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1998 FIA Formula One World Championship season
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Index: Races by country | Races by season

The 1998 Formula One season was the 49th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 8, 1998, and ended on November 1 after sixteen races.

Season summary[]

The season had many rule changes, including the introduction of grooved tyres and making the cars narrower to reduce downforce. It was clear that McLaren had adapted to the new rule changes best as Mika Häkkinen comfortably won the first two races, with team-mate David Coulthard finishing second in both. With Goodyear making steps forward before Argentina, Michael Schumacher was able to win there and take second at Imola, both slow and twisty circuits. At Spain, however, the fast corners favoured McLaren and again they raced away to another 1–2 finish. A further win for Häkkinen in Monaco gave him a 17 point lead over Coulthard with Schumacher a further 5 points behind.

Schumacher fought back to win the next 3 races, while mistakes and bad luck cost both Häkkinen and Coulthard points. After the British Grand Prix Schumacher had closed the gap to Häkkinen to just 2 points, while Coulthard was 26 points behind his team mate and looking unlikely to be able to fight for the championship. Wins in Austria and Germany for Häkkinen proved that McLaren still had the strongest car, but a strategic master stroke in Hungary allowed Schumacher to take the win and close the gap to Häkkinen to just 7 points.

The start of the Belgian Grand Prix saw one of the worst accidents in F1, with over half the cars on the grid involved, and four drivers unable to take the restart almost an hour later due to lack of spare cars. An action packed race saw Häkkinen spin out at the restart, whilst Schumacher was leading comfortably before crashing into David Coulthard's McLaren whilst trying to lap the Scotsman. This cleared the way for Damon Hill to take Jordan's first win.

Schumacher bounced back to take a surprise victory at the Italian Grand Prix, and with Häkkinen finishing only fourth after brake problems the championship was level with 2 races to go. This result also brought Ferrari back into the constructors world championship, being just 10 points behind. However, Häkkinen managed to beat Schumacher in a straight fight in Luxembourg and win the final race in Japan, clinching his first world championship and the constructors championship for McLaren. Reigning champions Williams had a poor season overall, with only 3 podium finishes. However, in Japan they managed to secure 3rd in the constructors championship, ahead of Jordan and Benetton.

Drivers and constructors[]

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1998 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Tyre No Driver Rounds Test driver(s)
25px UK Winfield Williams Williams FW20 Mecachrome GC37-01 G 1 25px Canada Jacques Villeneuve All 25px Flag of Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya
25px Brazil Max Wilson
2 25px Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen All
25px Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F300 Ferrari 047 G 3 25px Germany Michael Schumacher All 25px Italy Luca Badoer
4 25px UK Eddie Irvine All
25px Italy Mild Seven Benetton Playlife Benetton B198 Playlife GC37-01 B 5 25px Italy Giancarlo Fisichella All n/a
6 25px Austria Alexander Wurz All
25px UK West McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-13 Mercedes FO110G B 7 25px UK David Coulthard All 25px Brazil Ricardo Zonta
25px Germany Nick Heidfeld
8 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen All
25px Flag of the Republic of Ireland Benson & Hedges Jordan Jordan 198 Mugen-Honda MF-301 HC G 9 25px UK Damon Hill All 25px Spain Pedro de la Rosa
10 25px Germany Ralf Schumacher All
25px France Gauloises Prost Peugeot Prost AP01 Peugeot A16 B 11 25px France Olivier Panis All 25px France Stéphane Sarrazin
12 25px Italy Jarno Trulli All
25px Switzerland Red Bull Sauber Petronas Sauber C17 Petronas SPE-01D G 14 25px France Jean Alesi All 25px Germany Jörg Müller
15 25px UK Johnny Herbert All
25px UK Danka Zepter Arrows Arrows A19 Arrows T2-F1 B 16 25px Brazil Pedro Diniz All 25px France Emmanuel Collard
25px South Africa Stephen Watson
17 25px Finland Mika Salo All
25px UK HSBC Stewart Ford Stewart SF02 Ford VJ Zetec-R B 18 25px Brazil Rubens Barrichello All 25px Netherlands Jos Verstappen
19 25px Flag of Denmark Jan Magnussen 1–7
25px Netherlands Jos Verstappen 8–16
25px UK PIAA Tyrrell Tyrrell 026 Ford JD Zetec-R G 20 25px Brazil Ricardo Rosset All n/a
21 25px Japan Toranosuke Takagi All
25px Italy Fondmetal Minardi Team SpA Minardi M198 Ford JD Zetec-R B 22 25px Japan Shinji Nakano All 25px France Laurent Rédon
23 25px Argentina Esteban Tuero All

