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The 1998 German Grand Prix was the eleventh round of the 1998 Formula One Season. The race was won by Mika Häkkinen, who had taken his sixth win of the season. His teammate David Coulthard was second, with reigning champion Jacques Villeneuve securing his first podium finish of the season in third.


Background[]

In Austria, Mika Häkkinen had increased his championship lead to eight points over main rival Michael Schumacher. His teammate David Coulthard was a further 30 points down. In the Constructor's championship, McLaren held a 12 point lead over Ferrari.

Germany was the home race of championship contender Michael Schumacher, his brother Ralf Schumacher and Heinz-Harald Frentzen. McLaren had confirmed before the weekend that their line-up of Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard would be retained for 1999.

Ferrari would be bringing a revised and updated chassis to Germany to bring the fight to McLaren.

Entry list[]

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Winfield Williams Williams FW20 Mecachrome GC37-01 V10 3.0 G
2 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen United Kingdom Winfield Williams Williams FW20 Mecachrome GC37-01 V10 3.0 G
3 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F300 Ferrari 047 V10 3.0 G
4 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F300 Ferrari 047 V10 3.0 G
5 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Mild Seven Benetton Playlife Benetton B198 Playlife GC37-01 V10 3.0 B
6 Austria Alexander Wurz Italy Mild Seven Benetton Playlife Benetton B198 Playlife GC37-01 V10 3.0 B
7 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom West McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4/13 Mercedes FO 110G V10 3.0 B
8 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom West McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4/13 Mercedes FO 110G V10 3.0 B
9 United Kingdom Damon Hill Ireland Benson and Hedges Jordan Jordan 198 Mugen-Honda MF-301 HC V10 3.0 G
10 Germany Ralf Schumacher Ireland Benson and Hedges Jordan Jordan 198 Mugen-Honda MF-301 HC V10 3.0 G
11 France Olivier Panis France Gauloises Prost Peugeot Prost AP01 Peugeot A16 V10 3.0 B
12 Italy Jarno Trulli France Gauloises Prost Peugeot Prost AP01 Peugeot A16 V10 3.0 B
14 France Jean Alesi Switzerland Red Bull Sauber Petronas Sauber C17 Petronas SPE-01D V10 3.0 G
15 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Switzerland Red Bull Sauber Petronas Sauber C17 Petronas SPE-01D V10 3.0 G
16 Brazil Pedro Diniz United Kingdom Danka Zepter Arrows Arrows A19 Arrows T2-F1 V10 3.0 B
17 Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Danka Zepter Arrows Arrows A19 Arrows T2-F1 V10 3.0 B
18 Brazil Rubens Barrichello United Kingdom HSBC Stewart Ford Stewart SF02 Ford Cosworth VJ Zetec-R V10 3.0 B
19 Netherlands Jos Verstappen United Kingdom HSBC Stewart Ford Stewart SF02 Ford Cosworth VJ Zetec-R V10 3.0 B
20 Brazil Ricardo Rosset United Kingdom PIAA Tyrrell Ford Tyrrell 026 Ford Cosworth JD Zetec-R V10 3.0 G
21 Japan Toranosuke Takagi United Kingdom PIAA Tyrrell Ford Tyrrell 026 Ford Cosworth JD Zetec-R V10 3.0 G
22 Japan Shinji Nakano Italy Fondmetal Minardi Team Minardi M198 Ford Cosworth JD Zetec-R V10 3.0 B
23 Argentina Esteban Tuero Italy Fondmetal Minardi Team Minardi M198 Ford Cosworth JD Zetec-R V10 3.0 B

Practice Overview[]

FP1[]

Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard dominated the Friday practice sessions, the McLaren's being suited to the long straights within the Hockenheim circuit. Jean Alesi did well for Sauber to go third fastest whilst Damon Hill for Jordan was fourth.

