After four seasons of hard work, it was the year that Michael Schumacher finally delivered Ferrari the driver's Championship. The 31-year old took his third Championship after scoring nine wins in the seventeen race series. The McLaren pair of Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard provided a credible challenge to the German, but could not match his speed on a consistent basis.

BMW returned to Formula 1, supplying engines to Williams, and the Jaguar brand made its debut, with parent company Ford having purchased Stewart Grand Prix.

On the driver front, Rubens Barrichello installed at Ferrari as number two to Schumacher, took a very popular first win at Hockenheim. Whilst it was the final year of Grand Prix racing for Johnny Herbert, British fans had a new hero in the form of Jenson Button who made an impressive debut for Williams.