1998 German Grand Prix

The 1998 German Grand Prix (formally the Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 1998)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.

Qualifying

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.Template:Citation needed

Race summary

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

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Lap	Gap
1	8	Template:Flagicon Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:41.838	—
2	7	Template:Flagicon David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	1:42.347	+0.509
3	1	Template:Flagicon Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Mecachrome	1:42.365	+0.527
4	10	Template:Flagicon Ralf Schumacher	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	1:42.994	+1.156
5	9	Template:Flagicon Damon Hill	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	1:43.183	+1.345
6	4	Template:Flagicon Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	1:43.270	+1.432
7	6	Template:Flagicon Alexander Wurz	Benetton-Playlife	1:43.341	+1.503
8	5	Template:Flagicon Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton-Playlife	1:43.369	+1.531
9	3	Template:Flagicon Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:43.459	+1.621
10	2	Template:Flagicon Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams-Mecachrome	1:43.467	+1.629
11	14	Template:Flagicon Jean Alesi	Sauber-Petronas	1:43.663	+1.825
12	15	Template:Flagicon Johnny Herbert	Sauber-Petronas	1:44.599	+2.761
13	18	Template:Flagicon Rubens Barrichello	Stewart-Ford	1:44.776	+2.938
14	12	Template:Flagicon Jarno Trulli	Prost-Peugeot	1:44.844	+3.006
15	21	Template:Flagicon Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell-Ford	1:44.961	+3.123
16	11	Template:Flagicon Olivier Panis	Prost-Peugeot	1:45.197	+3.359
17	17	Template:Flagicon Mika Salo	Arrows	1:45.276	+3.438
18	16	Template:Flagicon Pedro Diniz	Arrows	1:45.588	+3.750
19	19	Template:Flagicon Jos Verstappen	Stewart-Ford	1:45.623	+3.785
20	22	Template:Flagicon Shinji Nakano	Minardi-Ford	1:46.713	+4.875
21	23	Template:Flagicon Esteban Tuero	Minardi-Ford	1:47.265	+5.427
107% time: 1:48.967
DNQ	20	Template:Flagicon Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell-Ford	1|[1]}}	—
Source:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation						CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Notes

• ^1{{#if:| }} – Ricardo Rosset was withdrawn from qualifying by Tyrrell after crashing during free practice.

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	8	Template:Flagicon Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	45	1:20:47.984	1	10
2	7	Template:Flagicon David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	45	+0.426	2	6
3	1	Template:Flagicon Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Mecachrome	45	+2.577	3	4
4	9	Template:Flagicon Damon Hill	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	45	+7.185	5	3
5	3	Template:Flagicon Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	45	+12.613	9	2
6	10	Template:Flagicon Ralf Schumacher	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	45	+29.738	4	1
7	5	Template:Flagicon Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton-Playlife	45	+31.026	8
8	4	Template:Flagicon Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	45	+31.649	6
9	2	Template:Flagicon Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams-Mecachrome	45	+32.784	10
10	14	Template:Flagicon Jean Alesi	Sauber-Petronas	45	+48.371	11
11	6	Template:Flagicon Alexander Wurz	Benetton-Playlife	45	+57.994	7
12	12	Template:Flagicon Jarno Trulli	Prost-Peugeot	44	+1 lap	14
13	21	Template:Flagicon Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell-Ford	44	+1 lap	15
14	17	Template:Flagicon Mika Salo	Arrows	44	+1 lap	17
15	11	Template:Flagicon Olivier Panis	Prost-Peugeot	44	+1 lap	16
16	23	Template:Flagicon Esteban Tuero	Minardi-Ford	43	+2 laps	21
Ret	15	Template:Flagicon Johnny Herbert	Sauber-Petronas	37	Gearbox	12
Ret	22	Template:Flagicon Shinji Nakano	Minardi-Ford	36	Gearbox	20
Ret	18	Template:Flagicon Rubens Barrichello	Stewart-Ford	27	Gearbox	13
Ret	19	Template:Flagicon Jos Verstappen	Stewart-Ford	24	Gearbox	19
Ret	16	Template:Flagicon Pedro Diniz	Arrows	2	Throttle	18
Source:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation								CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Championship standings after the race

• Bold text indicates who still has a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.

Drivers' Championship standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Template:Flagicon Mika Häkkinen	76
2	Template:Flagicon Michael Schumacher	60
3	Template:Flagicon David Coulthard	42
4	Template:Flagicon Eddie Irvine	32
5	Template:Flagicon Alexander Wurz	17
Source: <ref name="Championship standings">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation				CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Constructors' Championship standings

Pos	Constructor	Points
1	Template:Flagicon McLaren-Mercedes	118
2	Template:Flagicon Ferrari	92
3	Template:Flagicon Benetton-Playlife	32
4	Template:Flagicon Williams-Mecachrome	24
5	Template:Flagicon Jordan-Mugen-Honda	7
Source: <ref name="Championship standings"/>

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

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