Overview[]
The S4 - Japanese Grand Prix was the sixteenth race of Masters Season 4.
Driver Changes[]
- Johnny Herbert was replaced by Giorgio Pantano at Dodgem
Report[]
Two races ago, ten drivers were in contention for the drivers championship. After Suzuka, that number had been whittled down to just two. Fernando Alonso stole a march on the opposition and won the race, while Alain Prost was rooted down in 4th. The Spaniard's victory moved him to within two points of the Frenchman heading into the final race. Completing the podium were Lewis Hamilton and Mika Hakkinen.
As for the teams championship, a double retirement for FJR mathematically ruled them out of the battle, but Maestro Motorsport, AquinoPlus, and Exolite were separated by just nine points, but the odds favoured Maestro.
Race[]
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Tyre | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 |  Fernando Alonso
|
 AquinoPlus-Renault
|
|
12 |
| 2 | 2 |  Lewis Hamilton
|
Maestro-Honda
|
|
8 |
| 3 | 6 |  Mika Hakkinen
|
AquinoPlus-Renault
|
|
6 |
| 4 | 1 |  Alain Prost
|
Maestro-Honda
|
|
5 |
| 5 | 7 | Nigel Mansell
|
 Pedersen-Renault
|
|
4 |
| 6 | 10 | Damon Hill
|
Exolite-Ferrari
|
|
3 |
| 7 | 9 | Kimi Raikkonen
|
Exolite-Ferrari
|
|
2 |
| 8 | 16 |  Juan Pablo Montoya
|
Willow Images-Toyota
|
|
1 |
| Other Classified Finishers | |||||
| Fin | 17 |  Jacques Villeneuve
|
Willow Images-Toyota
|
|
|
| Fin | 15 | Martin Brundle
|
A Racing-Ford
|
|
|
| Fin | 22 |  Giancarlo Fisichella
|
Dodgem-Toyota
|
|
|
| Fin | 12 | Nelsinho Piquet
|
Gui Racing-Ferrari
|
|
|
| Fin | 20 |  Neel Jani
|
Ajay Motorsports-Toyota
|
|
|
| Fin | 23 | Giorgio Pantano
|
Dodgem-Toyota
|
|
|
| Retirements | |||||
| Ret | 18 | Jenson Button
|
FJR-Mercedes
|
|
|
| Ret | 4 | Ayrton Senna
|
 M-Sport-Ferrari
|
|
|
| Ret | 19 | Jean Alesi
|
FJR-Mercedes
|
|
|
| Ret | 11 | Nelson Piquet
|
Gui Racing-Ferrari
|
|
|
| Ret | 8 |  Gerhard Berger
|
Pedersen-Renault
|
|
|
| Ret | 3 |  Michael Schumacher
|
M-Sport-Ferrari
|
|
|
| Ret | 14 | David Coulthard
|
A Racing-Ford
|
|
|
| Ret | 21 |  Andreas Zuber
|
Ajay Motorsports-Toyota
|
|
|
Championship Standings[]
| Drivers Championship | Teams Championship | Engine Trophy | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Driver | Pts. | Wins | -/+ | Pos. | Team | Pts. | Wins | -/+ | Pos. | Engine | Pts. | Wins | -/+ |
| 1 | Alain Prost
|
79 | 4 | = | 1 | Maestro-Honda
|
119 | 4 | = | 1 | Ferrari
|
201 | 7 | = |
| 2 | Fernando Alonso
|
77 | 2 | = | 2 | AquinoPlus-Renault
|
112 | 2 |  1
|
2 | Renault
|
156 | 3 | = |
| 3 | Damon Hill
|
62 | 2 | = | 3 | Exolite-Ferrari
|
108 | 4 |  1
|
3 |  Honda
|
119 | 4 | = |
| 4 | Jenson Button
|
52 | 1 | = | 4 | FJR-Mercedes
|
92 | 2 | = | 4 | Mercedes
|
92 | 2 | = |
| 5 | Ayrton Senna
|
51 | 2 | = | 5 | M-Sport-Ferrari
|
76 | 2 | = | 5 | Toyota
|
24 | = | |
| 6 | Kimi Raikkonen
|
46 | 2 | = | 6 | Pedersen-Renault
|
57 | 1 | = | 6 |  Ford
|
23 | = | |