1998 Luxembourg Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Mika Häkkinen struck a decisive blow in the title fight by winning the Luxembourg Grand Prix at Nürburgring. He overcame an all-Ferrari front row to beat Michael Schumacher, with David Coulthard third, and carried a four-point championship lead into the final race.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Pole time	1:18.561
Fastest lap	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren
Fastest-lap time	1:20.450 on lap 25
First	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren
Second	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Third	David Coulthard	McLaren

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
25 September 1998	Practice 1	11:00
25 September 1998	Practice 2	13:00
26 September 1998	Practice 3	09:00
26 September 1998	Practice 4	10:15
26 September 1998	Qualifying	13:00
27 September 1998	Warm-up	09:30
27 September 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 15 leading the 1998 F1 World Championship on 80 points, with Michael Schumacher on 80. McLaren headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 128 points.

Race entries

The driver line-ups remained unchanged for the penultimate round. Ferrari brought four cars in its shorter-wheelbase configuration, while Williams had confirmed that Ralf Schumacher and Alessandro Zanardi would form its pairing for the following season.

Free Practice

Schumacher led opening practice as Ferrari concentrated on tyre evaluation and chassis balance. David Coulthard struggled with high-speed oversteer, while an electrical problem forced Williams to disconnect Jacques Villeneuve‘s power steering. Ralf Schumacher damaged his steering arms when he spun across the chicane, interrupting Jordan‘s preparations.

Häkkinen fitted fresh tyres late in the afternoon and moved comfortably ahead. Schumacher stayed on an older set, so the gap was not a straightforward comparison. Giancarlo Fisichella recovered from a spin to finish second, while Heinz-Harald Frentzen ended a quick run in the gravel. Johnny Herbert stopped with smoke in the cockpit after an electrical short circuit.

Friday Practice Classification — Combined

1998 Luxembourg Grand Prix opening-day practice, 25 September 1998

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	1:19.689	26
2	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+0.636s	34
3	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	+0.637s	35
4	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+0.772s	32
5	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.888s	28
6	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	+1.152s	33
7	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	+1.325s	37
8	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	+1.485s	35
9	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	+1.662s	22
10	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	+1.702s	44
11	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	+1.849s	28
12	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	+2.049s	41
13	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	+2.075s	47
14	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	+2.263s	38
15	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	+2.796s	41
16	19	Jos Verstappen	Stewart	+2.877s	25
17	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	+2.914s	31
18	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	+3.103s	35
19	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	+3.278s	39
20	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	+3.642s	43
21	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	+3.955s	27
22	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	+4.315s	25

Saturday began on a wet circuit, complicating efforts to refine the cars for qualifying. Eddie Irvine concentrated on race preparation, while Damon Hill made progress with Jordan‘s handling but was hindered by an engine-sensor problem. The changing surface made it difficult to judge which setup alterations were helping.

The track dried towards the end of practice and Häkkinen remained ahead. Schumacher came within a tenth on fresh tyres despite damaging a tyre in an excursion across the chicane. Ralf Schumacher was pleased with Jordan‘s revised front-wing endplates and engine changes, while David Coulthard continued to struggle with balance as conditions evolved.

Saturday Practice Classification — Combined

1998 Luxembourg Grand Prix Saturday practice, 26 September 1998

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	1:19.850	23
2	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+0.075s	11
3	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	+0.477s	33
4	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.538s	30
5	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	+0.607s	27
6	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	+0.796s	33
7	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	+0.969s	25
8	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+0.984s	28
9	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	+1.103s	33
10	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	+1.132s	37
11	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	+1.200s	37
12	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	+1.577s	32
13	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	+1.799s	27
14	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	+1.854s	28
15	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	+1.931s	29
16	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	+2.426s	24
17	19	Jos Verstappen	Stewart	+2.549s	21
18	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	+3.043s	36
19	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	+3.118s	32
20	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	+3.169s	32
21	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	+4.078s	27
22	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	+5.720s	19

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

Qualifying

Schumacher recovered from an early spin, changed his rear wing and took pole. Eddie Irvine improved throughout qualifying to secure second, giving Ferrari the entire front row. It was an ideal starting position for the team’s championship challenge.

Häkkinen struggled in the final sector and qualified third. Giancarlo Fisichella took fourth despite running wide on his final lap, ahead of David Coulthard and Ralf Schumacher. Damon Hill spun and remained unhappy with his car in tenth.

Qualifying Classification

1998 Luxembourg Grand Prix Qualifying, 26 September 1998

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:18.561	11
2	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	1:18.907	12
3	8	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren	1:18.940	12
4	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	1:19.048	12
5	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	1:19.169	12
6	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	1:19.455	11
7	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	1:19.522	12
8	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	1:19.569	12
9	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	1:19.631	12
10	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	1:19.807	12
11	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	1:20.493	11
12	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	1:20.530	12
13	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	1:20.650	12
14	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	1:20.709	12
15	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	1:21.048	12
16	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	1:21.120	12
17	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	1:21.258	12
18	19	Jos Verstappen	Stewart	1:21.501	12
19	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	1:21.525	12
20	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	1:22.078	12
21	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	1:22.146	12
22	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	1:22.822	12

Sunday warm-up

McLaren‘s overnight setup revisions paid off in a cold warm-up. Häkkinen led David Coulthard, with Giancarlo Fisichella and Schumacher behind them. The improved performance gave McLaren encouragement after its qualifying disappointment, while the cooler conditions left both leading teams assessing how their tyres would behave over a race stint.