All engines were 3.0 litre, V10 configuration.

Season review[]

Grands Prix[]

Round Grand Prix Pole Position Fastest Lap Winning Driver Winning Constructor Report
1 25px Australia Australian Grand Prix 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px UK McLaren-Mercedes Report
2 25px Brazil Brazilian Grand Prix 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px UK McLaren-Mercedes Report
3 25px Argentina Argentine Grand Prix 25px UK David Coulthard 25px Austria Alexander Wurz 25px Germany Michael Schumacher 25px Italy Ferrari Report
4 25px Flag of San Marino San Marino Grand Prix 25px UK David Coulthard 25px Germany Michael Schumacher 25px UK David Coulthard 25px UK McLaren-Mercedes Report
5 25px Spain Spanish Grand Prix 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px UK McLaren-Mercedes Report
6 25px Monaco Monaco Grand Prix 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px UK McLaren-Mercedes Report
7 25px Canada Canadian Grand Prix 25px UK David Coulthard 25px Germany Michael Schumacher 25px Germany Michael Schumacher 25px Italy Ferrari Report
8 25px France French Grand Prix 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px UK David Coulthard 25px Germany Michael Schumacher 25px Italy Ferrari Report
9 25px UK British Grand Prix 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px Germany Michael Schumacher 25px Germany Michael Schumacher 25px Italy Ferrari Report
10 25px Austria Austrian Grand Prix 25px Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 25px UK David Coulthard 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px UK McLaren-Mercedes Report
11 25px Germany German Grand Prix 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px UK David Coulthard 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px UK McLaren-Mercedes Report
12 25px Flag of Hungary Hungarian Grand Prix 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px Germany Michael Schumacher 25px Germany Michael Schumacher 25px Italy Ferrari Report
13 25px Belgium Belgian Grand Prix 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px Germany Michael Schumacher 25px UK Damon Hill 25px Flag of the Republic of Ireland Jordan-Mugen-Honda Report
14 25px Italy Italian Grand Prix 25px Germany Michael Schumacher 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px Germany Michael Schumacher 25px Italy Ferrari Report
15 25px Template:Country alias Luxembourg Luxembourg Grand Prix 25px Germany Michael Schumacher 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px UK McLaren-Mercedes Report
16 25px Japan Japanese Grand Prix 25px Germany Michael Schumacher 25px Germany Michael Schumacher 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 25px UK McLaren-Mercedes Report

Drivers[]

