The 1998 Japanese Grand Prix (formally the XXIV Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at Suzuka, Mie, Japan on 1 November 1998. It was the sixteenth and final round of the 1998 FIA Formula One World Championship. The 51-lap race was won by Mika Häkkinen driving for the McLaren-Mercedes team. Eddie Irvine, driving for Ferrari, finished second with David Coulthard third in the other McLaren. Häkkinen's win confirmed him as 1998 Drivers' Champion as title-rival Michael Schumacher retired with a punctured tyre on Lap 31. Schumacher started on pole position but stalled on the formation lap, meaning he was forced to start at the back of the grid. Schumacher managed to climb the field during the course of the race and eventually retired from a punctured tyre sustained from running over debris from an incident that occurred previously. This was the last race for the Tyrrell racing team, as the team was rebranded into British American Racing the next season. Report Background Heading into the final race of the season, McLaren driver Mika Häkkinen was leading the Drivers' Championship with 90 points; Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher was second with 86 points. A maximum of 10 points were available for the remaining race, which meant that Schumacher could still win the title. Häkkinen only needed a second-place finish to become Drivers' Champion even if Schumacher won—both drivers would be tied on points and number of victories but Häkkinen would claim the title as he would have finished second place three times, compared to Schumacher's two. Behind Häkkinen and Schumacher in the Drivers' Championship, David Coulthard was third on 52 points in a McLaren, with Eddie Irvine fourth on 41 points in a Ferrari. In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren were leading on 142 points and Ferrari were second on 127 points, with a maximum of 16 points available, meaning Ferrari needed a 1-2 finish with both McLaren finishing outside point-scoring positions to claim the championship (if the two teams were level on points, McLaren would have won on countback due to having more wins than Ferrari). During the four-week break that followed the , Ferrari and McLaren performed private tests that were heavily scheduled. Ferrari concentrated their testing at their private race track at Mugello, while McLaren tested at the Circuit de Catalunya where they were joined by Benetton and Prost, Arrows, Stewart, new entrants for