Mika Hakkinen is favourite among fellow race ...

Published on 29 October 1998 by Verstappen Info Page

Mika Hakkinen is favourite among fellow race drivers and bookmakers to become this year's Formula 1 World Champion. One of them is Johnny Herbert, who has been a team mate of both Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen: "Mika responds well to being told by McLaren that he can do the job, and I believe that he will. He only needs to finish second if Michael wins, but I can't see Mika doing that because settling for second can be fatal. I think he will just do the normal thing and go for it. He has to."

Damon Hill is another driver to back Mika: "It is going to be a tall order for Michael to beat Mika. Michael could not have picked a worse circuit than Suzuka because it is a track Mika loves."