1998 Italian Grand Prix

The 1998 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 13 September 1998. The race was won by Michael Schumacher driving a Ferrari. Schumacher's teammate Eddie Irvine finished second in the other Ferrari and his brother Ralf finished third in a Jordan-Mugen-Honda. As of 2024, this was the last win for tyre manufacturer Goodyear in Formula One.

1998 Italian Grand Prix
Race 14 of 16 in the 1998 Formula One World Championship
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Autodromo Nazionale di Monza (last modified in 1995)
Autodromo Nazionale di Monza (last modified in 1995)
Race details
Date 13 September 1998
Official name LIX Gran Premio Campari d'Italia
Location Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza, Italy
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.770 km (3.585 miles)
Distance 53 laps, 305.810 km (190.022 miles)
Weather Sunny
Pole position
Driver Ferrari
Time 1:25.298
Fastest lap
Driver Finland Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes
Time 1:25.139 on lap 45
Podium
First Ferrari
Second Ferrari
Third Jordan-Mugen-Honda
Lap leaders

Background

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In August 1998, the organisation of the sporting event was characterised by complications linked to the seizure of several stands and some underpasses by the magistrate's court due to alleged irregularities in the testing certifications. The affair continued until the beginning of September, when the use of the stands for the match was allowed.[1] The event was organised by the Automobile Club of Milan and SIAS, the company in charge of managing the racetrack. For the occasion, new giant screens were installed and the car parks and camping areas were expanded.[2]

Heading into the 14th round of the season, Mika Häkkinen led the championship with 77 points. Michael Schumacher was in second place, seven points behind. Häkkinen's teammate David Coulthard was in third position on 48 points, making these three the only drivers who could mathematically win the title. In the constructors championship, McLaren led on 125 points, ahead of Ferrari on 102. Williams were third with 33 points, one point ahead of Benetton and seven points ahead of Jordan in fifth.[3] Jordan had just achieved a 1–2 finish at the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix, where neither Häkkinen nor Schumacher scored any point; when lapping Coulthard, Schumacher had crashed into the Scot's McLaren, which had not moved off the racing line, obscured by spray.[4][5] Although he received no penalty or sanction, many were convinced that Coulthard had intentionally caused the collision with Schumacher in order to help his teammate.[6]

Report

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Qualifying

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While the free practice on Friday was dry, by the afternoon session it had rained. In a wet qualifying session, Michael Schumacher took pole position ahead of Jacques Villeneuve, who had achieved the team's best qualifying start. Mika Häkkinen, David Coulthard, and Eddie Irvine followed them in third, fourth, and fifth position.[4]

Race

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Mika Häkkinen made a blinding start from third on the grid, pushing his way past Jacques Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher on the front row; at the same time, it was a dreadful start for Schumacher, who fell down to fifth but then passed Villeneuve for fourth and then Eddie Irvine for third. Häkkinen was struggling with a developing brake issue soon after and he waved his teammate David Coulthard through. Soon after, Coulthard's engine blew and seconds later Schumacher, who had caught Häkkinen, passed the Finn when Häkkinen had adjusted his brake bias forwards to cope with the brake problem and ran wide due to the smoke from Coulthard's engine.[4][6]

Villeneuve, who was running very low downforce, soon spun out of the race, and Häkkinen started catching Schumacher again. Häkkinen was just three seconds behind with a handful of laps remaining when his rear brakes failed, sending him into a wild spin at the Roggia chicane. Although he was able to keep his engine running and kept going, at the beginning of the next lap he went off again at the first Rettifilo chicane, and Irvine reeled him in and took second off him. Ralf Schumacher then caught and overtook Häkkinen, who was able to limp home in fourth.[4][6]

It was a jubilant scene for the Italian crowd as Schumacher came home first and Irvine, his Ferrari teammate, took second, with the younger Schumacher third.[4][7] It was Jordan's third podium finishes in two races. Johnny Herbert retired in unusual circumstances; prior to the start, a Sauber mechanic accidentally left a spanner in the cockpit. During the race, the spanner became jammed under the foot pedals, which caused Herbert to crash.[8] Schumacher was now level on points with Häkkinen going into the Nürburgring, the penultimate round, although Häkkinen still led the championship on countback as both drivers had six wins but Häkkinen had two second places against Schumacher's one. This race was Ferrari's 600th start in a World Championship event as a team.[9][10][nb 1]

