Formula One Features — May 1998

The 1998 Formula 1 season has not been very interesting to date. The two McLaren-Mercedes have dominated and only Michael Schumacher's victory in Argentina has dented the unblemished McLaren record. Race fans around the world may appreciate the McLaren efficiency but it is not making for fascinating TV viewing - unless, of course, you have trouble sleeping...

Nowadays Formula 1 team owners keep a very close eye on what is happening in the world of karting. Most of the current Grand Prix stars spent their teenage years racing karts on a professional basis and drivers in top-level karting have risen rapidly into Formula 1, the most notable being Jarno Trulli, who went from karts to F1 in the space of 18 months. Six months later he led his first Grand Prix.

This year the designers and engineers have had to cope with new limitations on brake equipment - calipers that must be made from a material that has a Young's Modulus no greater than 80Gpa; single calipers with a maximum of six pistons and two pads; and a maximum disc thickness of 28 millimetres.