The Ferrari drivers of Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine were fifth and sixth, testing out their new longer wheelbase Ferrari for the first time. 

FP2[]

The Saturday practice sessions were once again dominated by McLaren, Coulthard led Häkkinen whilst Jacques Villeneuve was in a competitive third. Damon Hill was once again in fourth position. It was a dismal session for Michael Schumacher, the Ferrari driver managing to only complete six laps after spinning out in both sessions.

Ricardo Rosset had a major accident going into the barriers at the first corner at high speed. Although Rosset only suffered minor head injuries, he was barred from entering the qualifying session as a precaution. The implication of this was that due to his non-participation in qualifying he would be unable to qualify for the race.

Olivier Panis also had a big accident, forcing him to use the spare car in qualifying. Johnny Herbert suffered major gearbox issues which saw him only go nineteenth fastest.

Practice Results[]

No.         Driver         Constructor         FP1 FP2 Warm-Up
Time Pos Time Pos Time Pos
1 Canada  Jacques Villeneuve United KingdomWilliams-Mecachrome 1:44.928 7 1:43.444 3 1:45.741 4
2 Germany  Heinz-Harald Frentzen 1:45.186 8 1:44.084 5 1:47.188 12
3 Germany  Michael Schumacher ItalyFerrari 1:44.757 5 1:44.038 10 1:46.002 5
4 United Kingdom  Eddie Irvine 1:44.780 6 1:44.655 9 1:46.035 6
5 Italy  Giancarlo Fisichella ItalyBenetton-Playlife 1:46.005 13 1:44.129 7 1:46.513 8
6 Austria  Alexander Wurz 1:45.943  12 1:45.153 11 1:46.988 10
7 United Kingdom  David Coulthard United KingdomMcLaren-Mercedes 1:44.138 2 1:43.006 1 1:44.812 1
8 Finland  Mika Häkkinen 1:43.946 1 1:43.175 2 1:45.691 3
9 United Kingdom  Damon Hill IrelandJordan-Mugen-Honda 1:44.294  3 1:43.746 4 1:46.460 7
10 Germany  Ralf Schumacher 1:45.511  10 1:44.114 6 1:45.271 2
11 France  Olivier Panis FranceProst-Peugeot 1:46.484  16 no time - 1:47.588 15
12 Italy  Jarno Trulli 1:45.611  11 1:45.343 12 1:48.113 17
14 France  Jean Alesi SwitzerlandSauber-Petronas 1:44.456 4 1:44.399 8 1:46.936 9
15 United Kingdom  Johnny Herbert 1:45.364  9 1:48.128 19 1:47.279 13
16 Brazil  Pedro Diniz United KingdomArrows 1:46.903 18 1:46.677 17 1:48.496 18
17 Finland  Mika Salo 1:46.163  14 1:45.535 14 1:47.878 16
18 Brazil  Rubens Barrichello United KingdomStewart-Ford 1:46.257 15 1:45.537 15 1:47.003 11
19 NetherlandsJos Verstappen 1:47.086  19 1:46.543 16 1:47.261 14
20 Brazil  Ricardo Rosset United KingdomTyrrell-Ford 1:49.986  22 1:48.652 21 no time -
21 Japan  Toranosuke Takagi 1:46.743  17 1:45.533 13 1:48.961 20
22 Japan  Shinji Nakano ItalyMinardi-Ford 1:48.832  21 1:47.366 18 1:48.572 19
23 Argentina  Esteban Tuero 1:48.175  20 1:48.299 20 1:49.001 21

Qualifying[]

The qualifying session would get underway with only twenty one competitors. Ricardo Rosset was not participating as a precaution following a heavy accident in the practice session.

The action was slow to get underway, with eleven minutes gone only Olivier Panis had set a lap time. However eventually the runners entered the track with Mika Häkkinen setting the early pace. His time however was quickly bested by teammate David Coulthard

Damon Hill then moved into the third fastest time. Michael Schumacher had only managed to set the provisional fourth fastest time at this stage. Eddie Irvine was directly behind teammate Schumacher. 

