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1998 Monaco Grand Prix

Coordinates: 43°44′4.74″N 7°25′16.8″E / 43.7346500°N 7.421333°E / 43.7346500; 7.421333
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1998 Monaco Grand Prix
Race 6 of 16 in the 1998 Formula One World Championship
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Race details
Date 24 May 1998
Official name Grand Prix de Monaco
Location Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo
Course Street circuit
Course length 3.367 km (2.092 miles)
Distance 78 laps, 262.626 km (163.188 miles)
Weather Hot and sunny with temperatures reaching up to 22 °C (72 °F)[1]
Pole position
Driver McLaren-Mercedes
Time 1:19.798
Fastest lap
Driver Finland Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes
Time 1:22.948 on lap 29
Podium
First McLaren-Mercedes
Second Benetton-Playlife
Third Ferrari
Lap leaders

The 1998 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on 24 May 1998. It was the sixth race of the 1998 Formula One World Championship.

The 78-lap race was won by Finnish driver Mika Häkkinen, driving a McLaren-Mercedes, his fourth win of the season. Häkkinen recorded a grand chelem, having taken pole position, led every lap of the race and set the fastest lap. Italian Giancarlo Fisichella finished second in a Benetton-Playlife, with Northern Irishman Eddie Irvine third in a Ferrari.

Qualifying

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Qualifying report

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Qualifying saw Mika Häkkinen take his fourth pole position of the season by 0.339 seconds from McLaren teammate David Coulthard. In a surprise, Giancarlo Fisichella took third in his Benetton, over half a second behind Häkkinen but over three-tenths ahead of Michael Schumacher's Ferrari in fourth. Heinz-Harald Frentzen was fifth in the Williams; his teammate, reigning World Champion Jacques Villeneuve, could only manage 13th. The top ten was completed by Alexander Wurz in the second Benetton, Eddie Irvine in the second Ferrari, Mika Salo in the Arrows, Johnny Herbert in the Sauber and Jarno Trulli in the Prost. After a series of incidents in his Tyrrell, Ricardo Rosset failed to set a time within 107% of Häkkinen's pole time and so did not qualify for the race.[2]

Qualifying classification

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Pos No Driver Constructor Lap Time Gap
1 8 Finland Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.798
2 7 United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1:20.137 +0.339
3 5 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 1:20.368 +0.570
4 3 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:20.702 +0.904
5 2 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Williams-Mecachrome 1:20.729 +0.931
6 6 Austria Alexander Wurz Benetton-Playlife 1:20.955 +1.157
7 4 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Ferrari 1:21.712 +1.914
8 17 Finland Mika Salo Arrows 1:22.144 +2.346
9 15 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Sauber-Petronas 1:22.157 +2.359
10 12 Italy Jarno Trulli Prost-Peugeot 1:22.238 +2.440
11 14 France Jean Alesi Sauber-Petronas 1:22.257 +2.459
12 16 Brazil Pedro Diniz Arrows 1:22.355 +2.557
13 1 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Mecachrome 1:22.468 +2.670
14 18 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Stewart-Ford 1:22.540 +2.742
15 9 United Kingdom Damon Hill Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:23.151 +3.353
16 10 Germany Ralf Schumacher Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:23.263 +3.465
17 19 Denmark Jan Magnussen Stewart-Ford 1:23.411 +3.613
18 11 France Olivier Panis Prost-Peugeot 1:23.536 +3.738
19 22 Japan Shinji Nakano Minardi-Ford 1:23.957 +4.159
20 21 Japan Toranosuke Takagi Tyrrell-Ford 1:24.024 +4.226
21 23 Argentina Esteban Tuero Minardi-Ford 1:24.031 +4.233
107% time: 1:25.383
DNQ 20 Brazil Ricardo Rosset Tyrrell-Ford 1:25.737 +5.939
Source:[3]

Race

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Race report

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A perfect start from both McLarens saw them lead through the first corner, with Häkkinen ahead of Coulthard, followed by Fisichella and Michael Schumacher. Esteban Tuero became the first retirement when he ran wide at Massenet in his Minardi and hit the armco barrier. In the early stages the McLarens pulled ahead, netting 12 fastest laps between them from laps 4 to 12. On lap 10, Frentzen and Irvine collided at the Loews hairpin; Frentzen retired but Irvine was able to continue. Rubens Barrichello dropped out on lap 12 with a suspension failure in his Stewart; his teammate Jan Magnussen suffered the same problem shortly before half distance. On lap 18, Coulthard's engine blew, promoting Fisichella to second.

