1998 Brazilian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Mika Häkkinen won the Brazilian Grand Prix at Autódromo José Carlos Pace with another dominant performance for McLaren. David Coulthard completed the one-two, while Michael Schumacher finished third for Ferrari after a race-long battle to lead the pursuit.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren
Pole time	1:17.092
Fastest lap	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren
Fastest-lap time	1:19.337 on lap 64
First	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren
Second	David Coulthard	McLaren
Third	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
27 March 1998	Practice 1	11:00
27 March 1998	Practice 2	13:00
28 March 1998	Practice 3	09:00
28 March 1998	Practice 4	10:15
28 March 1998	Qualifying	13:00
29 March 1998	Warm-up	08:30
29 March 1998	Race	13:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Mika Häkkinen arrived at round 2 leading the 1998 F1 World Championship on 10 points, with David Coulthard on 6. McLaren headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 16 points.

Race entries

The same eleven teams and twenty-two drivers continued from Melbourne. Attention centred on the legality of the additional braking systems used by McLaren and other teams; the disputed system was not used during practice, and the stewards ruled against it over the weekend.

Free Practice

McLaren began Friday without its disputed braking system but still showed strong pace. The bumpy Interlagos surface placed a different demand on the new cars from Melbourne’s street circuit. Johnny Herbert‘s preparation was especially difficult, with an engine failure leaving Sauber little useful running and forcing an interruption while the track was cleared.

Häkkinen and David Coulthard remained comfortably clear by the end of Friday’s running, with Ralf Schumacher third. Ricardo Rosset‘s excursion brought another stoppage during the day. Johnny Herbert completed only five laps across the two sessions, leaving him well behind on setup work as the rest of the field adapted to the circuit.

Friday Practice Classification — Combined

1998 Brazilian Grand Prix opening-day practice, 27 March 1998

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	1:18.573	25
2	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.226s	29
3	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	+1.148s	40
4	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	+1.213s	33
5	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	+1.343s	41
6	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	+1.363s	40
7	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	+1.364s	37
8	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	+1.437s	37
9	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	+1.448s	42
10	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	+1.458s	39
11	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+1.591s	38
12	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	+1.954s	38
13	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+2.204s	26
14	19	Jan Magnussen	Stewart	+2.266s	32
15	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	+2.346s	22
16	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	+2.543s	27
17	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	+2.725s	36
18	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	+3.025s	30
19	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	+3.328s	44
20	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	+3.365s	33
21	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	+4.389s	18
22	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	+47.508s	5

Saturday brought further incidents, with Jacques Villeneuve damaging his Williams badly enough to require the spare for qualifying. David Coulthard also spun during the morning. The interruptions made it harder to establish a rhythm, while Tyrrell worked to find a setup that coped with the bumps for Toranosuke Takagi‘s first visit to the circuit.

Johnny Herbert suffered a heavy accident when his throttle stuck open, forcing another switch of car and leaving him with little opportunity to refine the Sauber. Häkkinen remained the quickest driver across Saturday practice. Six drivers were investigated over yellow flags, but the stewards imposed no penalty and instead requested additional marshals at the affected location.

Saturday Practice Classification — Combined

1998 Brazilian Grand Prix Saturday practice, 28 March 1998

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	1:17.432	23
2	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.103s	20
3	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	+1.215s	28
4	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+1.242s	31
5	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	+1.306s	27
6	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	+1.447s	35
7	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+1.542s	33
8	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	+1.706s	15
9	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	+1.897s	33
10	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	+1.932s	35
11	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	+1.997s	20
12	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	+2.042s	19
13	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	+2.254s	17
14	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	+2.435s	23
15	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	+2.867s	20
16	19	Jan Magnussen	Stewart	+2.898s	7
17	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	+3.328s	20
18	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	+3.339s	16
19	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	+3.608s	28
20	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	+3.610s	17
21	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	+3.810s	14
22	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	+4.109s	30

Each practice table combines that day’s two sessions, showing each driver’s best time and total laps.

Qualifying

Häkkinen claimed pole with a 1:17.092, more than six tenths ahead of David Coulthard. Heinz-Harald Frentzen took third from Michael Schumacher late in the session, while Alexander Wurz qualified fifth ahead of Eddie Irvine. McLaren‘s advantage remained substantial despite the controversy over its braking system.

Jacques Villeneuve could manage only tenth in the spare Williams, which had been prepared for Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Johnny Herbert recovered from his practice accident to qualify fourteenth. Arrows endured a particularly difficult session, with Mika Salo twentieth and Pedro Diniz last.

Qualifying Classification

1998 Brazilian Grand Prix Qualifying, 28 March 1998

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	8	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren	1:17.092	8
2	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	1:17.757	9
3	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	1:18.109	12
4	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:18.250	12
5	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	1:18.261	12
6	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	1:18.449	12
7	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	1:18.652	9
8	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	1:18.735	12
9	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	1:18.753	12
10	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	1:18.761	11
11	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	1:18.988	12
12	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	1:19.069	12
13	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	1:19.344	12
14	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	1:19.375	12
15	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	1:19.449	12
16	19	Jan Magnussen	Stewart	1:19.644	12
17	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	1:20.203	11
18	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	1:20.390	12
19	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	1:20.459	11
20	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	1:20.481	12
21	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	1:20.748	11
22	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	1:20.847	12

Sunday warm-up

The McLarens again led warm-up, with both drivers completing twelve laps. Eddie Irvine and Michael Schumacher followed, also with twelve laps apiece. Rain earlier in the morning left uncertainty over the race conditions, although the Grand Prix itself would remain dry.

