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1998 Austrian Grand Prix

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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

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.

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 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 1:29.598
2 14 France Jean Alesi Sauber-Petronas 1:30.317 +0.719
3 8 Finland Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 1:30.517 +0.919
4 3 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:30.551 +0.953
5 18 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Stewart-Ford 1:31.005 +1.407
6 17 Finland Mika Salo Arrows 1:31.028 +1.430
7 2 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Williams-Mecachrome 1:31.515 +1.917
8 4 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Ferrari 1:31.651 +2.053
9 10 Germany Ralf Schumacher Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:31.917 +2.319
10 11 France Olivier Panis Prost-Peugeot 1:32.081 +2.483
11 1 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Mecachrome 1:32.083 +2.485
12 19 Netherlands Jos Verstappen Stewart-Ford 1:32.099 +2.501
13 16 Brazil Pedro Diniz Arrows 1:32.206 +2.608
14 7 United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1:32.399 +2.801
15 9 United Kingdom Damon Hill Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:32.718 +3.120
16 12 Italy Jarno Trulli Prost-Peugeot 1:32.906 +3.308
17 6 Austria Alexander Wurz Benetton-Playlife 1:33.185 +3.587
18 15 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Sauber-Petronas 1:33.205 +3.607
19 23 Argentina Esteban Tuero Minardi-Ford 1:33.399 +3.801
20 21 Japan Toranosuke Takagi Tyrrell-Ford 1:34.090 +4.492
21 22 Japan Shinji Nakano Minardi-Ford 1:34.536 +4.938
22 20 Brazil 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 Finland Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 71 1:30:44.086 3 10
2 7 United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 71 +5.289 14 6
3 3 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari 71 +39.092 4 4
4 4 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Ferrari 71 +43.976 8 3
5 10 Germany Ralf Schumacher Jordan-Mugen-Honda 71 +50.654 9 2
6 1 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Mecachrome 71 +53.202 11 1
7 9 United Kingdom Damon Hill Jordan-Mugen-Honda 71 +1:13.624 15  
8 15 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Sauber-Petronas 70 +1 lap 18  
9 6 Austria Alexander Wurz Benetton-Playlife 70 +1 lap 17  
10 12 Italy Jarno Trulli Prost-Peugeot 70 +1 lap 16  
11 22 Japan Shinji Nakano Minardi-Ford 70 +1 lap 21  
12 20 Brazil Ricardo Rosset Tyrrell-Ford 69 +2 laps 22  
Ret 19 Netherlands Jos Verstappen Stewart-Ford 51 Engine 12  
Ret 23 Argentina Esteban Tuero Minardi-Ford 30 Spun off 19  
Ret 5 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 21 Collision 1  
Ret 14 France Jean Alesi Sauber-Petronas 21 Collision 2  
Ret 2 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Williams-Mecachrome 16 Engine 7  
Ret 18 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Stewart-Ford 8 Brakes 5  
Ret 16 Brazil Pedro Diniz Arrows 3 Collision 13  
Ret 17 Finland Mika Salo Arrows 1 Collision 6  
Ret 11 France Olivier Panis Prost-Peugeot 0 Clutch 10  
Ret 21 Japan 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
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1997 Austrian Grand Prix
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1999 Austrian Grand Prix