1998 Australian Grand Prix

1998 Australian Grand Prix
Race 1 of 16 in the 1998 Formula One World Championship ←  Previous race Next race  →
Race details
Date	8 March 1998
Official name	1998 Qantas Australian Grand Prix
Location	Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia
Course	Albert Park Circuit
Course length	5.303 km (3.295 miles)
Distance	58 laps, 307.574 km (191.118 miles)
Weather	Clear with maximum temperatures reaching 24 degrees at the start, increasing to 30 degrees by the end of the race.
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
Lap leaders

The 1998 Australian Grand Prix (formally the 1998 Qantas Australian Grand Prix) ^[1] was a Formula One motor race held at the Albert Park street circuit in inner Melbourne on 8 March 1998 at 14:00 AEDT (UTC+10). It was the 63rd race in the combined history of the Australian Grand Prix that dates back to the 100 Miles Road Race of 1928. It was the first of the sixteen races of the 1998 FIA Formula One World Championship and held over 58 laps of the 5.3 kilometre street circuit and the sixth to be held on the Albert Park venue first used in 1953, or the third since the new circuit first hosted the race in 1996.

The race was dominated by the McLaren-Mercedes team and won by Mika Häkkinen over his teammate David Coulthard in controversial circumstances due to team orders. Williams driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen finished third, his only podium finish this season. The race also represented the first win for Japanese tyre manufacturer Bridgestone in Formula One and the first race since the 1991 Canadian Grand Prix not won by Goodyear. Johnny Herbert scored his only point of the season.

Race summary

The McLarens of Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard made good starts from the front row of the grid. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher, starting third, also had a good start and tried to overtake second place Coulthard. The Ferrari driver stayed with the McLarens but retired on lap 6 when his engine failed. ^[2] This handed third place to the Williams of Jacques Villeneuve, who was being chased by Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella. After the first round of pitstops, Villeneuve found himself behind teammate Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Ferrari's Eddie Irvine, and Fisichella. Fisichella was able to pass Frentzen for third but then retired with mechanical failure, leaving Frentzen to finish just ahead of Irvine's Ferrari, which had gambled on a one-stop strategy. Villeneuve was lapped soon after this by the McLarens but still managed to finish in fifth place. All cars except the two McLarens were lapped down. ^[2]

On lap 36, Häkkinen came into the pits unexpectedly, apparently having misheard a call over the radio. He drove straight through the pitlane and rejoined the race without stopping but lost first place to teammate Coulthard. In 2007, McLaren boss Ron Dennis claimed that someone had tapped into the team's radio system: "We do not and have not manipulated Grands Prix, unless there were some exceptional circumstances, which occurred in Australia [1998], when someone had tapped into our radio and instructed Mika Häkkinen to enter the pits." ^[3] In 2023, Hakkinen recalled: "The team said something on the radio, I was confused, I thought they asked me to come to change tyres and that was not the case. They were just giving me some different information. So I just drove through the pit lane and I of course lost the lead of the race, David got the lead." ^[2]

With 16 laps to go, Coulthard had a 12-second lead; by lap 55 of 58, Coulthard's lead was reduced to two seconds. ^[2] A few laps before the end of the race, Coulthard let Häkkinen past on the front straight. From the pre-season test, it was clear that McLaren had the fastest car but was unreliable. ^{[2] [nb 1]} Due to those reliability concerns, Hakkinen and Coulthard 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. ^{[4] [nb 2]} Coulthard and the McLaren team were criticised heavily, ^{[5] [6]} leading to discussion about team orders. ^[7] The situation surrounding Coulthard allowing Häkkinen through would eventually go to the World Motorsport Council. 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." ^{[8] [9] [10]} Team orders continued to be controversial in Formula One and were banned following the events of the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix but were reallowed following the 2010 German Grand Prix. ^[11] Frentzen took third place for Williams. ^[12] The race was the first win for the tyre manufacturer Bridgestone after they entered Formula One a year earlier. ^[13]

After the race concluded, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation chairman Ron Walker lodged an official complaint to the FIA into how the actions of the McLaren team decided the race for Häkkinen. ^[14]

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Lap Time	Gap
1	8	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:30.010
2	7	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	1:30.053	+0.043
3	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:30.767	+0.757
4	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Mecachrome	1:30.919	+0.909
5	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber-Petronas	1:31.384	+1.374
6	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams-Mecachrome	1:31.397	+1.387
7	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton-Playlife	1:31.733	+1.723
8	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	1:31.767	+1.757
9	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	1:32.392	+2.382
10	9	Damon Hill	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	1:32.399	+2.389
11	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton-Playlife	1:32.726	+2.716
12	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber-Petronas	1:33.240	+3.230
13	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell-Ford	1:33.291	+3.281
14	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart-Ford	1:33.383	+3.373
15	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost-Peugeot	1:33.739	+3.729
16	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	1:33.927	+3.917
17	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi-Ford	1:34.646	+4.636
18	19	Jan Magnussen	Stewart-Ford	1:34.906	+4.896
19	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell-Ford	1:35.119	+5.109
20	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	1:35.140	+5.130
21	11	Olivier Panis	Prost-Peugeot	1:35.215	+5.205
22	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi-Ford	1:35.301	+5.291
107% time: 1:36.311
Source: [15]

