1998 Spanish Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Mika Häkkinen delivered a commanding Spanish Grand Prix victory at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. David Coulthard completed a McLaren one-two, while Michael Schumacher recovered from a slow start and a penalty to finish third for Ferrari.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren
Pole time	1:20.262
Fastest lap	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren
Fastest-lap time	1:24.275 on lap 25
First	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren
Second	David Coulthard	McLaren
Third	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
8 May 1998	Practice 1	11:00
8 May 1998	Practice 2	13:00
9 May 1998	Practice 3	09:00
9 May 1998	Practice 4	10:15
9 May 1998	Qualifying	13:00
10 May 1998	Warm-up	09:30
10 May 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 5 leading the 1998 F1 World Championship on 26 points, with David Coulthard on 23. McLaren headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 49 points.

Race entries

All eleven teams retained their drivers. Stewart brought a revised chassis and engine for Rubens Barrichello, while Jan Magnussen continued with the older specification. The tall side-mounted wings seen at Imola had been banned before this weekend, requiring the teams that had used them to revise their aerodynamic setups.

Free Practice

Warm, sunny conditions gave the teams plenty of running on Friday morning at a circuit they had recently visited for testing. Häkkinen immediately established a substantial advantage over David Coulthard. Jean Alesi was the closest challenger in the opening session, although Sauber would struggle to maintain that position as the weekend developed.

Neither McLaren improved in the afternoon, but their morning times remained beyond reach. Rubens Barrichello made a considerable step forward with Stewart‘s revised car, gaining around two and a half seconds and climbing to seventh overall. Jan Magnussen spun and could not improve, leaving the two Stewart drivers with very different experiences of the new package.

Friday Practice Classification — Combined

1998 Spanish Grand Prix opening-day practice, 8 May 1998

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	1:22.147	17
2	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.818s	25
3	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	+1.090s	43
4	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	+1.274s	24
5	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+1.321s	20
6	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	+1.696s	29
7	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	+1.890s	25
8	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	+2.051s	20
9	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	+2.110s	4
10	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	+2.125s	32
11	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+2.139s	29
12	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	+2.164s	20
13	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	+2.273s	36
14	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	+2.741s	41
15	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	+2.750s	38
16	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	+3.133s	23
17	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	+3.189s	19
18	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	+3.378s	29
19	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	+3.623s	28
20	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	+4.138s	28
21	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	+4.224s	39
22	19	Jan Magnussen	Stewart	+4.459s	15

Cooler conditions greeted Saturday’s first session. Häkkinen and David Coulthard remained ahead, while Giancarlo Fisichella moved into third as Benetton‘s weekend gathered momentum. The team was trying revised suspension geometry to improve its use of the Bridgestone tyres, rather than following Stewart‘s route of extending the wheelbase.

Häkkinen led again in final practice, with Giancarlo Fisichella and Alexander Wurz putting both Benettons behind the McLarens. Their progress offered a stronger challenge to Ferrari for the second row. Eddie Irvine‘s preparations were less settled: his weekend had included repeated excursions, and he would finish qualifying behind both Benetton drivers.

Saturday Practice Classification — Combined

1998 Spanish Grand Prix Saturday practice, 9 May 1998

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	1:20.791	22
2	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.432s	17
3	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+1.311s	24
4	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	+1.623s	27
5	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	+1.706s	25
6	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	+1.882s	24
7	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+2.099s	16
8	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	+2.183s	36
9	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	+2.267s	36
10	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	+2.292s	26
11	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	+2.322s	29
12	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	+2.526s	24
13	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	+2.606s	27
14	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	+2.692s	29
15	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	+3.153s	35
16	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	+3.305s	23
17	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	+3.849s	32
18	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	+3.889s	31
19	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	+4.002s	22
20	19	Jan Magnussen	Stewart	+4.071s	20
21	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	+4.584s	28
22	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	+5.094s	26

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

Qualifying

Häkkinen claimed pole with a superb 1:20.262, beating David Coulthard by more than seven tenths. Michael Schumacher qualified third, but was over a second and a half away from pole. Giancarlo Fisichella and Alexander Wurz took fourth and fifth, leaving Eddie Irvine sixth in the other Ferrari.

Jacques Villeneuve ended the session in the gravel and qualified tenth, with Heinz-Harald Frentzen thirteenth on a difficult afternoon for Williams. At the back, Ricardo Rosset failed to meet the 107 per cent requirement and did not qualify. Twenty-one cars would take part in the race.

Qualifying Classification

1998 Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying, 9 May 1998

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	8	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren	1:20.262	11
2	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	1:20.996	12
3	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:21.785	11
4	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	1:21.894	11
5	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	1:21.965	12
6	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	1:22.350	12
7	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	1:22.794	9
8	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	1:22.835	11
9	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	1:22.860	12
10	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	1:22.885	10
11	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	1:22.927	12
12	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	1:22.963	12
13	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	1:23.197	11
14	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	1:23.327	11
15	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	1:23.704	12
16	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	1:23.748	12
17	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	1:23.887	12
18	19	Jan Magnussen	Stewart	1:24.112	12
19	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	1:24.265	12
20	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	1:24.538	12
21	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	1:24.722	12
DNQ	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell	1:25.946	12

Sunday warm-up

Häkkinen and David Coulthard continued to set the pace in warm-up. Michael Schumacher went off and damaged his Ferrari, adding an unwelcome repair job before the start. With dry conditions expected for the race, the teams prepared for a contest in which refuelling strategy would be their main opportunity to change the order.

