1998 Hungarian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Michael Schumacher and Ferrari turned an ambitious three-stop strategy into victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix at Hungaroring. David Coulthard finished second and Jacques Villeneuve third, while championship leader Mika Häkkinen struggled home sixth with a suspension problem.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren
Pole time	1:16.973
Fastest lap	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:19.286 on lap 60
First	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Second	David Coulthard	McLaren
Third	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
14 August 1998	Practice 1	11:00
14 August 1998	Practice 2	13:00
15 August 1998	Practice 3	09:00
15 August 1998	Practice 4	10:15
15 August 1998	Qualifying	13:00
16 August 1998	Warm-up	09:30
16 August 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 12 leading the 1998 F1 World Championship on 76 points, with Michael Schumacher on 60. McLaren headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 118 points.

Race entries

The eleven teams retained their driver pairings. Benetton introduced its longer-wheelbase car with revised rear suspension, while the circuit’s tight corners brought high-downforce bodywork back into focus. Heinz-Harald Frentzen was feeling unwell but continued with his preparations for Williams.

Free Practice

A downpour left opening practice wet, although conditions gradually improved. Häkkinen and David Coulthard led on wet-weather tyres. Michael Schumacher spun but kept going, while Ralf Schumacher damaged his Jordan against the barriers. Benetton began assessing its revised car in difficult conditions, with Alexander Wurz suffering several excursions.

The track was dry for the afternoon and David Coulthard displaced Häkkinen at the top. Ferrari looked more competitive than at Hockenheim, although Eddie Irvine found the bumps particularly troublesome under braking. Jarno Trulli went into the gravel, leaving Olivier Panis to continue Prost‘s development work, while Ferrari still had dry-weather preparation to complete.

Friday Practice Classification — Combined

1998 Hungarian Grand Prix opening-day practice, 14 August 1998

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	1:19.989	25
2	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	+0.197s	29
3	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+0.450s	25
4	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	+0.452s	37
5	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	+0.789s	29
6	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	+0.790s	35
7	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+1.121s	39
8	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	+1.209s	18
9	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	+1.229s	35
10	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	+1.425s	23
11	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	+1.582s	27
12	19	Jos Verstappen	Stewart	+1.914s	28
13	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	+2.001s	22
14	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	+2.156s	28
15	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	+2.308s	36
16	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	+2.453s	30
17	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	+2.951s	31
18	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	+3.272s	37
19	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	+3.461s	22
20	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	+3.682s	46
21	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	+5.622s	28
22	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	+5.711s	21

Jos Verstappen suffered an early engine failure on Saturday and lost almost all the morning’s running while Stewart made repairs. Giancarlo Fisichella also lost valuable time after becoming stranded on a kerb. Such interruptions were especially costly on a circuit where a clean rhythm and confidence over the bumps mattered so much.

Häkkinen and David Coulthard ran on fresh tyres and finished clear of Schumacher, who used an older set. Jos Verstappen returned near the end but collided with Ricardo Rosset, damaging both cars. Giancarlo Fisichella recovered to fourth, while Heinz-Harald Frentzen kept his runs short as he continued to feel unwell.

Saturday Practice Classification — Combined

1998 Hungarian Grand Prix Saturday practice, 15 August 1998

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	1:17.337	25
2	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.158s	23
3	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+1.251s	22
4	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+1.455s	23
5	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	+1.679s	29
6	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	+1.754s	38
7	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	+1.770s	24
8	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	+1.846s	34
9	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	+1.915s	32
10	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	+1.949s	32
11	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	+2.112s	26
12	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	+2.463s	24
13	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	+2.599s	29
14	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	+3.215s	31
15	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	+3.252s	27
16	19	Jos Verstappen	Stewart	+3.546s	8
17	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	+3.583s	31
18	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	+4.036s	32
19	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	+4.248s	31
20	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	+4.297s	17
21	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	+4.671s	27
22	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	+5.942s	30

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

Qualifying

Häkkinen secured pole with a 1:16.973, beating David Coulthard by 0.158 seconds. Schumacher took third on the harder Goodyear tyre, keeping his race prospects firmly in mind. Damon Hill put his Jordan fourth, ahead of Eddie Irvine and Jacques Villeneuve.

The wind picked up during the closing stages, complicating the final attempts. Heinz-Harald Frentzen qualified seventh despite feeling unwell, while Ricardo Rosset failed to get within the 107 per cent limit and did not qualify. The field was reduced to twenty-one starters.

Qualifying Classification

1998 Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying, 15 August 1998

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	8	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren	1:16.973	11
2	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	1:17.131	11
3	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:17.366	10
4	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	1:18.214	12
5	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	1:18.325	12
6	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	1:18.337	12
7	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	1:19.029	12
8	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	1:19.050	12
9	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	1:19.063	12
10	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	1:19.171	12
11	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	1:19.210	12
12	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	1:19.706	12
13	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	1:19.712	12
14	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	1:19.876	11
15	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	1:19.878	11
16	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	1:20.042	12
17	19	Jos Verstappen	Stewart	1:20.198	12
18	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	1:20.354	12
19	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	1:20.635	12
20	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	1:20.663	12
21	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	1:21.725	12
DNQ	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	1:23.140	11

Sunday warm-up

McLaren again led warm-up, with Häkkinen ahead of David Coulthard. Schumacher concentrated on refining Ferrari‘s race setup and was satisfied with the car. Heinz-Harald Frentzen‘s third-fastest time was an encouraging performance despite his illness, as Williams prepared for a demanding afternoon on the tight, physical circuit.