Classification

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Qualifying

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Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 3   Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:25.289
2 1   Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Mecachrome 1:25.561 +0.272
3 8   Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 1:25.679 +0.390
4 7   David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1:25.987 +0.698
5 4   Eddie Irvine Ferrari 1:26.159 +0.870
6 10   Ralf Schumacher Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:26.309 +1.020
7 6   Alexander Wurz Benetton-Playlife 1:26.567 +1.278
8 14   Jean Alesi Sauber-Petronas 1:26.637 +1.348
9 11   Olivier Panis Prost-Peugeot 1:26.681 +1.392
10 12   Jarno Trulli Prost-Peugeot 1:26.794 +1.505
11 5   Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 1:26.817 +1.528
12 2   Heinz-Harald Frentzen Williams-Mecachrome 1:26.836 +1.547
13 18   Rubens Barrichello Stewart-Ford 1:27.247 +1.958
14 9   Damon Hill Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:27.362 +2.073
15 15   Johnny Herbert Sauber-Petronas 1:27.510 +2.221
16 17   Mika Salo Arrows 1:27.744 +2.455
17 19   Jos Verstappen Stewart-Ford 1:28.212 +2.923
18 20   Ricardo Rosset Tyrrell-Ford 1:28.286 +2.997
19 21   Toranosuke Takagi Tyrrell-Ford 1:28.346 +3.057
20 16   Pedro Diniz Arrows 1:28.387 +3.098
21 22   Shinji Nakano Minardi-Ford 1:29.101 +3.812
22 23   Esteban Tuero Minardi-Ford 1:29.417 +4.128
107% time: 1:31.259
Source:[11]

Race

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Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 3   Michael Schumacher Ferrari 53 1:17:09.672 1 10
2 4   Eddie Irvine Ferrari 53 +37.977 5 6
3 10   Ralf Schumacher Jordan-Mugen-Honda 53 +41.152 6 4
4 8   Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 53 +55.671 3 3
5 14   Jean Alesi Sauber-Petronas 53 +1:01.872 8 2
6 9   Damon Hill Jordan-Mugen-Honda 53 +1:06.688 14 1
7 2   Heinz-Harald Frentzen Williams-Mecachrome 52 +1 Lap 12  
8 5   Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 52 +1 Lap 11  
9 21   Toranosuke Takagi Tyrrell-Ford 52 +1 Lap 19  
10 18   Rubens Barrichello Stewart-Ford 52 +1 Lap 13  
11 23   Esteban Tuero Minardi-Ford 51 +2 Laps 22  
12 20   Ricardo Rosset Tyrrell-Ford 51 +2 Laps 18  
13 12   Jarno Trulli Prost-Peugeot 50 +3 Laps 10  
Ret 19   Jos Verstappen Stewart-Ford 39 Gearbox 17  
Ret 1   Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Mecachrome 37 Spun off 2  
Ret 17   Mika Salo Arrows 32 Throttle 16  
Ret 6   Alexander Wurz Benetton-Playlife 24 Gearbox 7  
Ret 7   David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 16 Engine 4  
Ret 11   Olivier Panis Prost-Peugeot 15 Vibrations 9  
Ret 22   Shinji Nakano Minardi-Ford 13 Engine 21  
Ret 15   Johnny Herbert Sauber-Petronas 12 Spun off 15  
Ret 16   Pedro Diniz Arrows 10 Spun off 20  
Source:[12]

Championship standings after the race

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  • Bold text indicates who still has a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

Notes

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  1. ^ A privateer Ferrari entry in the 1950 French Grand Prix, which is often a source of incorrect count for their races as a team (as opposed to as a manufacturer) is not counted towards the team's participations.

References

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  1. ^ "Schumi, prime scuse. A Spa ho esagerato". La Repubblica (in Italian). 9 September 1998. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  2. ^ Cremonesi, Andrea; Vicentini, Mario (4 September 1998). "E Schumi ora dice: 'Parliamone'". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  3. ^ "F1 points tables – 1998 driver, constructor standings". Crash.net. Crash Media Group. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e Burley, Ian (13 September 1998). "Grand Prix of Italy Review". Autosport. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  5. ^ "1998 F1 World Championship | Motorsport Database". Motor Sport. 1998. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Petric, Darjan (13 September 2022). "Italian GP 1998 – Schumacher leads Irvine in Ferrari 1-2 in Monza". MAXF1net. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  7. ^ "1998 Italian Grand Prix | Motorsport Database". Motor Sport. 13 September 1998. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  8. ^ Cameron-Dow, Chris. "Herbert's odd 1998 Monza retirement". chrisonf1.com. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  9. ^ "Ferrari Celebrates 600 GPs". Autosport. 27 August 1998. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Watch: Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine delight Tifosi at Monza | 1998 Italian GP". Scuderia Fans. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Italy 1998 - Qualifications". StatsF1. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  12. ^ "1998 Italian Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  13. ^ a b "Italy 1998 – Championship • STATS F1". Stats F1. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
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