1998 German Grand Prix

Germany  1998 German Grand Prix
Race details
Race 11 of 16 in the 1998 Formula One season

Date August 2, 1998
Official name Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland
Location Hockenheimring, Hockenheim, Germany
Course Permanent racing facility
6.823 km (4.240 mi)
Distance 45 laps, 307.035 km (190.783 mi)
Weather Cloudy but dry
Pole position
Driver Finland Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes
Time 1:41.838
Fastest lap
Driver United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes
Time 1:46.116 on lap 17
Podium
First Finland Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes
Second United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes
Third Canada Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Mecachrome

The 1998 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Hockenheimring on August 2, 1998. Mika Häkkinen won the race for McLaren Mercedes.

Qualifying

Mika Häkkinen took pole position ahead of team-mate David Coulthard. Jacques Villeneuve qualified in third, in a new long-wheelbase Williams. Ralf Schumacher was fourth.

Michael Schumacher, Häkkinen's main championship rival, qualified ninth after a series of problems throughout practice. Ferrari's long-wheelbase chassis, making its Grand Prix debut, was dismissed by Schumacher after he tried it during the Friday practice sessions. Back in his old car, he spun off on his first lap during first practice on Saturday, and then suffered an engine failure early in second practice.

There were also various mutterings that the Ferraris were off the pace as McLaren had threatened to protest about the Italian team's new braking system, and some were sure it had been removed to the team's obvious detriment.

Race Summary

Come the race, the McLarens were dominant, running first and second throughout and only stopping once each. Ralf Schumacher, running on a light fuel load due to his two-stop strategy, looked to be the only driver capable of troubling them in the first part of the race. He managed to stay with the McLarens but he could not pass them.

Villeneuve took over third place when Schumacher made the first of his stops, and this was where he stayed to the finish. By the end, Villeneuve was catching the McLarens because Häkkinen had not taken on enough fuel at his stop, and the Finn had to slow down to reduce his fuel consumption.

Damon Hill, who also one stopped came through to take his first points of the year, finishing ahead of Michael and Ralf Schumacher in fifth and sixth places respectively.

Qualification

Pos No Driver Constructor Lap Gap
1 8 Finland Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 1:41.838
2 7 United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1:42.347 +0.509
3 1 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Mecachrome 1:42.365 +0.527
4 10 Germany Ralf Schumacher Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:42.994 +1.156
5 9 United Kingdom Damon Hill Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:43.183 +1.345
6 4 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Ferrari 1:43.270 +1.432
7 6 Austria Alexander Wurz Benetton-Playlife 1:43.341 +1.503
8 5 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 1:43.369 +1.531
9 3 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:43.459 +1.621
10 2 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Williams-Mecachrome 1:43.467 +1.629
11 14 France Jean Alesi Sauber-Petronas 1:43.663 +1.825
12 15 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Sauber-Petronas 1:44.599 +2.761
13 18 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Stewart-Ford 1.44.776 +2.938
14 12 Italy Jarno Trulli Prost-Peugeot 1:44.844 +3.006
15 21 Japan Toranosuke Takagi Tyrrell-Ford 1:44.961 +3.123
16 11 France Olivier Panis Prost-Peugeot 1:45.197 +3.359
17 17 Finland Mika Salo Arrows 1:45.276 +3.438
18 16 Brazil Pedro Diniz Arrows 1:45.588 +3.750
19 19 Netherlands Jos Verstappen Stewart-Ford 1:45.623 +3.785
20 22 Japan Shinji Nakano Minardi-Ford 1:46.713 +4.875
21 23 Argentina Esteban Tuero Minardi-Ford 1:47:265 +5.427

Ricardo Rosset was withdrawn for qualification by his team, due to a crash in a free practice session.

Classification

Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 8 Finland Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 45 1:20:47.984 1 10
2 7 United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 45 +0.426 2 6
3 1 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Mecachrome 45 +2.577 3 4
4 9 United Kingdom Damon Hill Jordan-Mugen-Honda 45 +7.185 5 3
5 3 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari 45 +12.613 9 2
6 10 Germany Ralf Schumacher Jordan-Mugen-Honda 45 +29.738 4 1
7 5 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 45 +31.026 8  
8 4 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Ferrari 45 +31.649 6  
9 2 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Williams-Mecachrome 45 +32.784 10  
10 14 France Jean Alesi Sauber-Petronas 45 +48.371 11  
11 6 Austria Alexander Wurz Benetton-Playlife 45 +57.994 7  
12 12 Italy Jarno Trulli Prost-Peugeot 44 +1 lap 14  
13 21 Japan Toranosuke Takagi Tyrrell-Ford 44 +1 lap 15  
14 17 Finland Mika Salo Arrows 44 +1 lap 17  
15 11 France Olivier Panis Prost-Peugeot 44 +1 lap 16  
16 23 Argentina Esteban Tuero Minardi-Ford 43 +2 laps 21  
Ret 15 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Sauber-Petronas 37 Gearbox 12  
Ret 22 Japan Shinji Nakano Minardi-Ford 36 Gearbox 20  
Ret 18 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Stewart-Ford 27 Gearbox 13  
Ret 19 Netherlands Jos Verstappen Stewart-Ford 24 Gearbox 19  
Ret 16 Brazil Pedro Diniz Arrows 2 Throttle 18  
DNQ 20 Brazil Ricardo Rosset Tyrrell-Ford

Standings after Grand Prix

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 Finland Mika Häkkinen 76
2 Germany Michael Schumacher 60
3 United Kingdom David Coulthard 42
4 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine 32
5 Austria Alexander Wurz 17

Constructors' Championship standings
Pos Constructor Points
1 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 118
2 Italy Ferrari 92
3 Italy Benetton-Playlife 32
4 United Kingdom Williams-Mecachrome 24
5 Republic of Ireland Jordan-Mugen-Honda 7

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