Hydraulics |
Fastest lap: Mika Hakkinen – 1:20.450 (lap 25)
DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 15/16 RACES
| 1 | Mika Häkkinen | 90 | 10 | 10 | 6 | – | 10 | 10 | – | 4 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 1 | – | 3 | 10 |
| 2 | Michael Schumacher | 86 | – | 4 | 10 | 6 | 4 | – | 10 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 10 | – | 10 | 6 |
| 3 | David Coulthard | 52 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 6 | – | – | 1 | – | 6 | 6 | 6 | – | – | 4 |
| 4 | Eddie Irvine | 41 | 3 | – | 4 | 4 | – | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 3 | – | – | – | 6 | 3 |
| 5 | Jacques Villeneuve | 20 | 2 | – | – | 3 | 1 | 2 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 4 | 4 | – | – | – |
| 6 | Damon Hill | 17 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | 3 | 10 | 1 | – |
| 7 | Alexander Wurz | 17 | – | 3 | 3 | – | 3 | – | 3 | 2 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8 | Giancarlo Fisichella | 16 | – | 1 | – | – | – | 6 | 6 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| 9 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | 15 | 4 | 2 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 3 | – | 2 |
| 10 | Ralf Schumacher | 14 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | 6 | 4 | – |
| 11 | Jean Alesi | 9 | – | – | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | 2 | – |
| 12 | Rubens Barrichello | 4 | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 13 | Mika Salo | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 14 | Pedro Diniz | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – |
| 15 | Johnny Herbert | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 16 | Jan Magnussen | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | ||||||||
| 17 | Jarno Trulli | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – |
CONSTRUCTORS’ CHAMPIONSHIP
| 1 | McLaren/Mercedes | 142 | 16 | 16 | 7 | 10 | 16 | 10 | – | 5 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 7 | – | 3 | 14 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 127 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 10 | – | 16 | 9 |
| 3 | Williams/Mecachrome | 35 | 6 | 2 | – | 5 | 1 | 2 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 4 | 6 | 3 | – | 2 |
| 4 | Benetton/Playlife | 33 | – | 4 | 3 | – | 3 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| 5 | Jordan/Mugen-Honda | 31 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 5 | – |
| 6 | Sauber/Petronas | 10 | 1 | – | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | 2 | – |
| 7 | Arrows | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – |
| 8 | Stewart/Ford | 5 | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 9 | Prost/Peugeot | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – |
