1998 Brazilian Grand Prix Explained

Type:F1
Previous Round:1998 Australian Grand Prix
Next Round:1998 Argentine Grand Prix
Country:Brazil
Grand Prix:Brazilian
Date:29 March
Year:1998
Race No:2
Season No:16
Official Name:XXVII Grande Prêmio Marlboro do Brasil
Location:Autódromo José Carlos Pace
São Paulo, Brazil
Course Mi:2.667
Course Km:4.292
Distance Laps:72
Distance Mi:192.019
Distance Km:309.024
Weather:Mostly cloudy, 31C
Pole Driver:Mika Häkkinen
Pole Team:McLaren-Mercedes
Pole Time:1:17.092
Pole Country:Finland
Fast Driver:Mika Häkkinen
Fast Team:McLaren-Mercedes
Fast Time:1:19.337
Fast Lap:65
Fast Country:Finland
First Driver:Mika Häkkinen
First Team:McLaren-Mercedes
First Country:Finland
Second Driver:David Coulthard
Second Team:McLaren-Mercedes
Second Country:United Kingdom
Third Driver:Michael Schumacher
Third Team:Ferrari
Third Country:Germany

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.

Report

Background

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

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

Qualifying

Pos No Driver Constructor Lap Time Gap
18 Mika HäkkinenMcLaren-Mercedes1:17.092
27 David CoulthardMcLaren-Mercedes1:17.757+0.665
32 Heinz-Harald FrentzenWilliams-Mecachrome1:18.109+1.017
43 Michael SchumacherFerrari1:18.250+1.158
56 Alexander WurzBenetton-Playlife1:18.261+1.169
64 Eddie IrvineFerrari1:18.449+1.357
75 Giancarlo FisichellaBenetton-Playlife1:18.652+1.560
810 Ralf SchumacherJordan-Mugen-Honda1:18.735+1.643
911 Olivier PanisProst-Peugeot1:18.753+1.661
101 Jacques VilleneuveWilliams-Mecachrome1:18.761+1.669
119 Damon HillJordan-Mugen-Honda1:18.988+1.896
1212 Jarno TrulliProst-Peugeot1:19.069+1.977
1318 Rubens BarrichelloStewart-Ford1:19.344+2.252
1415 Johnny HerbertSauber-Petronas1:19.375+2.283
1514 Jean AlesiSauber-Petronas1:19.449+2.357
1619 Jan MagnussenStewart-Ford1:19.644+2.552
1721 Toranosuke TakagiTyrrell-Ford1:20.203+3.111
1822 Shinji NakanoMinardi-Ford1:20.390+3.298
1923 Esteban TueroMinardi-Ford1:20.459+3.367
2017 Mika SaloArrows1:20.481+3.389
2120 Ricardo RossetTyrrell-Ford1:20.748+3.656
2216 Pedro DinizArrows1:20.847+3.755
107% time

1:22.488

Source:[2]

Race

Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
18 Mika HäkkinenMcLaren-Mercedes721:37:11.747110
27 David CoulthardMcLaren-Mercedes72+ 1.10226
33 Michael SchumacherFerrari72+ 1:00.55044
46 Alexander WurzBenetton-Playlife72+ 1:07.45353
52 Heinz-Harald FrentzenWilliams-Mecachrome71+ 1 Lap32
65 Giancarlo FisichellaBenetton-Playlife71+ 1 Lap71
71 Jacques VilleneuveWilliams-Mecachrome71+ 1 Lap10 
84 Eddie IrvineFerrari71+ 1 Lap6 
914 Jean AlesiSauber-Petronas71+ 1 Lap15 
1019 Jan MagnussenStewart-Ford70+ 2 Laps16 
1115 Johnny HerbertSauber-Petronas67Physical14 
Ret11 Olivier PanisProst-Peugeot63Engine9 
Ret18 Rubens BarrichelloStewart-Ford56Gearbox13 
Ret20 Ricardo RossetTyrrell-Ford52Gearbox21 
Ret23 Esteban TueroMinardi-Ford44Throttle19 
Ret16 Pedro DinizArrows26Gearbox22 
Ret21 Toranosuke TakagiTyrrell-Ford19Engine17 
Ret17 Mika SaloArrows18Engine20 
Ret12 Jarno TrulliProst-Peugeot17Fuel Pump12 
Ret22 Shinji NakanoMinardi-Ford3Spun Off18 
Ret10 Ralf SchumacherJordan-Mugen-Honda0Spun Off8 
DSQ9 Damon HillJordan-Mugen-Honda70Underweight11 

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
120
2 David Coulthard12
3 Heinz-Harald Frentzen6
4 Michael Schumacher4
5 Eddie Irvine3
Source:[3]
Constructors' Championship standings
PosConstructorPoints
1 McLaren-Mercedes32
2 Williams-Mecachrome8
37
4 Benetton-Playlife4
5 Sauber-Petronas1
Source:

Notes and References

  1. Rosenthal, Jim, Jardine, Tony, Brundle, Martin . 1998 . The Brazilian Grand Prix: Qualifying – Live . Television Production . ITV . Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Sao Paulo, Brazil . 00:01.20-00:04.16 .
  2. Web site: Brazil 1998 - Qualifications • STATS F1. F1. STATS. www.statsf1.com. en. 15 October 2018.
  3. Web site: Brazil 1998 - Championship • STATS F1. www.statsf1.com. 13 March 2019.