1998 German Grand Prix

The 1998 German Grand Prix (formally the Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 1998)[1] was a Formula One motor race held at the Hockenheimring on 2 August 1998. It was the eleventh round of the 1998 FIA Formula One World Championship. The 45-lap race was won by Mika Häkkinen for McLaren from pole position, with teammate David Coulthard finishing second and Jacques Villeneuve finishing third for Williams.

1998 German Grand Prix
Race 11 of 16 in the 1998 Formula One World Championship
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Race details
Date 2 August 1998
Official name Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 1998
Location Hockenheimring, Hockenheim, Germany
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 6.823 km (4.240 miles)
Distance 45 laps, 307.035 km (190.783 miles)
Weather Cloudy but dry
Pole position
Driver McLaren-Mercedes
Time 1:41.838
Fastest lap
Driver United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes
Time 1:46.116 on lap 17
Podium
First McLaren-Mercedes
Second McLaren-Mercedes
Third Williams-Mecachrome
Lap leaders

Qualifying

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Mika Häkkinen took pole position ahead of teammate 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.[citation needed]

Race summary

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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.

Lap 24 saw Jos Verstappen retire the Stewart-Ford with a gearbox failure, as Rubens Barrichello retired with the same problem 3 laps later. 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.

Classification

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Qualifying

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Pos No Driver Constructor Lap Gap
1 8   Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 1:41.838
2 7   David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1:42.347 +0.509
3 1   Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Mecachrome 1:42.365 +0.527
4 10   Ralf Schumacher Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:42.994 +1.156
5 9   Damon Hill Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:43.183 +1.345
6 4   Eddie Irvine Ferrari 1:43.270 +1.432
7 6   Alexander Wurz Benetton-Playlife 1:43.341 +1.503
8 5   Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 1:43.369 +1.531
9 3   Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:43.459 +1.621
10 2   Heinz-Harald Frentzen Williams-Mecachrome 1:43.467 +1.629
11 14   Jean Alesi Sauber-Petronas 1:43.663 +1.825
12 15   Johnny Herbert Sauber-Petronas 1:44.599 +2.761
13 18   Rubens Barrichello Stewart-Ford 1:44.776 +2.938
14 12   Jarno Trulli Prost-Peugeot 1:44.844 +3.006
15 21   Toranosuke Takagi Tyrrell-Ford 1:44.961 +3.123
16 11   Olivier Panis Prost-Peugeot 1:45.197 +3.359
17 17   Mika Salo Arrows 1:45.276 +3.438
18 16   Pedro Diniz Arrows 1:45.588 +3.750
19 19   Jos Verstappen Stewart-Ford 1:45.623 +3.785
20 22   Shinji Nakano Minardi-Ford 1:46.713 +4.875
21 23   Esteban Tuero Minardi-Ford 1:47.265 +5.427
107% time: 1:48.967
DNQ 20   Ricardo Rosset Tyrrell-Ford No time1
Source:[2]
Notes
  • ^1Ricardo Rosset was withdrawn from qualifying by Tyrrell after crashing during free practice.

Race

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

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. ^ "German". Formula1.com. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 1998 – Qualifying". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Ltd. 1 August 1998. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  3. ^ "Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 1998 – Race Result". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Ltd. 2 August 1998. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Germany 1998 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.


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