The two Williams cars then began to set their lap times, Heinz-Harald Frentzen went sixth fastest, however he was bumbed down by teammate Jacques Villeneuve who took the third fastest time. 

Esteban Tuero then suffered a large engine failure, flames spurting from the back of his Minardi. Jean Alesi then improved his time to split the Ferrari's to go sixth fastest, ahead of Irvine and behind Schumacher.

Schumacher struggled to set a competitive time, his car appeared a handful as he continually locked-up his Ferrari on track. Villeneuve then took provisional pole position, the time did not last though the two McLaren's immediately responded with Coulthard taking provisional pole back before Häkkinen took the pole time. 

Toranosuke Takagi then suffered a major accident going into the first corner, Takagi outbreaking himself flew into the barriers. Takagi emerged from the wreckage unhurt. Ralf Schumacher then took provisional fourth position ahead of teammate Hill.

Coulthard then suffered an engine failure, pulling off the circuit ruining his chances for pole position. Villeneuve looked set to take second position away from Coulthard, however going wide into the final corner ruined his chances. 

Alexander Wurz then moved into fifth position, Giancarlo Fisichella then moved in behind him for sixth. Michael Schumacher struggling in eighth then got held up by the Arrows of Pedro Diniz. Schumacher angrily driving up alongside Diniz gesturing wildly for holding him up.

Eddie Irvine then improved to go fifth fastest. Takagi now in the spare car, then went off at the first corner once again, however managed to just keep it out of the barriers. Damon Hill then improved to move into fifth position, behind teammate Ralf Schumacher.

The session ended with Häkkinen taking another dominant pole, Coulthard was second followed by Villeneuve, Ralf Schumacher, Hill, Irvine, Wurz, Fisichella and Michael Schumacher. 

Qualifying Results[]

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time
1 8 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:41.838
2 7 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:42.347
3 1 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Williams-Mecachrome 1:42.365
4 10 Germany Ralf Schumacher Ireland Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:42.994
5 9 United Kingdom Damon Hill Ireland Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:43.183
6 4 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Italy Ferrari 1:43.270
7 6 Austria Alexander Wurz Italy Benetton-Playlife 1:43.341
8 5 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Benetton-Playlife 1:43.369
9 3 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 1:43.459
10 2 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen United Kingdom Williams-Mecachrome 1:43.467
11 14 France Jean Alesi Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:43.663
12 15 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:44.599
13 18 Brazil Rubens Barrichello United Kingdom Stewart-Ford 1:44.776
14 12 Italy Jarno Trulli France Prost-Peugeot 1:44.844
15 21 Japan Toranosuke Takagi United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford 1:44.961
16 11 France Olivier Panis FranceProst-Peugeot 1:45.197
17 17 Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Arrows 1:45.276
18 16 Brazil Pedro Diniz United Kingdom Arrows 1:45.588
19 19 Netherlands Jos Verstappen United Kingdom Stewart-Ford 1:45.623
20 22 Japan Shinji Nakano Italy Minardi-Ford 1:46.713
21 23 Argentina Esteban Tuero Italy Minardi-Ford 1:47.265

Race[]

Report[]

The start saw the two McLaren's maintain their lead from the start, Jacques Villeneuve made a poor start dropping behind the Jordan's of Ralf Schumacher and Damon Hill. Villeneuve, however managed to regain third from Hill going into turn 3.

Michael Schumacher made a strong start, moving into seventh behind teammate Irvine. Alexander Wurz struggled to get away, dropping down to seventeenth after his car seemed almost immobile getting off his gridbox.  Pedro Diniz then became the first retirement on the second lap with throttle failure. The same lap Irvine then went wide into the gravel allowing teammate Michael Schumacher into sixth position.