Warm-up Classification

1998 Luxembourg Grand Prix Warm-up, 27 September 1998

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	1:20.396	15
2	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.519s	15
3	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+0.966s	14
4	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+1.119s	15
5	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	+1.240s	14
6	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	+1.474s	19
7	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	+1.810s	13
8	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	+1.861s	12
9	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	+1.882s	13
10	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	+1.956s	16
11	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	+2.186s	16
12	19	Jos Verstappen	Stewart	+2.302s	13
13	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	+2.320s	15
14	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	+2.708s	15
15	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	+2.716s	17
16	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	+2.852s	12
17	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	+3.002s	14
18	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	+3.159s	15
19	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	+3.601s	12
20	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	+3.782s	15
21	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	+3.937s	16
22	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	+4.829s	13

What happened in the 1998 Luxembourg Grand Prix?

Eddie Irvine briefly led before Schumacher moved ahead, leaving Häkkinen behind the second Ferrari. Häkkinen passed Eddie Irvine at the chicane and began closing on the leader. When Schumacher stopped first, the McLaren stayed out and used the extra laps to turn the contest around.

Häkkinen emerged from his first stop narrowly ahead. Schumacher kept the pressure on, but Häkkinen retained his advantage through the second round of stops and then pulled away. David Coulthard also used the pit-stop sequence to move ahead of Eddie Irvine.

Häkkinen won by 2.2 seconds, with Schumacher second and David Coulthard third. Eddie Irvine, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Giancarlo Fisichella completed the points. The result meant that second place in Japan would be enough for Häkkinen to secure his first world title, even if Schumacher won.

After the race, Mika Häkkinen headed the drivers’ standings with 90 points, followed by Michael Schumacher on 86. McLaren led the constructors’ table on 142, with Ferrari on 127.

1998 Luxembourg Grand Prix race results

The 1998 Luxembourg Grand Prix was held on 27 September 1998, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	8	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren	67	1:32:14.789	10
2	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	67	+2.212	6
3	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	67	+34.164	4
4	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	67	+58.183	3
5	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	67	+1:00.248	2
6	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	67	+1:01.360	1
7	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	67	+1:04.790	0
8	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	66	+1 lap	0
9	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	66	+1 lap	0
10	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	66	+1 lap	0
11	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	65	+2 laps	0
12	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	65	+2 laps	0
13	19	Jos Verstappen	Stewart	65	+2 laps	0
14	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	65	+2 laps	0
15	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	65	+2 laps	0
16	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	65	+2 laps	0
Ret	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	56	Engine	0
Ret	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	53	Brakes	0
Ret	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	37	Engine	0
Ret	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	36	Engine	0
Ret	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	6	Transmission	0
Ret	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	6	Hydraulics	0

1998 Luxembourg Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	25	1:20.450	203.873
2	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	61	1:20.715	203.203
3	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	65	1:21.001	202.486
4	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	65	1:21.394	201.508
5	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	65	1:21.506	201.231
6	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	62	1:21.667	200.835
7	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	33	1:21.701	200.751
8	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	66	1:21.741	200.653
9	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	61	1:21.778	200.562
10	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	21	1:21.881	200.310
11	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	43	1:21.979	200.070
12	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	23	1:22.712	198.297
13	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	61	1:22.931	197.774
14	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	47	1:23.392	196.680
15	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	33	1:23.412	196.633
16	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	23	1:23.552	196.304
17	19	Jos Verstappen	Stewart	30	1:23.944	195.387
18	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	50	1:24.024	195.201
19	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	23	1:24.161	194.883
20	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	61	1:24.210	194.770
21	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	5	1:25.285	192.315
22	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	4	1:25.328	192.218

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 Luxembourg Grand Prix.

1998 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Mika Häkkinen	Finnish	McLaren	90
2	Michael Schumacher	German	Ferrari	86
3	David Coulthard	British	McLaren	52
4	Eddie Irvine	British	Ferrari	41
5	Jacques Villeneuve	Canadian	Williams	20
6	Damon Hill	British	Jordan	17
7	Alexander Wurz	Austrian	Benetton	17
8	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Benetton	16
9	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	German	Williams	15
10	Ralf Schumacher	German	Jordan	14
11	Jean Alesi	French	Sauber	9
12	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Stewart	4
13	Mika Salo	Finnish	Arrows	3
14	Pedro Diniz	Brazilian	Arrows	3
15	Johnny Herbert	British	Sauber	1
16	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Prost	1
17	Jan Magnussen	Danish	Stewart	1
–	Shinji Nakano	Japanese	Minardi	0
–	Esteban Tuero	Argentine	Minardi	0
–	Ricardo Rosset	Brazilian	Tyrrell	0
–	Toranosuke Takagi	Japanese	Tyrrell	0
–	Olivier Panis	French	Prost	0
–	Jos Verstappen	Dutch	Stewart	0

1998 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	McLaren	142
2	Ferrari	127
3	Williams	35
4	Benetton	33
5	Jordan	31
6	Sauber	10
7	Arrows	6
8	Stewart	5
9	Prost	1
–	Minardi	0
–	Tyrrell	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