1998 Brazilian Grand Prix

The 1998 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Interlagos on 29 March 1998. It was the second race of the 1998 FIA Formula One World Championship. Mika Häkkinen, driving a McLaren-Mercedes, took pole position, set the fastest lap and led every lap on his way to victory in the 72-lap race. Teammate David Coulthard finished second, with Michael Schumacher third in a Ferrari.

1998 Brazilian Grand Prix
Race 2 of 16 in the 1998 Formula One World Championship
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Race details
Date 29 March 1998
Official name XXVII Grande Prêmio Marlboro do Brasil
Location Autódromo José Carlos Pace
São Paulo, Brazil
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.292 km (2.667 miles)
Distance 72 laps, 309.024 km (192.019 miles)
Weather Mostly cloudy, 31 °C (88 °F)
Pole position
Driver McLaren-Mercedes
Time 1:17.092
Fastest lap
Driver Finland Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes
Time 1:19.337 on lap 65
Podium
First McLaren-Mercedes
Second McLaren-Mercedes
Third Ferrari
Lap leaders

Report

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Background

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Before the race there was a furore surrounding McLaren as Ferrari had protested about its braking system, which enabled the drivers to apply the brakes on the rear wheels independently, and thus assist both turn into corners and traction out of them. This effectively meant that the system was a four-wheel steering device, which was banned by the FIA. McLaren announced that they would not appeal the decision. Drivers including Jacques Villeneuve and Damon Hill (the two most recent World Champion drivers) disliked how the device performed.[1] As a result of Ferrari's protest, the team agreed not to use the system at any stage over the weekend. However, team boss Ron Dennis was livid that the system had been approved on four occasions by the FIA technical delegate, Charlie Whiting, but was being declared illegal by the three stewards in office for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Race

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As soon as the race started, Mika Häkkinen took the lead, and he subsequently led every lap of the Grand Prix. At the back of the grid the Arrows team had their worst weekend since Tom Walkinshaw took over with Mika Salo qualifying 20th, and Pedro Diniz qualifying last. On lap one Häkkinen led David Coulthard by over a second, and was three seconds ahead of Heinz-Harald Frentzen in third. Ralf Schumacher spun out on the first lap at the fourth corner, meaning that he had not finished a single lap so far in the season. Eddie Irvine was ahead of the slow-starting Michael Schumacher. On lap 18 Coulthard was 5 seconds behind Häkkinen. Frentzen and Schumacher, after getting past his teammate, were 23 seconds behind the McLaren duo. Schumacher passed Frentzen at the first pit stop, but had to fight to make sure he was not lapped by the two McLarens. The McLarens were totally dominant, for the second time in as many races. Ferrari and Benetton could not compete with them, while reigning World Constructors' Champion Williams were also struggling. Damon Hill was disqualified following the race as his car did not meet the minimum weight requirements.

Classification

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Qualifying

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Pos No Driver Constructor Lap Time Gap
1 8   Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 1:17.092
2 7   David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1:17.757 +0.665
3 2   Heinz-Harald Frentzen Williams-Mecachrome 1:18.109 +1.017
4 3   Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:18.250 +1.158
5 6   Alexander Wurz Benetton-Playlife 1:18.261 +1.169
6 4   Eddie Irvine Ferrari 1:18.449 +1.357
7 5   Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 1:18.652 +1.560
8 10   Ralf Schumacher Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:18.735 +1.643
9 11   Olivier Panis Prost-Peugeot 1:18.753 +1.661
10 1   Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Mecachrome 1:18.761 +1.669
11 9   Damon Hill Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:18.988 +1.896
12 12   Jarno Trulli Prost-Peugeot 1:19.069 +1.977
13 18   Rubens Barrichello Stewart-Ford 1:19.344 +2.252
14 15   Johnny Herbert Sauber-Petronas 1:19.375 +2.283
15 14   Jean Alesi Sauber-Petronas 1:19.449 +2.357
16 19   Jan Magnussen Stewart-Ford 1:19.644 +2.552
17 21   Toranosuke Takagi Tyrrell-Ford 1:20.203 +3.111
18 22   Shinji Nakano Minardi-Ford 1:20.390 +3.298
19 23   Esteban Tuero Minardi-Ford 1:20.459 +3.367
20 17   Mika Salo Arrows 1:20.481 +3.389
21 20   Ricardo Rosset Tyrrell-Ford 1:20.748 +3.656
22 16   Pedro Diniz Arrows 1:20.847 +3.755
107% time: 1:22.488
Source:[2]

Race

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Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 8   Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 72 1:37:11.747 1 10
2 7   David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 72 + 1.102 2 6
3 3   Michael Schumacher Ferrari 72 + 1:00.550 4 4
4 6   Alexander Wurz Benetton-Playlife 72 + 1:07.453 5 3
5 2   Heinz-Harald Frentzen Williams-Mecachrome 71 + 1 Lap 3 2
6 5   Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 71 + 1 Lap 7 1
7 1   Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Mecachrome 71 + 1 Lap 10  
8 4   Eddie Irvine Ferrari 71 + 1 Lap 6  
9 14   Jean Alesi Sauber-Petronas 71 + 1 Lap 15  
10 19   Jan Magnussen Stewart-Ford 70 + 2 Laps 16  
11 15   Johnny Herbert Sauber-Petronas 67 Physical 14  
Ret 11   Olivier Panis Prost-Peugeot 63 Engine 9  
Ret 18   Rubens Barrichello Stewart-Ford 56 Gearbox 13  
Ret 20   Ricardo Rosset Tyrrell-Ford 52 Gearbox 21  
Ret 23   Esteban Tuero Minardi-Ford 44 Throttle 19  
Ret 16   Pedro Diniz Arrows 26 Gearbox 22  
Ret 21   Toranosuke Takagi Tyrrell-Ford 19 Engine 17  
Ret 17   Mika Salo Arrows 18 Engine 20  
Ret 12   Jarno Trulli Prost-Peugeot 17 Fuel Pump 12  
Ret 22   Shinji Nakano Minardi-Ford 3 Spun Off 18  
Ret 10   Ralf Schumacher Jordan-Mugen-Honda 0 Spun Off 8  
DSQ 9   Damon Hill Jordan-Mugen-Honda 70 Underweight 11  
Source:[3]

Championship standings after the race

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

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  1. ^ Rosenthal, Jim, Jardine, Tony, Brundle, Martin (1998). The Brazilian Grand Prix: Qualifying – Live (Television Production). Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Sao Paulo, Brazil: ITV. Event occurs at 00:01.20-00:04.16.
  2. ^ F1, STATS. "Brazil 1998 - Qualifications • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 15 October 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "1998 Brazilian Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Brazil 1998 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 13 March 2019.


Previous race:
1998 Australian Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1998 season
Next race:
1998 Argentine Grand Prix
Previous race:
1997 Brazilian Grand Prix
Brazilian Grand Prix Next race:
1999 Brazilian Grand Prix