1998 Australian Grand Prix
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Race details | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 16 in the 1998 Formula One season. | ||
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| Date | March 8, 1998 | |
| Official name | XIII Qantas Australian Grand Prix | |
| Location | Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia |
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| Course | Parkland street circuit 3.33 mi / 5.30 km |
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| Distance | 58 laps, 187.822 mi / 302.271 km | |
| Weather | Fine | |
| Pole position | ||
| Driver |  Mika Häkkinen |
McLaren-Mercedes |
| Time | 1:30.010 | |
| Fastest lap | ||
| Driver | Mika Häkkinen |
McLaren-Mercedes |
| Time | 1:31.649 on lap 39 | |
| Podium | ||
| First | Mika Häkkinen |
McLaren-Mercedes |
| Second |  David Coulthard |
McLaren-Mercedes |
| Third |  Heinz-Harald Frentzen |
Williams-Mecachrome |
The 1998 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Melbourne on March 8. The race was dominated by the McLaren-Mercedes team and won by Mika Häkkinen in controversial circumstances. The race also represented the first win for Bridgestone in Formula One.
Contents |
[edit] Race Summary
The two McLarens made the best start, while Michael Schumacher tried to overtake David Coulthard. The Ferrari driver stayed with the McLarens, but retired on lap 6, when his engine expired. This handed third place to Jacques Villeneuve, being chased by Giancarlo Fisichella. After the first round of pits Villeneuve found himself behind team mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Eddie Irvine and Giancarlo Fisichella who would later be out of the race due to a rear wing failure. Villeneuve was then lapped in the next couple of laps by the McLarens, however he managed to finish in fifth place. On lap 36 Mika Häkkinen came into the pits unexpectedly, apparently having misheard a call over the radio (in May 2007, Ron Dennis said that someone had tapped into the team's radio system). He drove straight out, and lost first place to David Coulthard. At the end of the race David Coulthard let Mika Häkkinen past at the last corner. The two had made a pre-race agreement that between the two of them, the driver who led at the first corner would go on to win the race, should he be in the position to do so. David Coulthard and the McLaren team were criticized heavily. The situation surrounding Coulthard allowing Häkkinen through would eventually go to the World Motorsport Council. At this meeting, the public were made aware of the fact that an outsider had actually hacked into the radio frequency of McLaren, and told the Finn to pit. The verdict was that "any future act prejudicial to the interests of competition should be severely punished in accordance with article 151c of International Sporting Code." "Team orders" continued to be controversial in Formula One and were banned during the 2004 season.
[edit] Classification
[edit] Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Lap Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Mika Häkkinen |
McLaren-Mercedes | 1:30.010 |
| 2 | 7 | David Coulthard |
McLaren-Mercedes | 1:30.053 |
| 3 | 3 | Michael Schumacher |
Ferrari | 1:30.767 |
| 4 | 1 |  Jacques Villeneuve |
Williams-Mecachrome | 1:30.919 |
| 5 | 15 | Johnny Herbert |
Sauber-Petronas | 1:31.384 |
| 6 | 2 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen |
Williams-Mecachrome | 1:31.397 |
| 7 | 5 |  Giancarlo Fisichella |
Benetton-Playlife | 1:31.733 |
| 8 | 4 | Eddie Irvine |
Ferrari | 1:31.767 |
| 9 | 10 | Ralf Schumacher |
Jordan-Mugen-Honda | 1:32.392 |
| 10 | 9 | Damon Hill |
Jordan-Mugen-Honda | 1:32.399 |
| 11 | 6 |  Alexander Wurz |
Benetton-Playlife | 1:32.726 |
| 12 | 14 |  Jean Alesi |
Sauber-Petronas | 1:33.240 |
| 13 | 20 |  Toranosuke Takagi |
Tyrrell-Ford | 1:33.291 |
| 14 | 18 |  Rubens Barrichello |
Stewart-Ford | 1:33.383 |
| 15 | 12 | Jarno Trulli |
Prost-Peugeot | 1:33.739 |
| 16 | 17 | Mika Salo |
Arrows | 1:33.927 |
| 17 | 23 |  Esteban Tuero |
Minardi-Ford | 1:34.646 |
| 18 | 19 |  Jan Magnussen |
Stewart-Ford | 1:34.906 |
| 19 | 20 | Ricardo Rosset |
Tyrrell-Ford | 1:35.119 |
| 20 | 16 | Pedro Diniz |
Arrows | 1:35.140 |
| 21 | 14 | Olivier Panis |
Prost-Peugeot | 1:35.215 |
| 22 | 22 | Shinji Nakano |
Minardi-Ford | 1:35.301 |
[edit] Race
[edit] Standings after Grand Prix
Drivers
- 1. Mika Häkkinen - McLaren-Mercedes - 10
- 2. David Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes - 6
- 3. Heinz-Harald Frentzen - Williams-Mecachrome - 4
- 4. Eddie Irvine - Ferrari - 3
- 5. Jacques Villeneuve - Williams-Mecachrome - 2
- 6. Johnny Herbert - Sauber-Petronas - 1
Constructors
[edit] Notes
- Fastest Lap: Mika Häkkinen 1m 31.649s
- Lap Distnace: 5302 meters
- Distance: 58 Laps, 307.574 km
- Weather: Sunny, 30 Degrees
- Lap Leaders: Lap 1-23 Mika Häkkinen, Lap 24 David Coulthard, Lap 25-35 Mika Häkkinen, lap 36-55 David Coulthard, Lap 56-58 Mika Häkkinen.
- First win for Bridgestone in Formula One.
| Previous race: 1997 European Grand Prix |
FIA Formula One World Championship 1998 season |
Next race: 1998 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1997 Australian Grand Prix |
Australian Grand Prix | Next race: 1999 Australian Grand Prix |
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