1998 Austrian Grand Prix

The 1998 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the A1-Ring on 26 July 1998. It was the tenth round of the 1998 FIA Formula One World Championship. A wet-dry qualifying session resulted in a mixed-up grid order, with Giancarlo Fisichella taking the first pole position of his career. The 71-lap race was won by Mika Häkkinen for McLaren, with teammate David Coulthard recovering to finish second, having been involved in two collisions during the race, and Michael Schumacher finishing third for Ferrari.

1998 Austrian Grand Prix
Race 10 of 16 in the 1998 Formula One World Championship
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Race details
Date 26 July 1998
Official name XXVII Grosser Preis von Österreich
Location A1-Ring, Spielberg, Styria, Austria
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.319 km (2.684 miles)
Distance 71 laps, 307.146 km (190.564 miles)
Weather Sunny
Pole position
Driver Benetton-Playlife
Time 1:29.598
Fastest lap
Driver United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes
Time 1:12.878 on lap 30
Podium
First McLaren-Mercedes
Second McLaren-Mercedes
Third Ferrari
Lap leaders

Report

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Qualifying

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The qualifying session led to an unusual grid due to wet conditions, which dried out towards the end, with Fisichella taking his first ever pole and Jean Alesi alongside him in the Sauber.[1][2]

Race

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Häkkinen started well to lead into the first corner but several cars collided at the first corner behind them, with Toranosuke Takagi's car ending up stranded. Olivier Panis was left immobile on the line with clutch failure. At the second corner, there was another accident, with both Arrows drivers colliding, hitting Coulthard in the process and knocking off his wing after he had qualified in 14th. Coulthard entered the pit lane for a new nose as a safety car was deployed to allow the debris from the collisions to be cleaned up, and he was able to catch up to the back of the field.[1]

At the restart, Häkkinen led away again with Schumacher close behind him. Schumacher attempted to pass Häkkinen but ran wide, allowing Fisichella in the Benetton past him and almost Rubens Barrichello in the Stewart as well. Barrichello soon dropped out with brake problems, while Schumacher overtook Fisichella again. Schumacher was already on a disadvantage with a two-stop strategy and Häkkinen on just one; his situation got worse when he ran very wide, bouncing violently through the gravel trap and ripping off his front wing. He was able to reach the pits and fit a new wing but rejoined almost a lap behind. Around the same time, Heinz-Harald Frentzen in the Williams experienced an engine failure, which caught fire; he was able to escape from the car unharmed.[1]

Twenty-one laps in, Fisichella and Alesi clashed at the second corner, with both having to retire. Coulthard and Schumacher were both quickly moving back up through the field; he had a lot of trouble passing his brother Ralf Schumacher in the Jordan Grand Prix, finally succeeding after several laps. Schumacher then started to catch up to teammate Eddie Irvine, who was slowing; although Irvine said after it was due to marginal brakes, some suggested he was given a team order and asked to move over for his team leader. In the end, Häkkinen took an easy victory. His teammate Coulthard finished second after being last at the start, and Schumacher took third aided by Irvine.[1]

Classification

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Qualifying

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Pos No Driver Constructor Lap Gap
1 5   Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 1:29.598
2 14   Jean Alesi Sauber-Petronas 1:30.317 +0.719
3 8   Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 1:30.517 +0.919
4 3   Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:30.551 +0.953
5 18   Rubens Barrichello Stewart-Ford 1:31.005 +1.407
6 17   Mika Salo Arrows 1:31.028 +1.430
7 2   Heinz-Harald Frentzen Williams-Mecachrome 1:31.515 +1.917
8 4   Eddie Irvine Ferrari 1:31.651 +2.053
9 10   Ralf Schumacher Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:31.917 +2.319
10 11   Olivier Panis Prost-Peugeot 1:32.081 +2.483
11 1   Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Mecachrome 1:32.083 +2.485
12 19   Jos Verstappen Stewart-Ford 1:32.099 +2.501
13 16   Pedro Diniz Arrows 1:32.206 +2.608
14 7   David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1:32.399 +2.801
15 9   Damon Hill Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:32.718 +3.120
16 12   Jarno Trulli Prost-Peugeot 1:32.906 +3.308
17 6   Alexander Wurz Benetton-Playlife 1:33.185 +3.587
18 15   Johnny Herbert Sauber-Petronas 1:33.205 +3.607
19 23   Esteban Tuero Minardi-Ford 1:33.399 +3.801
20 21   Toranosuke Takagi Tyrrell-Ford 1:34.090 +4.492
21 22   Shinji Nakano Minardi-Ford 1:34.536 +4.938
22 20   Ricardo Rosset Tyrrell-Ford 1:34.910 +5.312
107% time: 1:35.870
Source:[3]
  • This was the last pole position of Benetton in Formula One.

Race

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Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 8   Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 71 1:30:44.086 3 10
2 7   David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 71 +5.289 14 6
3 3   Michael Schumacher Ferrari 71 +39.092 4 4
4 4   Eddie Irvine Ferrari 71 +43.976 8 3
5 10   Ralf Schumacher Jordan-Mugen-Honda 71 +50.654 9 2
6 1   Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Mecachrome 71 +53.202 11 1
7 9   Damon Hill Jordan-Mugen-Honda 71 +1:13.624 15  
8 15   Johnny Herbert Sauber-Petronas 70 +1 lap 18  
9 6   Alexander Wurz Benetton-Playlife 70 +1 lap 17  
10 12   Jarno Trulli Prost-Peugeot 70 +1 lap 16  
11 22   Shinji Nakano Minardi-Ford 70 +1 lap 21  
12 20   Ricardo Rosset Tyrrell-Ford 69 +2 laps 22  
Ret 19   Jos Verstappen Stewart-Ford 51 Engine 12  
Ret 23   Esteban Tuero Minardi-Ford 30 Spun off 19  
Ret 5   Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 21 Collision 1  
Ret 14   Jean Alesi Sauber-Petronas 21 Collision 2  
Ret 2   Heinz-Harald Frentzen Williams-Mecachrome 16 Engine 7  
Ret 18   Rubens Barrichello Stewart-Ford 8 Brakes 5  
Ret 16   Pedro Diniz Arrows 3 Collision 13  
Ret 17   Mika Salo Arrows 1 Collision 6  
Ret 11   Olivier Panis Prost-Peugeot 0 Clutch 10  
Ret 21   Toranosuke Takagi Tyrrell-Ford 0 Collision 20  
Source:[4]

Championship standings after the race

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  • Bold text indicates who still has a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Galvin, Max (26 July 1998). "Austrian Grand Prix Review". Autosport. Retrieved 14 February 2024 – via Atlas F1.
  2. ^ "1998 F1 World Championship | Motorsport Database". Motor Sport. 1998. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  3. ^ "Austria 1998 – Qualifications • STATS F1". Stats F1. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  4. ^ "1998 Austrian Grand Prix". Formula 1. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Austria 1998 – Championship • STATS F1". Stats F1. Retrieved 7 March 2019.


Previous race:
1998 British Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1998 season
Next race:
1998 German Grand Prix
Previous race:
1997 Austrian Grand Prix
Austrian Grand Prix Next race:
1999 Austrian Grand Prix