Warm-up Classification

1998 Spanish Grand Prix Warm-up, 10 May 1998

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	1:22.460	12
2	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.810s	13
3	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+1.647s	15
4	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	+2.217s	14
5	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+2.392s	13
6	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	+2.716s	14
7	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	+2.922s	14
8	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	+3.076s	14
9	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	+3.081s	14
10	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	+3.170s	14
11	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	+3.242s	14
12	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	+3.465s	15
13	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	+3.531s	12
14	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	+3.627s	15
15	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	+3.818s	12
16	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	+3.910s	14
17	19	Jan Magnussen	Stewart	+3.965s	12
18	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	+3.992s	16
19	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	+4.238s	12
20	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	+4.270s	14
21	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	+4.766s	12

What happened in the 1998 Spanish Grand Prix?

The McLarens held their positions at the start, but Michael Schumacher slipped behind Eddie Irvine and Giancarlo Fisichella. Pedro Diniz had to start from the pit lane after trouble on the formation lap. Häkkinen soon pulled clear, leaving David Coulthard unable to match his team-mate’s pace.

The first stops allowed Schumacher to move ahead of Eddie Irvine and Giancarlo Fisichella. Their own fight ended in contact as Giancarlo Fisichella tried to pass around the outside, sending both cars into the gravel. Schumacher then received a ten-second stop-go penalty for speeding in the pit lane, but retained third.

Häkkinen completed a comfortable victory ahead of David Coulthard. Alexander Wurz finished fourth, Rubens Barrichello collected Stewart‘s first points of the season in fifth, and Jacques Villeneuve took sixth. Giancarlo Fisichella was later fined for the collision with Eddie Irvine.

After the race, Mika Häkkinen headed the drivers’ standings with 36 points, followed by David Coulthard on 29. McLaren led the constructors’ table on 65, with Ferrari on 35.

1998 Spanish Grand Prix race results

The 1998 Spanish Grand Prix was held on 10 May 1998, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	8	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren	65	1:33:37.621	10
2	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	65	+9.439	6
3	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	65	+47.095	4
4	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	65	+1:02.538	3
5	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	64	+1 Lap	2
6	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	64	+1 Lap	1
7	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	64	+1 Lap	0
8	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	63	+2 Laps	0
9	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	63	+2 Laps	0
10	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	63	+2 Laps	0
11	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	63	+2 Laps	0
12	19	Jan Magnussen	Stewart	63	+2 Laps	0
13	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	63	+2 Laps	0
14	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	63	+2 Laps	0
15	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	63	+2 Laps	0
16	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	60	Engine	0
Ret	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	46	Engine	0
Ret	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	28	Collision	0
Ret	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	28	Collision	0
Ret	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	21	Engine	0
Ret	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	20	Engine	0
DNQ	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell		107% Rule	0

1998 Spanish Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	25	1:24.275	201.967
2	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	45	1:24.625	201.132
3	7	David Coulthard	McLaren	61	1:24.778	200.769
4	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	43	1:25.343	199.439
5	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber	31	1:25.668	198.683
6	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	20	1:25.778	198.428
7	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	18	1:25.851	198.259
8	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams	3	1:26.011	197.890
9	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber	25	1:26.354	197.104
10	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost	25	1:26.394	197.013
11	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams	24	1:26.407	196.984
12	9	Damon Hill	Jordan	37	1:26.501	196.769
13	11	Olivier Panis	Prost	57	1:26.502	196.767
14	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	23	1:26.532	196.699
15	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan	40	1:26.533	196.697
16	19	Jan Magnussen	Stewart	43	1:27.203	195.185
17	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi	45	1:27.601	194.299
18	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	16	1:27.638	194.217
19	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	22	1:27.767	193.931
20	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi	25	1:27.767	193.931
21	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell	34	1:28.066	193.273

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 Spanish Grand Prix.

1998 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Mika Häkkinen	Finnish	McLaren	36
2	David Coulthard	British	McLaren	29
3	Michael Schumacher	German	Ferrari	24
4	Eddie Irvine	British	Ferrari	11
5	Alexander Wurz	Austrian	Benetton	9
6	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	German	Williams	8
7	Jacques Villeneuve	Canadian	Williams	6
8	Jean Alesi	French	Sauber	3
9	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Stewart	2
10	Johnny Herbert	British	Sauber	1
11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Benetton	1
–	Ralf Schumacher	German	Jordan	0
–	Damon Hill	British	Jordan	0
–	Esteban Tuero	Argentine	Minardi	0
–	Olivier Panis	French	Prost	0
–	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Prost	0
–	Mika Salo	Finnish	Arrows	0
–	Jan Magnussen	Danish	Stewart	0
–	Toranosuke Takagi	Japanese	Tyrrell	0
–	Shinji Nakano	Japanese	Minardi	0
–	Ricardo Rosset	Brazilian	Tyrrell	0
–	Pedro Diniz	Brazilian	Arrows	0

1998 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	McLaren	65
2	Ferrari	35
3	Williams	14
4	Benetton	10
5	Sauber	4
6	Stewart	2
–	Jordan	0
–	Minardi	0
–	Prost	0
–	Arrows	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