Michael Schumacher was first to pit for fuel on lap 30. Fisichella pitted the following lap, coming out of the pits behind the Ferrari. Soon Michael came up behind Fisichella's teammate, Wurz, and tried to get past. At the Loews hairpin, Michael went down the inside but Wurz did not give way. The two cars touched and the Ferrari was damaged. Michael pitted for repairs, eventually coming out three laps down on Häkkinen. Wurz appeared unaffected, but on lap 43 his suspension broke due to damage from the collision and he had a huge accident coming out of the tunnel, finally stopping at the Nouvelle Chicane.

Ralf Schumacher suffered a suspension failure in his Jordan on lap 45, before the two Prosts retired within seven laps of each other, Olivier Panis with wheel problems on lap 50 and Trulli with a gearbox failure on lap 57. By this point, Salo had moved up to fourth behind Häkkinen, Fisichella and Irvine, with Jean Alesi fifth in the Sauber and Villeneuve sixth. On lap 73, Alesi's gearbox failed, promoting Pedro Diniz in the second Arrows to sixth, just ahead of the recovering Michael Schumacher. Attempting to overtake Diniz at the Nouvelle Chicane on the final lap, Michael lost control and hit the back of the Arrows, losing his front wing; he ended up finishing tenth, two laps down.

Häkkinen's final margin of victory over Fisichella was 11.4 seconds, with another 30 seconds back to Irvine and a further 19 to Salo, the last driver on the lead lap. Villeneuve was fifth with Diniz holding on to sixth.

Race classification

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Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 8 Finland Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 78 1:51:23.595 1 10
2 5 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 78 + 11.475 3 6
3 4 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Ferrari 78 + 41.378 7 4
4 17 Finland Mika Salo Arrows 78 + 1:00.363 8 3
5 1 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Mecachrome 77 + 1 lap 13 2
6 16 Brazil Pedro Diniz Arrows 77 + 1 lap 12 1
7 15 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Sauber-Petronas 77 + 1 lap 9  
8 9 United Kingdom Damon Hill Jordan-Mugen-Honda 76 + 2 laps 15  
9 22 Japan Shinji Nakano Minardi-Ford 76 + 2 laps 19  
10 3 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari 76 + 2 laps 4  
11 21 Japan Toranosuke Takagi Tyrrell-Ford 76 + 2 laps 20  
12 14 France Jean Alesi Sauber-Petronas 72 Gearbox 11  
Ret 12 Italy Jarno Trulli Prost-Peugeot 56 Gearbox 10  
Ret 11 France Olivier Panis Prost-Peugeot 49 Wheel 18  
Ret 10 Germany Ralf Schumacher Jordan-Mugen-Honda 44 Suspension 16  
Ret 6 Austria Alexander Wurz Benetton-Playlife 42 Accident damage 6  
Ret 19 Denmark Jan Magnussen Stewart-Ford 30 Suspension 17  
Ret 7 United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 17 Engine 2  
Ret 18 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Stewart-Ford 11 Suspension 14  
Ret 2 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Williams-Mecachrome 9 Collision 5  
Ret 23 Argentina Esteban Tuero Minardi-Ford 0 Spun off 21  
DNQ 20 Brazil Ricardo Rosset Tyrrell-Ford 107% rule  
Source:[4]

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. ^ Weather info for the 1998 Monaco Grand Prix at Weather Underground
  2. ^ "Ricardo Rosset - Biography". Formula One Rejects. 16 August 2001. Archived from the original on 21 March 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Grand Prix de Monaco 1998 – Qualifying". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Ltd. 23 May 1998. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  4. ^ "Grand Prix de Monaco 1998 – Race Result". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Ltd. 24 May 1998. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Monaco 1998 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 19 March 2019.


Previous race:
1998 Spanish Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1998 season
Next race:
1998 Canadian Grand Prix
Previous race:
1997 Monaco Grand Prix
Monaco Grand Prix Next race:
1999 Monaco Grand Prix

43°44′4.74″N 7°25′16.8″E / 43.7346500°N 7.421333°E / 43.7346500; 7.421333