Warm-up Classification

1998 Brazilian Grand Prix Warm-up, 29 March 1998

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	1:19.394	12
2	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.132s	12
3	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	+1.153s	12
4	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+1.184s	12
5	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	+1.226s	13
6	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	+1.552s	13
7	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	+1.581s	13
8	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	+1.615s	16
9	19	Jan Magnussen	Stewart	+1.632s	12
10	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	+1.685s	15
11	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	+1.713s	10
12	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	+1.723s	13
13	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	+1.798s	14
14	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	+1.980s	11
15	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	+2.127s	13
16	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	+2.190s	15
17	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	+2.257s	13
18	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	+2.287s	14
19	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+2.318s	8
20	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	+2.834s	14
21	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	+3.148s	8
22	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	+3.260s	9

What happened in the 1998 Brazilian Grand Prix?

Häkkinen led from the start and never surrendered first place. David Coulthard held second, while Ralf Schumacher spun out on the opening lap. Michael Schumacher moved past Eddie Irvine and then gained third ahead of Heinz-Harald Frentzen through the first round of stops.

Alexander Wurz‘s longer first stint brought him into the battle behind McLaren. He resisted Schumacher for a time and later passed Heinz-Harald Frentzen with a committed move into the Senna S. Schumacher survived a stall at his second stop to remain ahead of the Benetton.

Häkkinen completed his second win of the season ahead of David Coulthard, with Schumacher third and Alexander Wurz fourth. Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Giancarlo Fisichella took the remaining points. Damon Hill was excluded for an underweight car, while Johnny Herbert‘s painful neck after his practice crash eventually forced him to stop.

After the race, Mika Häkkinen headed the drivers’ standings with 20 points, followed by David Coulthard on 12. McLaren led the constructors’ table on 32, with Williams on 8.

1998 Brazilian Grand Prix race results

The 1998 Brazilian Grand Prix was held on 29 March 1998, with a scheduled start of 13:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	8	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren	72	1:37:11.747	10
2	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	72	+ 1.102	6
3	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	72	+ 1:00.550	4
4	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	72	+ 1:07.453	3
5	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	71	+ 1 Lap	2
6	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	71	+ 1 Lap	1
7	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	71	+ 1 Lap	0
8	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	71	+ 1 Lap	0
9	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	71	+ 1 Lap	0
10	19	Jan Magnussen	Stewart	70	+ 2 Laps	0
11	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	67	Physical	0
Ret	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	63	Engine	0
Ret	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	56	Gearbox	0
Ret	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	52	Gearbox	0
Ret	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	44	Throttle	0
Ret	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	26	Gearbox	0
Ret	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	19	Engine	0
Ret	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	18	Engine	0
Ret	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	17	Fuel Pump	0
Ret	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	3	Spun Off	0
Ret	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	0	Spun Off	0
DSQ	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	70	Underweight	0

1998 Brazilian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	64	1:19.337	194.754
2	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	62	1:19.627	194.044
3	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	58	1:19.646	193.998
4	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	62	1:19.863	193.471
5	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	62	1:20.010	193.115
6	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	58	1:20.129	192.829
7	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	58	1:20.271	192.487
8	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	60	1:20.378	192.231
9	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	50	1:20.449	192.062
10	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	63	1:20.623	191.647
11	19	Jan Magnussen	Stewart	26	1:20.991	190.776
12	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	52	1:21.035	190.673
13	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	52	1:21.456	189.687
14	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	38	1:21.758	188.987
15	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	9	1:22.933	186.309
16	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	17	1:22.969	186.228
17	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	19	1:23.226	185.653
18	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	38	1:23.293	185.504
19	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	24	1:23.342	185.395
20	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	13	1:23.565	184.900
21	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	4	1:24.475	182.908

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

1998 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1998 Brazilian Grand Prix.

1998 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Mika Häkkinen	Finnish	McLaren	20
2	David Coulthard	British	McLaren	12
3	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	German	Williams	6
4	Michael Schumacher	German	Ferrari	4
5	Alexander Wurz	Austrian	Benetton	3
6	Eddie Irvine	British	Ferrari	3
7	Jacques Villeneuve	Canadian	Williams	2
8	Johnny Herbert	British	Sauber	1
9	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Benetton	1
–	Damon Hill	British	Jordan	0
–	Jean Alesi	French	Sauber	0
–	Olivier Panis	French	Prost	0
–	Jan Magnussen	Danish	Stewart	0
–	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Prost	0
–	Ricardo Rosset	Brazilian	Tyrrell	0
–	Mika Salo	Finnish	Arrows	0
–	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Stewart	0
–	Esteban Tuero	Argentine	Minardi	0
–	Shinji Nakano	Japanese	Minardi	0
–	Pedro Diniz	Brazilian	Arrows	0
–	Toranosuke Takagi	Japanese	Tyrrell	0
–	Ralf Schumacher	German	Jordan	0

1998 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	McLaren	32
2	Williams	8
3	Ferrari	7
4	Benetton	4
5	Sauber	1
–	Jordan	0
–	Prost	0
–	Stewart	0
–	Tyrrell	0
–	Arrows	0
–	Minardi	0

1998 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1998 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	8 March
2	1998 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	29 March
3	1998 Argentine Grand Prix	Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires	12 April
4	1998 San Marino Grand Prix	Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola	26 April
5	1998 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	10 May
6	1998 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	24 May
7	1998 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	7 June
8	1998 French Grand Prix	Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours	28 June
9	1998 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	12 July
10	1998 Austrian Grand Prix	A1-Ring, Spielberg	26 July
11	1998 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	2 August
12	1998 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	16 August
13	1998 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	30 August
14	1998 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	13 September
15	1998 Luxembourg Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	27 September
16	1998 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	1 November