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	8	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	58	1:31:45.996	1	10
2	7	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	58	+0.702	2	6
3	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams-Mecachrome	57	+1 Lap	6	4
4	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	57	+1 Lap	8	3
5	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Mecachrome	57	+1 Lap	4	2
6	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber-Petronas	57	+1 Lap	5	1
7	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton-Playlife	57	+1 Lap	11
8	9	Damon Hill	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	57	+1 Lap	10
9	11	Olivier Panis	Prost-Peugeot	57	+1 Lap	21
Ret	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton-Playlife	43	Broken Wing	7
Ret	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber-Petronas	41	Engine	12
Ret	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost-Peugeot	26	Gearbox	15
Ret	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell-Ford	25	Gearbox	19
Ret	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	23	Gearbox	16
Ret	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi-Ford	22	Engine	17
Ret	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi-Ford	8	Halfshaft	22
Ret	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	5	Engine	3
Ret	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	2	Gearbox	20
Ret	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	1	Collision	9
Ret	19	Jan Magnussen	Stewart-Ford	1	Collision	18
Ret	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell-Ford	1	Spun off	13
Ret	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart-Ford	0	Gearbox	14
Source: [16]

• Pedro Diniz's car caught fire on the way to the grid.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Mika Häkkinen 10 2 David Coulthard 6 3 Heinz-Harald Frentzen 4 4 Eddie Irvine 3 5 Jacques Villeneuve 2 Source: [17]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 McLaren-Mercedes 16 2 Williams-Mecachrome 6 3 Ferrari 3 4 Sauber-Petronas 1 Source: [17]

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

Notes

1. In 2020, Coulthard recalled: "At that time, team orders were not a common part of Formula One – it's accepted today, but back then it wasn't part of it. We as a team did it for good reason – we had a fast car that had been unreliable in winter testing, so we knew if we pushed at 100 per cent, the chances of finishing were very slim. So to get both cars to the end – even if it was in the wrong order for my liking – was a big success for the team." ^[2]
2. In 2023, Hakkinen recalled: "We were sitting on the front row, me and David – and we just made a deal. The driver who was first at the first corner when the race starts, that driver is going to win the Grand Prix. There's not going to be any fight. We had a deal, so David had to let me past – brilliant!" ^[2]

References

1. "Australia". Formula 1. 1998. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
2. "Rewind: McLaren's 1998 switch sparks controversy". GrandPrix.com.au. 23 March 2023. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
3. Garside, Kevin (29 May 2007). "FIA inquiry into McLaren order". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 14 October 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
4. "Hakkinen wins Australian Grand Prix decided by pre-race agreement". Associated Press. 9 March 1998. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
5. Gebbie, Mark (March 1998). "The Team or the Individual". Atlas F1. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
6. Carluccio, Carlo (8 March 2014). "On This Day in #F1: 8th March". TheJudge13. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
7. Ewan, Ewan M. (August 1998). "Do Champions Need Team Orders?". Atlas F1. Archived from the original on 5 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
8. "FIA warns teams; French GP gets go-ahead; Tests: F1 Coverage in Florida". Atlas F1. 18 March 1998. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
9. O'Keefe, Thomas (13 February 2002). "The FIA's International Court of Appeal: Final Answer? (Part III)". Atlas F1. Vol. 8, no. 7. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
10. Masefield, Fraser (14 October 2013). "Top 10 Team Orders Controversies in Formula One". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
11. "A Mysterious Order: Inside the Controversial 1998 Australian GP". Automobilist. 14 March 2020. Archived from the original on 5 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
12. "Hakkinen wins Grand Prix". Gadsden Times. 8 March 1998. p. D6. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024– via Google News.
13. Tremayne, David (9 March 1998). "Coulthard's selfless act of honour" . The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
14. "Protest lodged over Hakkinen win". BBC News. 9 March 1998. Archived from the original on 2 March 2003. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
15. "Australia 1998 – Qualifications". Stats F1. 1998. Archived from the original on 9 January 2024. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
16. "1998 Australian Grand Prix". Formula 1. 1998. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
17. "Australia 1998 – Championship". Stats F1. 1998. Archived from the original on 28 April 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.

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