Ralf Schumacher then began to close in on the two McLaren's of Häkkinen and Coulthard ahead of him. Olivier Panis was then given a 10 second stop and go penalty due to a jump start.

The Ferrari's failed to make an impact, Schumacher seemingly unable to close the gap to Damon Hill's Jordan in fifth position. 

Ralf Schumacher then came into the pits for a very early pit-stop from third position. He exited in ninth place.

Meanwhile up front Coulthard had begun to close the gap down on Häkkinen ahead of him, the Williams of Jacques Villenueve in third was slowly closing on the pair of them.

Giancarlo Fisichella and Heinz-Harald Frentzen then came in for their first pit-stops allowing Ralf Schumacher to move up into seventh position. The following lap saw Villeneuve and Hill make their first pit-stops of the race. Wurz who had done well to climb back to up to eighth came in for his first stop.

The following lap Michael Schumacher came into the pits for his stop rejoining in seventh position. The lap after on lap 24 saw Jos Verstappen retire from the race with gearbox failure and Eddie Irvine making his first stop. Irvine exited in eighth behind Fisichella's Benetton. 

Race leader Mika Häkkinen then came in for his first stop, Coulthard who had been coming closer and closer to Häkkinen in the recent laps then came in for his stop. Coulthard overshot his pit-box mark losing a bit of time and crucially just exiting the pits marginally behind teammate Häkkinen.

As this occured, Rubens Barrichello followed his Stewart teammate Verstappen into retire with gearbox failure on lap 27. Behind the McLaren's was Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher. Schumacher however was forced into the pits for a second stop, his two stop strategy not working out forcing him to drop from fourth to sixth. 

Lap 36 saw Shinji Nakano retire with gearbox issues, the following lap saw Johnny Herbert retiring with the same issue. 

Häkkinen and Coulthard continued to squabble for the lead of the race, this battle had allowed Jacques Villeneuve to close up onto the rear of the two McLaren's. The Williams driver was now the fastest driver on the circuit.

Further down, there was a big battle between Fisichella and Irvine, Irvine running wide onto the grass losing time. The next lap Irvine and closed the gap up, however continued to struggle to find a way past the Benetton driver. 

In the final laps of the race, Michael Schumacher was lapping the fastest as he attempted to catch Hill's Jordan ahead of him. The Ferrari driver got stuck in traffic and lost time, Schumacher being unable to catch Hill before the end.

Mika Häkkinen went and took the race win, marginally ahead of teammate David Coulthard. Jacques Villeneve was third, taking Williams's first podium of the season. Damon Hill took his first points of the season with his fourth place, Michael Schumacher took a disappointing fifth place ahead of brother Ralf who rounded out a double points finish for Jordan.

Results[]

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 8 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 45 1:20.47.984 1 10
2 7 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 45 +0.426 2 6
3 1 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Williams-Mecachrome 45 +2.577 3 4
4 9 United Kingdom Damon Hill Ireland Jordan-Mugen-Honda 45 +7.185 5 3
5 3 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 45 +12.613 9 2
6 10 Germany Ralf Schumacher Ireland Jordan-Mugen-Honda 45 +29.738 4 1
7 5 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Benetton-Playlife 45 +31.026 8
8 4 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Italy Ferrari 45 +31.649 6
9 2 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen United Kingdom Williams-Mecachrome 45 +32.784 10
10 14 France Jean Alesi Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 45 +48.371 11
11 6 Austria Alexander Wurz Italy Benetton-Playlife 45 +57.994 7
12 12 Italy Jarno Trulli France Prost-Peugeot 44 +1 lap 14
13 21 Japan Toranosuke Takagi United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford 44 +1 lap 15
14 17 Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Arrows 44 +1 lap 17
15 11 France Olivier Panis France Prost-Peugeot 44 +1 lap 16
16 23 Argentina Esteban Tuero Italy Minardi-Ford 43 +2 laps 21
Ret 15 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 37 Gearbox 12
Ret 22 Japan Shinji Nakano Italy Minardi-Ford 36 Gearbox 20
Ret 18 Brazil Rubens Barrichello United Kingdom Stewart-Ford 27 Gearbox 13
Ret 19 Netherlands Jos Verstappen United Kingdom Stewart-Ford 24 Gearbox 19
Ret 16 Brazil Pedro Diniz United Kingdom Arrows 2 Throttle 18
DNQ 20 Brazil Ricardo Rosset United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford

Milestones[]

Standings after race[]

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 Finland Mika Häkkinen 76
2 Germany Michael Schumacher 60
3 United Kingdom David Coulthard 42
4 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine 32
5 Austria Alexander Wurz 17
6 Canada Jacques Villeneuve 16
7 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 15
8 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen 8
9 Brazil Rubens Barrichello 4
10 Germany Ralf Schumacher 4
11 United Kingdom Damon Hill 3
12 Finland Mika Salo 3
13 France Jean Alesi 3
14 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert 1
15 Brazil Pedro Diniz 1
16 Denmark Jan Magnussen 1
17 Japan Shinji Nakano 0
18 Brazil Ricardo Rosset 0
19 Argentina Esteban Tuero 0
20 Italy Jarno Trulli 0
21 France Olivier Panis 0
22 Japan Toranosuke Takagi 0
23 Netherlands Jos Verstappen 0
Constructors' Championship standings
Pos Constructor Points
1 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 118
2 Italy Ferrari 92
3 Italy Benetton-Playlife 32
4 United Kingdom Williams-Mecachrome 24
5 Ireland Jordan-Mugen-Honda 7
6 United Kingdom Stewart-Ford 5
7 Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 4
8 United Kingdom Arrows 4
9 Italy Minardi-Ford 0
10 United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford 0
11 France Prost-Peugeot 0


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V T E 1998 Formula One Season
Teams Williams • Ferrari • Benetton • McLaren • Jordan • Prost • Sauber • Arrows • Stewart • Tyrrell • Minardi
Engines Arrows • Ferrari • Ford • Mecachrome • Mercedes • Mugen-Honda • Petronas • Peugeot • Playlife
Drivers Villeneuve • 2 Frentzen • 3 M. Schumacher • 4 Irvine • 5 Fisichella • 6 Wurz • 7 Coulthard • 8 Häkkinen • 9 Hill • 10 R. Schumacher • 11 Panis • 12 Trulli • 14 Alesi • 15 Herbert • 16 Diniz • 17 Salo • 18 Barrichello • 19 Magnussen • 19 Verstappen • 20 Rosset • 21 Takagi • 22 Nakano • 23 Tuero
Other Drivers Badoer • De la Rosa • Heidfeld • Kristensen • Montoya • Zonta
Cars Williams FW20 • Ferrari F300 • Benetton B198 • McLaren MP4/13 • Jordan 198 • Prost AP01 • Sauber C17 • Arrows A19 • Stewart SF02 • Tyrrell 026 • Minardi M198
Tyres Goodyear • Bridgestone
Races Australia • Brazil • Argentina • San Marino • Spain • Monaco • Canada • France • Britain • Austria • Germany • Hungary • Belgium • Italy • Luxembourg • Japan
See also 1997 Formula One Season • 1999 Formula One Season • Category
V T E Germany German Grand Prix
Circuits Nürburgring (1951–1954, 1956–1958, 1960–1969, 1971–1976, 1985, 2008–2013*), AVUS (1926, 1959), Hockenheimring (1970, 1977–1984, 1986–2006, 2008–2014*, 2016, 2018–2019)
Nurburgring2002
Hockenheimring2002
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European Championship Races 19321933–193419351936193719381939
Non-Championship Races 1926 • 192719281929193019311932–19331934
* Nürburgring and Hockenheimring alternated between each other during these years.
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