Pos Driver AUS
25px Australia
BRA
25px Brazil
ARG
25px Argentina
SMR
25px Flag of San Marino
ESP
25px Spain
MON
25px Monaco
CAN
25px Canada
FRA
25px France
GBR
25px UK
AUT
25px Austria
GER
25px Germany
HUN
25px Flag of Hungary
BEL
25px Belgium
ITA
25px Italy
LUX
25px Template:Country alias Luxembourg
JPN
25px Japan
Points
1 25px Finland Mika Häkkinen 1 1 2 Ret 1 1 Ret 3 2 1 1 6 Ret 4 1 1 100
2 25px Germany Michael Schumacher Ret 3 1 2 3 10 1 1 1 3 5 1 Ret 1 2 Ret 86
3 25px UK David Coulthard 2 2 6 1 2 Ret Ret 6 Ret 2 2 2 7 Ret 3 3 56
4 25px UK Eddie Irvine 4 8 3 3 Ret 3 3 2 3 4 8 Ret Ret 2 4 2 47
5 25px Canada Jacques Villeneuve 5 7 Ret 4 6 5 10 4 7 6 3 3 Ret Ret 8 6 21
6 25px UK Damon Hill 8 DSQ 8 10 Ret 8 Ret Ret Ret 7 4 4 1 6 9 4 20
7 25px Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen 3 5 9 5 8 Ret Ret 15 Ret Ret 9 5 4 7 5 5 17
8 25px Austria Alexander Wurz 7 4 4 Ret 4 Ret 4 5 4 9 11 16 Ret Ret 7 9 17
9 25px Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Ret 6 7 Ret Ret 2 2 9 5 Ret 7 8 Ret 8 6 8 16
10 25px Germany Ralf Schumacher Ret Ret Ret 7 11 Ret Ret 16 6 5 6 9 2 3 Ret Ret 14
11 25px France Jean Alesi Ret 9 5 6 10 12 Ret 7 Ret Ret 10 7 3 5 10 7 9
12 25px Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ret Ret 10 Ret 5 Ret 5 10 Ret Ret Ret Ret DNS 10 11 Ret 4
13 25px Finland Mika Salo Ret Ret Ret 9 Ret 4 Ret 13 Ret Ret 14 Ret DNS Ret 14 Ret 3
14 25px Brazil Pedro Diniz Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 6 9 14 Ret Ret Ret 11 5 Ret Ret Ret 3
15 25px UK Johnny Herbert 6 11 Ret Ret 7 7 Ret 8 Ret 8 Ret 10 Ret Ret Ret 10 1
16 25px Italy Jarno Trulli Ret Ret 11 Ret 9 Ret Ret Ret Ret 10 12 Ret 6 13 Ret 12 1
17 25px Flag of Denmark Jan Magnussen Ret 10 Ret Ret 12 Ret 6 1
18 25px Japan Shinji Nakano Ret Ret 13 Ret 14 9 7 17 8 11 Ret 15 8 Ret 15 Ret 0
19 25px Argentina Esteban Tuero Ret Ret Ret 8 15 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 16 Ret Ret 11 NC Ret 0
20 25px Brazil Ricardo Rosset Ret Ret 14 Ret DNQ DNQ 8 Ret Ret 12 DNQ DNQ DNS 12 Ret DNQ 0
21 25px Japan Toranosuke Takagi Ret Ret 12 Ret 13 11 Ret Ret 9 Ret 13 14 Ret 9 16 Ret 0
22 25px France Olivier Panis 9 Ret 15 11 16 Ret Ret 11 Ret Ret 15 12 DNS Ret 12 11 0
23 25px Netherlands Jos Verstappen 12 Ret Ret Ret 13 Ret Ret 13 Ret 0
Pos Driver AUS
25px Australia
BRA
25px Brazil
ARG
25px Argentina
SMR
25px Flag of San Marino
ESP
25px Spain
MON
25px Monaco
CAN
25px Canada
FRA
25px France
GBR
25px UK
AUT
25px Austria
GER
25px Germany
HUN
25px Flag of Hungary
BEL
25px Belgium
ITA
25px Italy
LUX
25px Template:Country alias Luxembourg
JPN
25px Japan
Points
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish, inc. non-classified finish
Purple Did not finish (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Light blue Practiced only (PO)
Friday test driver (TD) - 2003-2007 only
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Injured or ill (Inj)
Excluded (EX)
Did not arrive (DNA)


Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest lap

Drivers did not finish the Grand Prix, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.

