of the race and ran fourth before his right rear wheel came off on lap 37 due to a wheel bearing failure (This was the same incident that happened to teammate Damon Hill during the British Grand Prix, according to BBC pit reporter Tony Jardine), putting him out of the race and handing the Drivers' Championship to Hill, already dropped by Williams for the following season. Whilst fighting for 4th place, Gerhard Berger had another collision with the Ferrari of Eddie Irvine at the final chicane causing the Northern Irishman to spin out and retire, but Berger was able to carry on unscathed. A late fightback saw Schumacher close the gap to Hill, but Hill held on to win the race by 1.8 seconds, with Häkkinen a further 1.4 seconds back, while Berger recovered to finish fourth, Martin Brundle came fifth in his final Grand Prix, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen picked up the final point for sixth. In the UK, this was the last F1 race until to be broadcast live by the BBC. As Hill crossed the line to win the race and the championship, commentator Murray Walker said, "And I've got to stop, because I've got a lump in my throat." Classification Qualifying Race Championship standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Constructors' Championship standings References Japanese Grand Prix Japanese Grand Prix Grand Prix Japanese Grand Prix