Warm-up Classification

1998 Hungarian Grand Prix Warm-up, 16 August 1998

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	1:18.694	14
2	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.861s	13
3	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	+1.273s	13
4	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+1.631s	13
5	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	+1.691s	15
6	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	+1.886s	17
7	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	+2.212s	15
8	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	+2.241s	14
9	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+2.640s	13
10	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	+2.747s	16
11	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	+3.105s	15
12	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	+3.226s	15
13	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	+3.230s	15
14	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	+3.401s	14
15	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	+3.425s	15
16	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	+3.650s	11
17	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	+4.010s	15
18	19	Jos Verstappen	Stewart	+4.267s	12
19	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	+4.297s	16
20	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	+4.537s	12
21	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	+4.991s	15

What happened in the 1998 Hungarian Grand Prix?

Häkkinen and David Coulthard led the early stages, with Schumacher close behind. Ferrari then committed to a three-stop strategy, asking Schumacher to exploit clear track and build enough of a margin to pay for the additional visit to the pits.

Schumacher delivered a sustained burst of speed. Even a brief excursion did not undo the advantage he was building. Häkkinen, meanwhile, developed a shock-absorber problem, and David Coulthard lost time behind his struggling team-mate before being released.

Schumacher retained the lead after his final stop and won by more than nine seconds. David Coulthard took second and Jacques Villeneuve collected another podium. Damon Hill and Heinz-Harald Frentzen finished fourth and fifth, while Häkkinen salvaged sixth, a lap down. His championship advantage over Schumacher was cut to seven points.

After the race, Mika Häkkinen headed the drivers’ standings with 77 points, followed by Michael Schumacher on 70. McLaren led the constructors’ table on 125, with Ferrari on 102.

1998 Hungarian Grand Prix race results

The 1998 Hungarian Grand Prix was held on 16 August 1998, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	77	1:45:25.550	10
2	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	77	+ 9.433	6
3	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	77	+ 44.444	4
4	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	77	+ 55.076	3
5	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	77	+ 56.510	2
6	8	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren	76	+ 1 lap	1
7	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	76	+ 1 lap	0
8	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	76	+ 1 lap	0
9	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	76	+ 1 lap	0
10	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	76	+ 1 lap	0
11	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	74	+ 3 laps	0
12	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	74	+ 3 laps	0
13	19	Jos Verstappen	Stewart	74	+ 3 laps	0
14	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	74	+ 3 laps	0
15	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	74	+ 3 laps	0
16	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	69	Gearbox	0
Ret	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	54	Gearbox	0
Ret	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	28	Engine	0
Ret	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	18	Gearbox	0
Ret	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	13	Gearbox	0
Ret	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	13	Engine	0

1998 Hungarian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	60	1:19.286	180.349
2	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	57	1:20.078	178.565
3	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	57	1:20.356	177.948
4	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	30	1:20.545	177.530
5	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	28	1:20.546	177.528
6	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	75	1:20.680	177.233
7	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	71	1:20.875	176.806
8	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	11	1:20.984	176.568
9	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	48	1:21.060	176.402
10	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	37	1:21.329	175.819
11	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	35	1:21.439	175.581
12	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	48	1:21.479	175.495
13	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	48	1:22.495	173.334
14	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	17	1:22.538	173.243
15	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	50	1:23.294	171.671
16	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	25	1:23.318	171.621
17	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	43	1:23.429	171.393
18	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	50	1:23.573	171.098
19	19	Jos Verstappen	Stewart	48	1:23.644	170.953
20	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	18	1:23.716	170.806
21	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	7	1:25.450	167.339

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 Hungarian Grand Prix.

1998 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Mika Häkkinen	Finnish	McLaren	77
2	Michael Schumacher	German	Ferrari	70
3	David Coulthard	British	McLaren	48
4	Eddie Irvine	British	Ferrari	32
5	Jacques Villeneuve	Canadian	Williams	20
6	Alexander Wurz	Austrian	Benetton	17
7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Benetton	15
8	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	German	Williams	10
9	Damon Hill	British	Jordan	6
10	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Stewart	4
11	Ralf Schumacher	German	Jordan	4
12	Mika Salo	Finnish	Arrows	3
13	Jean Alesi	French	Sauber	3
14	Johnny Herbert	British	Sauber	1
15	Pedro Diniz	Brazilian	Arrows	1
16	Jan Magnussen	Danish	Stewart	1
–	Shinji Nakano	Japanese	Minardi	0
–	Ricardo Rosset	Brazilian	Tyrrell	0
–	Esteban Tuero	Argentine	Minardi	0
–	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Prost	0
–	Olivier Panis	French	Prost	0
–	Toranosuke Takagi	Japanese	Tyrrell	0
–	Jos Verstappen	Dutch	Stewart	0

1998 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	McLaren	125
2	Ferrari	102
3	Benetton	32
4	Williams	30
5	Jordan	10
6	Stewart	5
7	Arrows	4
8	Sauber	4
–	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