Constructors[]

Pos Constructor Car
no.
AUS
25px Australia
BRA
25px Brazil
ARG
25px Argentina
SMR
25px Flag of San Marino
ESP
25px Spain
MON
25px Monaco
CAN
25px Canada
FRA
25px France
GBR
25px UK
AUT
25px Austria
GER
25px Germany
HUN
25px Flag of Hungary
BEL
25px Belgium
ITA
25px Italy
LUX
25px Template:Country alias Luxembourg
JPN
25px Japan
Points
1 25px Great Britain McLaren-Mercedes 7 2 2 6 1 2 Ret Ret 6 Ret 2 2 2 7 Ret 3 3 156
8 1 1 2 Ret 1 1 Ret 3 2 1 1 6 Ret 4 1 1
2 25px Italy Ferrari 3 Ret 3 1 2 3 10 1 1 1 3 5 1 Ret 1 2 Ret 133
4 4 8 3 3 Ret 3 3 2 3 4 8 Ret Ret 2 4 2
3 25px Great Britain Williams-Mecachrome 1 5 7 Ret 4 6 5 10 4 7 6 3 3 Ret Ret 8 6 38
2 3 5 9 5 8 Ret Ret 15 Ret Ret 9 5 4 7 5 5
4 25px Flag of Ireland Jordan-Mugen-Honda 9 8 DSQ 8 10 Ret 8 Ret Ret Ret 7 4 4 1 6 9 4 34
10 Ret Ret Ret 7 11 Ret Ret 16 6 5 6 9 2 3 Ret Ret
5 25px Italy Benetton-Playlife 5 Ret 6 7 Ret Ret 2 2 9 5 Ret 7 8 Ret 8 6 8 33
6 7 4 4 Ret 4 Ret 4 5 4 9 11 16 Ret Ret 7 9
6 25px Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 14 Ret 9 5 6 10 12 Ret 7 Ret Ret 10 7 3 5 10 7 10
15 6 11 Ret Ret 7 7 Ret 8 Ret 8 Ret 10 Ret Ret Ret 10
7 25px Great Britain Arrows 16 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 6 9 14 Ret Ret Ret 11 5 Ret Ret Ret 6
17 Ret Ret Ret 9 Ret 4 Ret 13 Ret Ret 14 Ret DNS Ret 14 Ret
8 25px Great Britain Stewart-Ford 18 Ret Ret 10 Ret 5 Ret 5 10 Ret Ret Ret Ret DNS 10 11 Ret 5
19 Ret 10 Ret Ret 12 Ret 6 12 Ret Ret Ret 13 Ret Ret 13 Ret
9 25px France Prost-Peugeot 11 9 Ret 15 11 16 Ret Ret 11 Ret Ret 15 12 DNS Ret 12 11 1
12 Ret Ret 11 Ret 9 Ret Ret Ret Ret 10 12 Ret 6 13 Ret 12
10 25px Italy Minardi-Ford 22 Ret Ret 13 Ret 14 9 7 17 8 11 Ret 15 8 Ret 15 Ret 0
23 Ret Ret Ret 8 15 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 16 Ret Ret 11 NC Ret
11 25px Great Britain Tyrrell-Ford 20 Ret Ret 14 Ret DNQ DNQ 8 Ret Ret 12 DNQ DNQ DNS 12 Ret DNQ 0
21 Ret Ret 12 Ret 13 11 Ret Ret 9 Ret 13 14 Ret 9 16 Ret
Pos Constructor Car
no.
AUS
25px Australia
BRA
25px Brazil
ARG
25px Argentina
SMR
25px Flag of San Marino
ESP
25px Spain
MON
25px Monaco
CAN
25px Canada
FRA
25px France
GBR
25px UK
AUT
25px Austria
GER
25px Germany
HUN
25px Flag of Hungary
BEL
25px Belgium
ITA
25px Italy
LUX
25px Template:Country alias Luxembourg
JPN
25px Japan
Points

External links[]

Formula One World Championship seasons

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Smallwikipedialogo.png This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at 1998 Formula One season. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Autopedia, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


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