1998 French Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Michael Schumacher led Eddie Irvine home in the French Grand Prix at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, giving Ferrari its first one-two since 1990. Mika Häkkinen finished third after a late attempt to pass Eddie Irvine fell just short.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren
Pole time	1:14.929
Fastest lap	David Coulthard	McLaren
Fastest-lap time	1:17.523 on lap 56
First	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Second	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari
Third	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
26 June 1998	Practice 1	11:00
26 June 1998	Practice 2	13:00
27 June 1998	Practice 3	09:00
27 June 1998	Practice 4	10:15
27 June 1998	Qualifying	13:00
28 June 1998	Warm-up	09:30
28 June 1998	Race	14:00

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 8 leading the 1998 F1 World Championship on 46 points, with Michael Schumacher on 34. McLaren headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 75 points.

Race entries

Jos Verstappen replaced Jan Magnussen at Stewart, returning to the grid alongside Rubens Barrichello. Heinz-Harald Frentzen was cleared to race after a heavy accident during testing at Magny-Cours, although he was still feeling its effects as the weekend began.

Free Practice

Jos Verstappen‘s return began badly when his engine failed on his first lap in opening practice. He missed the rest of the session, losing valuable time to settle into the Stewart. Up front, McLaren quickly established its pace, but the Ferraris were close enough to suggest a competitive weekend.

Eddie Irvine briefly held the fastest time before Häkkinen displaced him near the end of the afternoon. Jos Verstappen only began setting times halfway through the session and concentrated on setup changes. His final attempt on new tyres came too late to count, leaving the Dutchman short of running and twentieth overall.

Friday Practice Classification — Combined

1998 French Grand Prix opening-day practice, 26 June 1998

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	1:16.515	28
2	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	+0.082s	33
3	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.192s	25
4	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	+0.511s	35
5	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+0.914s	35
6	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	+0.990s	35
7	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+1.149s	30
8	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	+1.191s	26
9	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	+1.380s	40
10	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	+1.462s	32
11	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	+1.521s	38
12	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	+1.657s	22
13	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	+1.852s	26
14	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	+2.134s	34
15	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	+2.141s	33
16	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	+2.188s	27
17	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	+2.493s	18
18	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	+2.508s	32
19	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	+2.542s	46
20	19	Jos Verstappen	Stewart	+3.771s	15
21	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	+3.930s	20
22	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	+4.356s	21

Schumacher and Häkkinen exchanged the advantage in Saturday’s opening session. McLaren initially moved ahead when its drivers began their runs, but Schumacher improved late to set the fastest time. Ferrari had a credible pole challenge, with Eddie Irvine also close to the leading group rather than facing the large deficit seen earlier in the season.

Schumacher went through the gravel early in final practice, recovered and returned to the pits. David Coulthard also went off, Alexander Wurz and Johnny Herbert suffered engine failures, and Esteban Tuero crashed. Häkkinen eventually beat Schumacher’s earlier time, while Jos Verstappen continued refining his car and felt more comfortable than he had during testing.

Saturday Practice Classification — Combined

1998 French Grand Prix Saturday practice, 27 June 1998

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	1:15.613	26
2	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+0.125s	17
3	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	+0.257s	27
4	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.296s	17
5	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	+1.065s	35
6	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	+1.132s	31
7	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	+1.169s	35
8	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+1.493s	29
9	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	+1.592s	19
10	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	+1.813s	28
11	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	+2.098s	17
12	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	+2.234s	26
13	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	+2.260s	26
14	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	+2.462s	25
15	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	+2.557s	25
16	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	+2.776s	28
17	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	+2.792s	24
18	19	Jos Verstappen	Stewart	+2.838s	29
19	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	+3.093s	20
20	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	+3.280s	4
21	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	+3.711s	28
22	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	+3.862s	27

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

Qualifying

Häkkinen and Schumacher fought for pole, with the McLaren driver finally taking it by 0.230 seconds. David Coulthard qualified third and Eddie Irvine fourth, putting both teams in position to challenge at the start. Jacques Villeneuve took fifth, followed by the Jordans of Ralf Schumacher and Damon Hill.

Jos Verstappen qualified fifteenth, directly behind Rubens Barrichello, after his disrupted Friday. He was pleased with his progress on his first weekend for Stewart. Heinz-Harald Frentzen took eighth, while all twenty-two drivers set times inside the 107 per cent limit.

Qualifying Classification

1998 French Grand Prix Qualifying, 27 June 1998

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	8	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren	1:14.929	12
2	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:15.159	12
3	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	1:15.333	12
4	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	1:15.527	12
5	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	1:15.630	12
6	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	1:15.925	12
7	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	1:16.245	9
8	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	1:16.319	12
9	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	1:16.375	12
10	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	1:16.460	12
11	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	1:16.627	12
12	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	1:16.892	12
13	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	1:16.977	12
14	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	1:17.024	12
15	19	Jos Verstappen	Stewart	1:17.604	11
16	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	1:17.671	11
17	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	1:17.880	8
18	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	1:17.908	11
19	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	1:17.970	11
20	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	1:18.221	10
21	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	1:18.273	12
22	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	1:19.146	10

Sunday warm-up

David Coulthard led Häkkinen in warm-up, with the Ferraris next. Jos Verstappen stayed within his target margin of Rubens Barrichello as he continued learning the Stewart. With the race expected to be warmer than practice, the teams also had to account for how the changing conditions would affect their tyres.

