The season is drawing to an end, so it's time to reflect and say goodbye to Sauber

You don't need a genius IQ to understand that good results breed good results. Any racing driver becomes more motivated when he thinks he can see a tangible reward for all his efforts.

When I left Melbourne in March, I was on a high. I'd outqualified my new team-mate, Jean Alesi, lined up fifth on the grid, and left the race with a world championship point. To be honest, part of me felt disappointed that we'd finished only sixth - because we'd had a pretty competitive race. But I felt good.

That feeling persisted in Brazil, until my throttle stuck open on Saturday morning and I had to drive the race with my head lolling into my lap. Argentina was a bit of a bummer, too, after Jean drove into me on our first lap out of the pits - suddenly my season was in danger of falling apart around me.

Through all this I was outqualifying Jean, but then we had our little disagreement at Silverstone. The following race in Austria I was asked to give up my chance of qualifying well, as he was in contention for pole position. Gradually I lost confidence both the team and myself.

It's a difficult situation to describe, but I'm one of those drivers who need to feed off something; if I feel comfortable and am getting the right level of support, I can build on it. That's when I give of my absolute best. Others may be different, but that's the way I am. I had a definite dip in personal performance for a couple of races, and of course I wasn't happy with that. But I feel I've driven well most of the time, and at the Luxembourg Grand Prix I was back on song.

My downturn in confidence coincided to a large extent with what was a difficult time in F1, when everything became very, very competitive. As you saw at Monza and Luxembourg, the retirement rate among the top runners was not sufficient to let the midfield cars and drivers through and into the points.

If you look at Mika and Michael, they've both been able to feed of their successes this year, and that has made for a terrific finale to the championship. People keep asking me who will win, and I have always said Mika - even before Luxembourg, when Michael seemed to be on a roll. Mika did a very good job there, and struck an important psychological blow. You could see in Michael's face just how much it hurt not to have won, and to have failed in front of his home crowd.

Mika will have the better situation going into Suzuka, and I think he would make a great world champion. Michael has never had any dips in his confidence, but Mika had to come back from that accident in Adelaide in 1995. He's been fortunate in that he has massive support from McLaren and Mercedes, and of course from his wife, Erja. She is very strong and is an important part of his make-up.

I think it makes a better story if Mika wins. He was probably the nicest team-mate I've ever had, he was always quick and competitive, he's a good guy. My money is on him.

The Japanese Grand Prix is one off my favourite races, and Suzuka is a fabulous circuit. It's exciting and demanding, and features such a wide variety of corners: 13OR is a Japanese version of Spa's Eau Rouge. With the old slick tyres (and if you got it right) you could take it flat without lifting, but you had to be very sure of yourself and your car. That feeling is just exhilarating!

The race will, of course, be my swansong for Sauber. In 1996, I joined the team from a bad situation at Benetton and fell into something much more supportive. The engineers, mechanics and people at Sauber work very hard, and I've made some lasting friendships, as far as working together is concerned, which I'll miss. Nineteen-ninety-seven was probably my most enjoyable season in Fl, so I will be saying goodbye with difficulty. I'm hoping to sign of with a strong result. That would be a nice gift to all my fans in Japan, who are the most supportive supporters in the world.

These GP Columns appeared exclusively in F1 Racing magazine every month.
The columns are reproduced by kind permission of the Editor, Matt Bishop.
With thanks to F1 Racing ©. All rights reserved.
This page prepared 18th October 1998.