Warm-up Classification

1998 French Grand Prix Warm-up, 28 June 1998

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	1:16.483	14
2	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	+0.235s	12
3	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+0.706s	14
4	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	+1.145s	14
5	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	+1.959s	14
6	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	+1.983s	17
7	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+2.062s	11
8	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	+2.124s	14
9	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	+2.128s	13
10	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	+2.246s	12
11	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	+2.307s	14
12	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	+2.336s	11
13	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	+2.609s	15
14	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	+2.614s	13
15	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	+2.959s	18
16	19	Jos Verstappen	Stewart	+3.158s	12
17	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	+3.250s	13
18	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	+3.305s	13
19	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	+3.352s	17
20	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	+3.757s	14
21	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	+4.893s	16
22	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	+5.677s	13

What happened in the 1998 French Grand Prix?

The first start was abandoned after Jos Verstappen stalled. At the second attempt, Schumacher and Eddie Irvine both passed Häkkinen, giving Ferrari control of the race. Schumacher pulled away while Eddie Irvine kept the McLarens behind him.

Häkkinen spun while trying to pass Eddie Irvine but continued after a trip through the gravel. David Coulthard‘s challenge was then undermined by refuelling trouble, which forced additional visits to the pits. Häkkinen recovered third and returned to Eddie Irvine‘s tail as the finish approached.

Schumacher won comfortably, while Eddie Irvine resisted a last-corner attack to beat Häkkinen by less than two tenths. Jacques Villeneuve finished fourth, Alexander Wurz fifth and David Coulthard sixth. Ferrari‘s first one-two since the Spanish Grand Prix of 1990 tightened the championship contest.

After the race, Mika Häkkinen headed the drivers’ standings with 50 points, followed by Michael Schumacher on 44. McLaren led the constructors’ table on 80, with Ferrari on 69.

1998 French Grand Prix race results

The 1998 French Grand Prix was held on 28 June 1998, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	71	1:34:45.026	10
2	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	71	+ 19.575	6
3	8	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren	71	+ 19.747	4
4	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	71	+ 1:06.965	3
5	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	70	+ 1 lap	2
6	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	70	+ 1 lap	1
7	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	70	+ 1 lap	0
8	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	70	+ 1 lap	0
9	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	70	+ 1 lap	0
10	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	69	+ 2 laps	0
11	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	69	+ 2 laps	0
12	19	Jos Verstappen	Stewart	69	+ 2 laps	0
13	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	69	+ 2 laps	0
14	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	69	+ 2 laps	0
15	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	68	Suspension	0
16	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	68	+ 3 laps	0
17	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	65	Engine	0
Ret	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	60	Engine	0
Ret	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	55	Spun off	0
Ret	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	41	Gearbox	0
Ret	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	19	Hydraulics	0
Ret	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	16	Hydraulics	0

1998 French Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	56	1:17.523	197.360
2	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	4	1:17.770	196.733
3	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	51	1:18.493	194.921
4	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	41	1:18.913	193.884
5	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	24	1:18.956	193.778
6	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	53	1:19.052	193.543
7	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	47	1:19.229	193.111
8	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	46	1:19.307	192.921
9	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	34	1:19.320	192.889
10	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	4	1:19.490	192.477
11	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	46	1:19.660	192.066
12	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	49	1:19.771	191.799
13	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	5	1:19.869	191.563
14	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	31	1:19.953	191.362
15	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	35	1:20.299	190.537
16	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	42	1:20.651	189.706
17	19	Jos Verstappen	Stewart	45	1:20.849	189.241
18	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	60	1:21.502	187.725
19	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	38	1:21.765	187.121
20	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	41	1:21.883	186.851
21	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	3	1:22.435	185.600
22	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	34	1:22.761	184.869

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 French Grand Prix.

1998 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Mika Häkkinen	Finnish	McLaren	50
2	Michael Schumacher	German	Ferrari	44
3	David Coulthard	British	McLaren	30
4	Eddie Irvine	British	Ferrari	25
5	Alexander Wurz	Austrian	Benetton	14
6	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Benetton	13
7	Jacques Villeneuve	Canadian	Williams	11
8	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	German	Williams	8
9	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Stewart	4
10	Mika Salo	Finnish	Arrows	3
11	Jean Alesi	French	Sauber	3
12	Johnny Herbert	British	Sauber	1
13	Pedro Diniz	Brazilian	Arrows	1
14	Jan Magnussen	Danish	Stewart	1
–	Shinji Nakano	Japanese	Minardi	0
–	Ralf Schumacher	German	Jordan	0
–	Damon Hill	British	Jordan	0
–	Ricardo Rosset	Brazilian	Tyrrell	0
–	Esteban Tuero	Argentine	Minardi	0
–	Olivier Panis	French	Prost	0
–	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Prost	0
–	Toranosuke Takagi	Japanese	Tyrrell	0
–	Jos Verstappen	Dutch	Stewart	0

1998 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	McLaren	80
2	Ferrari	69
3	Benetton	27
4	Williams	19
5	Stewart	5
6	Arrows	4
7	Sauber	4
–	Jordan	0
–	Minardi	0
–	Tyrrell	0
–	Prost	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